In April of last year, National Geographic Society announced a find in Peru of what appears to be the largest mass child sacrifice in history. According to archaeologists, over 140 children were slain as a part of some ritual by the Chimu Empire 550 years ago.
Although research is on-going, it appears that these people took the lives of their children, all between the ages of 5 and 14, to gain the favor of their gods and insure fertility of the ocean and soil. Boys and girls both were killed en masse in a belief that their actions would provide economic benefit to their community.
Child sacrifice was not unique to South American tribes for the Bible describes such practices by Israel’s neighbors whose god Moloch required babies to be burned. At times, these pagan practices even infected the Israelites who were condemned by Ezekiel for slaughtering their children to false gods. Archaeology has sadly confirmed these truths.
During Roman times, it was not uncommon for live infants, especially unwanted females, to be laid on rocks and abandoned for wolves, foxes, and vultures to devour. It was the early Christians who had the compassion and the value for human life that would rescue and adopt as many of these as they could, saving them from horrific deaths due to the supposed inconvenience they imposed on their parents.
Thankfully, our nation has many laws to protect both infants and children from such horrendous actions today. Anyone who willfully or even negligently causes the death of a child will face severe punishment, possibly even death. I’m grateful for the collective value that our culture attributes to children and reinforces through numerous legal protections.
Unfortunately, these protections do not cover their entire lifespans. Laws in every state allow the legal sacrifice of unwanted children at their most vulnerable age. As a result, far more than 140 children will legally be sacrificed today in what we consider to be our culturally advanced society. At over 885,000 slaughtered each year in the US, that averages to over 2,400 per day. In some states, one in every three unborn babies is killed by abortion. We make Moloch and the Chimus look like Mother Teresas.
The parallels between child sacrifice and abortion are not difficult to grasp. Both are based on what is perceived to be best for the children’s families and for the larger society. For those who believe they cannot raise and care for a child, this solution supposedly offers them opportunities for better lives. Many argue that abortion lowers crime rates and the number of those needing government services by their elimination. It’s getting harder to argue for national economic benefit from abortion, however, as baby boomers move into retirement and too few workers exist to support them through Social Security.
I’m thankful for the ministries that endeavor to rescue babies by empowering their parents. Pregnancy Centers like the one in Edinburg offer emotional, financial, and physical aid to parents who are struggling with this important decision. They also facilitate adoption for those who are still convinced they would not be able to care for their child once it is born. In addition, they minister to those who have aborted and now face difficult emotions.
Unlike Planned Parenthood which receives billions in government grants to encourage mothers to abort and sacrifice their children, these pregnancy centers receive no government money and are funded almost entirely by Christians who still believe that life is a gift from God and is to be valued and protected both inside and outside the womb.
January 22 marks the forty-sixth anniversary of the supremely wrong court decision, Roe vs Wade. Since then, over 60 million babies have been sacrificed on the US altar of convenience believing that such actions appease the gods of our economy and secure better futures for all. I wonder what archaeologists centuries from now will say about this mass slaughter when they uncover it in our own chronicles. I continue to pray for the day when every life is valued and protected here and everywhere.
In the meantime, I encourage all to support the work of the Shenandoah County Pregnancy Center and work to help young parents care for their children. Together, we can make a difference one baby at a time. Praying, George