Human Sacrifice and the Justice of God | John Owen

Deep Dive into A Dissertation on Divine Justice by John Owen - The origin of human sacrifices — Their use among the Jews, Assyrians, Germans, Goths, the inhabitants of Marseilles, the Normans, the Francs, the Tyrians, the Egyptians, and the ancient Gauls — Testimonies of Cicero and Cæsar that they were used among the Britons and Romans by the Druids — A fiction of Apion concerning the worship in the temple of Jerusalem — The names of some persons sacrificed — The use of human sacrifices among the Gentiles proved from Clemens of Alexandria, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Porphyry, Philo, Eusebius, Tertullian, Euripides — Instances of human sacrifices in the sacred Scriptures — The remarkable obedience of Abraham — What the neighbouring nations might have gathered from that event — Why human sacrifices were not instituted by God — The story of Iphigenia — The history of Jephthah — Whether he put his daughter to death — The cause of the difficulty — The impious sacrifice of the king of Moab — The abominable superstition of the Rugiani — The craftiness of the devil — Vindications of the argument — The same concludedThe excerpt explores the historical and theological origins of human sacrifice to argue that divine vindicatory justice is an innate human concept. The author asserts that diverse, unconnected ancient cultures, including the Gauls, Britons, Romans, Egyptians, and even the Israelites in times of rebellion, practiced human sacrifice. This universal custom, according to the text, stems from a deep-seated human consciousness of sin and the natural presumption that a supreme being requires a propitiatory sacrifice to appease its avenging justice. However, the author contends that the devil manipulated this innate awareness, twisting it into the abhorrent practice of human sacrifice to keep humanity enslaved and to obscure the true, life-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ.The text also examines three notable biblical accounts to clarify the scriptural stance on such sacrifices. First, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac was a unique test of faith and a typology of Christ, but corrupt traditions of this renowned event likely encouraged surrounding nations to falsely believe God could be appeased by human victims. Second, the author analyzes Jephthah's vow, concluding that Jephthah did put his daughter to death as a strictly devoted offering to God, though not as a burnt offering, which the law forbade priests from performing. Third, the King of Moab's sacrifice of his son on the city wall is explained as a desperate, idolatrous act typical of heathen nations in distress.Ultimately, the author concludes that the global prevalence of sacrificial rites, established long before the Mosaic law, serves as undeniable proof that an awareness of God's sin-avenging justice is permanently implanted in the human conscience by nature.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerSpotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdwhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730