In this recording, Archimandrite Athanasios Mytilinaios (1927-2006), answers the question: “The professor at my school told us that God in the Old Testament accepted human sacrifices… What should I answer to her?” “God explicitly condemns the human-sacrifices. The Lord despised His people because they imitated the pagans in committing human sacrifices.”
Audio source: “Catechism”, no. 918 (in Greek), March 17, 1996
Archimandrite Athanasios:
Another question asks, “The professor at my school told us that God in the Old Testament accepted human sacrifices. In fact, she said that the sacrifice on the Cross of Jesus Christ was the last human sacrifice in the Old Testament. What should I answer to her?”
To read the Old Testament. This is what you should answer. Obviously, the woman is ignorant. Ignorance and in case she is a theologian, it is evident that she ignores the Holy Scripture. A theologian should study the word [logos] of God. And should lead a spiritual life. As Saint Cyril the Sinaitis says, “If you are a theologian, pray and if you pray, you are a theologian.” St. Symeon the New Theologian also says, “How can you talk about theology, when you have not ‘seen’ God?” I was so scared when I first read it. Of course, by “see” he means to sense God’s presence inside you.
Nevertheless, let’s give an answer. In the Book of Numbers 35:33-34, “So you shall not defile with murder the land in which you dwell.” They still had not entered the land of Canaan, they are still in the desert. The book of Numbers was written by Moses, yet Moses died before they entered the promised land. God says here, you will not commit murders in the land which you will now reside. Why? Because murdering existed among the local people of the land of Canaan. They were pagans and they had human-sacrifices. It is known that in the area Moloch was worshipped. You will get scared if I tell you [the full story]. There was a plain where you could hear the voices of small children. Horror! Horror! What happened? There was a metal statute of Moloch. On the head there was a big opening and down under they put fire. A short of a chimney. The fathers or the mothers went there and threw inside the chimney a child of theirs in order to get burned. This was terrible! The Hebrews found the human-sacrifices in the land of Canaan and they received an explicit order, “So you shall not defile with murder the land in which you dwell. […] Therefore do not defile the land on which you dwell and on which I shall pitch My tabernacle among you; for I am the Lord who tabernacles among the children of Israel.” [Numbers 35:33-34]
Thus, you see that God explicitly condemns the human-sacrifices. Moreover, the Psalter in the 105th Psalm says, “They also sacrificed their sons And their daughters to demons,” —such as Moloch—“And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the graven images of Canaan; So the land was polluted with their blood;” […] “And the Lord was very angry with His people, And He abhorred His inheritance;” [Psalms 105] The Lord despised His people because they imitated the pagans in committing human sacrifices. How can we then say that God asked human-sacrifices? Thus, the counsel to study the Holy Scripture.
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