"A study of child sacrifice in the Old Testament yields some basic lessons that Christians can apply to the modern debate surrounding abortion. The Old Testament repeatedly conveys God’s abhorrence of child sacrifice. God commanded the Israelites through Moses, “Do not give up any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech [a Canaanite god], for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.”[1] God says that child sacrifice is antithetical to true worship, and that the Israelites profane His name if they practice it while claiming to be His specially chosen people. Despite this clear command, the Israelites did eventually sacrifice their children to Molech. The author of Chronicles condemns various Israelite kings for sacrificing their own children and for allowing their subjects to do so. Later, prophets warn the Israelites against child sacrifice, reminding them of God’s command given in Leviticus. The command is clear, yet the Israelites repeatedly fall into this sin."The article is an excerpt from his upcoming book Learning to to Do Right: Social Justice in the Old Testament. Much more at the link.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Abortion as Child Sacrifice
I commend to your attention an article by Tyson Supasatit at wayfaring stranger (but not lost) entitled Child sacrifice as analogous to abortion. This is an unpleasant subject, but we need to face the reality of what went on then, and is going on now.
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Thanks for the link, Barry! The correlation between child sacrifice and abortion really comes down to the motives that the Israelites had for sacrificing their children. They didn't do it because they were crazed devil worshippers. Actually, they did it for very pragmatic reasons: to induce the fertility god to bring rain or stop famine in the land. What was the use of a child living for a few more miserable months or years if he was to die of starvation? In the same way, I believe that people who choose to have an abortion today do so out of very similar reasoning. They just want to make their lives better. And, we as a society turn a blind eye to it because, whether we admit it or not, the rate of abortion is highest among poor minorities who we figure would be better off not being born. Nobody says it that way, but the statistics don't lie.
ReplyDeleteIt's a horrible subject to talk about or even think about, but the spiritual link is even deeper than the surface motivations. Ancient Canaanites and apostate Israelites worshiped Baal and Molech with burnt babies, and Americans worship idols of pleasure and convenience in the same way.
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