Posted: Sep 27, 2017 5:00 pm
Zadocfish2 wrote:Say what you will about the Bible, in it the Israelites' deity clearly spells out that human/child sacrifice was horrible.
The 'Great Flud' and the massacre of the Egyptians' firstborn has already been mentioned. According to the Bible, YHVH also killed every single inhabitant of Sodom and Gomorrah. Then we have gems like Numbers 16:25-33:
Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He warned the assembly, ‘Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.’ So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
Then Moses said, ‘This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: if these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.’
As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.
In addition YHVH specifically ordered the murder of children. The Amalekites come to mind immediately, but I don't think that is the only instance when he told his chosen people to murder every inhabitant of a city, including children.
Samuel said to Saul, ‘I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”’
(1 Samuel 15:1-3)
In fact, the general slaughter of conquered people or inhabitants of cities (including children, except virgin girls of course) is rather common in the Bible, an activity with YHVH clearly approved of, with Joshua being one of the most active in this respect.