The Taboo Nature of Human Sacrifice

Human sacrifice a taboo in most societies, but an integral part of monotheism and other religions. The typical image of human sacrifice is of savages sacrificing humans to their gods, human sacrifice is part of the mainstream religions as well. This rite is very controversial because the killing of humans is so taboo as death is so unsure. Some societies believe that it is necessary to kill to appease gods. Even the Abrahamic religions are based off the initial commandment from god to Abraham to kill his son. This event is so important it is the dividing point between Judaism and Islam. The arguing point is that the son of Abraham, who was to be sacrifice, was either Isaac or Ishmael. This shows that this rite is not just a savage's rite, but one that is part of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian history. Human sacrifice is part of our everyday religious traditions. We might not practice it now, but it's history still echoes though our lives.

Human sacrifice truly transcends through all cultures as most major ancient cultures practiced it. The practice was later deemed barbaric as such social standards as Hammurabi's code and Moses' Ten Commandments became social norm. The practice of sacrifice did not end as though most of recent history animal sacrifice is relatively acceptable. This is the main stream Abrahamic religion's progression, human sacrifice has been occurring on this earth up unto very recently in the South Pacific islands. It is hard to say if it completely eradicated as remote cultures still hold to old traditions. The purpose of this paper is to look into human sacrifice as transcending rite through ancient cultures and a sustained teaching through Abrahamic religions.

Ancient societies looked at the world and were astonished at what they saw. They believed gods ruled certain regions of existence. The ancient Greeks were masters at this with their astrological theme to gods a Pantheon of Gods were created, with many minor and half-gods. Humans decided that other humans would make as good sacrifice to appease their gods. This was most apparent in war as the God Ares was known to bathe in blood and sacrificing humans before battles was common to a sure a victory. The Romans perfected the Greek idea and made it more entertaining. The sacrifice was not confined to appeasing gods in time of war or famine, but punishing those who did not worship the right gods. The Roman Coliseum was the most famous spot for displays of human sacrifice. They were killed in all manor of ways to entertain the crowd and appease the masses of Rome. These along with other great ancient societies such China, Egypt, South and Central American, and Europe. As a sailor I can't help to mention the Vikings who would sacrifice virgins and hang them on the bow of their boat to appease their gods. Norse legend is also filled with human sacrifice they were a very brutal society. Another more modern example are the witch trials in Salem, Mass. along with Europe's with hunts. These sacrifices were seen as good Christian things to do to help combat the evil and keep good on your side. The revival of the Devil's effect over people led to allegation of witch's souring milk and fields, echoing ancient human sacrifice motives. This begs the question then if our modern capital punishment is also a form of human sacrifice. We are appeasing societies' norms which have been formed over time by religious dogma. Human sacrifice is a major part of our history no matter what culture we come from. It give us a glimpse into how our religions dealt with death and how we still struggle with it today.

The descendants of Adam & Eve created the Abrahamic religions through the patriarch Abraham. Abraham was the creator of the lineage of the Jews kings, Muslim prophet Muhammad, and even Jesus Christ. This one man started the greatest move to monotheism the world had ever seen and it all began with his covenant with god. God told Abraham, " Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you." ( Genesis 22: 2) Abrahams' covenant with god was so strong that he would give up his son whom god had given his barren wife as gift. His faith was so strong that he knew that he had to do whatever god told him. God then sent a messenger to stopped Abraham from killing his son, instead he takes a nearby ram and offers it up instead. This is very symbolic of the old ways of civilization dieing out. Animal sacrifices would now dominate for several thousand years as a direct sacrifice to god, but sacrificing human lives takes on a whole new persona in Martyrdom. This self sacrifice was a legitimate way to get closer to god and fulfill his covenant. This idea of giving a life up for god as the ultimate sacrifice echoes from Abraham through the millennium to the present day. Sacrificing yourself for god is all to prevalent in today's world. This universal part of the all Abrahamic religions is sacrificing yourself to god to reach salvation. Christianity exhibits this in the sacrificing of Jesus for our sins. The idea of death as a gateway to god is also a unifying point in the religions. Each believes that dieing is the only way to reach god, and the sacrificing this life for him is the ultimate homage. So even though we might not practice the rite of human sacrifice we embrace it everyday. Through our religious traditions human sacrifice is still a uniting force as it tries to tackle the mystery of death and who created us.

The idea of human sacrifice is one of the most basic in our human history. The killing of another human as sacrifice for your gods has been part of most major societies. The practice still goes on in one form or another in isolated areas of the world. We can not escape our history, instead we embrace it as part of our religious heritage. The universal fact that we all have to die can be scary at times. Humans always find a way to use uncertainty and make it certain. Before the time of Abraham in the ancient world human sacrifice was still being practiced. The first people according to the bible Adam & Eve and their sons committed sacrifice. Cain saw how much Abel was thriving as a human so he killed him out of jealousy, but also because sacrificing Abel was Cain's way of trying to look better in front of god, another unifying point in Abrahamic religions. This back fires as God tells Cain, " You shall become a restless wander on the earth" (Genesis 4: 12) This shows the wrath god has if people make the wrong choice in worshiping him and there can be good and bad sacrifices. The beginning of Monotheist religions is filled with sacrifice and appeasement of God. The modern Monotheist religions still use this as a way to go. Although we do not practice the ritual of human sacrifice anymore it has common bonds through all ancient civilizations, and its traditions that are still used today in religion rituals. Human sacrifice is not just a tool of savages people and false gods, but has true back round in the monotheist dogma. This ensures that human sacrifice will ultimately continue to happen as man struggles to understand his place in the universe and his/her relationship to God.