Why Do Humans Love Child Sacrifice?
AI Generated Image of Statue of Molech used for child sacrifice.
From the beginning of time humans have been murdering their own children. Ancient Spartans would abandon their children on Mount Taygetus to die of exposure if deemed unfit for Spartan society. The Aztecs would sacrifice children to the god Tlaloc in the belief that their tears would bring rain. The Canaanites around modern day Israel would offer tribute to the demon god Molech by creating a giant metal statue with its arms outstretched as a platform. The Canaanites would then set a fire underneath the hands until they were red-hot, placing the child on the hands until they burned alive on the bronze statue. Historical accounts tell of priests in the nearby village beating drums to drown out the screams of the brutalized children.
These depictions are graphic but they are true and there are many more civilizations who performed this practice, including ours. It’s important to not let the history of these evil empires slip into obscurity. We need to be mindful of these people and the atrocities they’ve committed as our society is now among them.
So the question remains, why are humans so obsessed with child sacrifice? Why is something so horrific, so prevalent across the annals of history? What could possibly possess someone to do such horrendous deeds? We’re reminded of people like Casey Anthony, or even Diane Downs, or more recently the lady who left her child in a crib for 10 days to go on vacation. How can people do this to the most innocent among us?
Parental Love
If you’re a parent you know the depths of love that you have for your child. You know the sacrifices that you would make for your little ones, and it is unfathomable to think of hurting your sweet children for your own gain.
That’s exactly why child sacrifice was, is, and sadly will continue to be so pervasive in human society. People are inherently selfish. People are flawed and fallen and fearful. They think that by sacrificing a little one who has no say in the decision, that their lot in life will improve, however marginally. This was true for the Canaanites, this was true for the Aztecs, this was true, more recently, for families under the One Child Policy in China, and this is true for our society today.
A Decaying Society
This idea that children must pay the sacrifice is a sign of a decaying society. When we require the innocent to pay for our poor choices and to bear the guilt of stupid decisions we are sacrificing the innocent for the guilty, without their consent.
This perversion of justice is what ultimately brings a civilization to its knees. When you can no longer depend on a system to uphold justice for all parties, especially your own citizens, that causes the bones of an empire to rot and whither. What this means in a society is that the corruption has metastasized to the justice system and the virtue of justice is no longer with a people.
Depiction of the Fall of Rome
We see this prominently in the Romans, the Soviet Union, the Mughal empire, among others. When a populace can no longer rely on the centralized powers to execute a fair trial, public confidence fades and will alienate the citizenry, leading to a fragmentation and eventual collapse of an empire.
This issue is only a symptom of a deeper issue. One that is evident in our short attention spanned world. That being the total, absolute, complete depravity of a decadent society. We are living with a people whose Hellenistic, carnal desires are the moral compass of their lives. No other thing is more preeminent than “my desire”. If it feels right, it is right. “Self” is the god of our society and nothing else matters, least of all those without a voice and since self is the supreme being, all worship and sacrifice must be centered towards it.
So Why?
The question remains, “Why do humans love child sacrifice?” and it seems to be that children are seen as a hindrance to pleasure. To people that think this, pleasure is the ultimate sacrament that must be offered to the god of self. Since personal pleasure is the ultimate aim, to a person engaged in such worship, the logic tracks that anything in the way of pleasure must be removed. The logic is twisted and evil, depraved and deranged, but it is logical nonetheless. And it now raises another question, “How do we combat it?”.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”
Everyone worships something. Some gods are more fickle than others. But there is one true God whose worship is not vain nor evil. His worship and sacraments are not self-centered, but holy and worthy. His precepts are simple and lovely and true and lead to human flourishing. Self is a god devoted to self destruction through pleasure. Jehovah is a God devoted to salvation through sacrifice.
The only way forward in our society is through Christianity and moving towards a society that serves one another and values each other more than self. The great John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”. We must be a moral and religious people. We must devote our lives to the Lord of righteousness to not let our society be lost. This is the only way.
