This is something I wrote, meaning to send it in an email. So it is not quite blog-post clarity but still you get the idea. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Also, for the weekend of October 9, you’ll be able to hear from ICR on the same topic
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Why did many cultures in the past have human sacrifices?
short answer—It is because people knon that a sacrifice is necessary to please God, but over time, the reason for it was corrupted as well as who it was to.
Long answer below
The Bible says that we were created perfect, but when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God said that they were not supposed to do, sin came into the world. One of the effects of sin is death and suffering. Another is separation from God. So Adam messed up what God created to be good, by making a deliberate choice to sin (disobeying God’s law). But God is so good that He would provide a way for man to come back to God. The sin is mentioned in Genesis 3:6-11, and in verse 15 is the first prophecy of the saviour (Jesus) to come.
Now for the sacrifices.
In Genesis 3:21 we see the first instance of physical death mentioned in the Bible. Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with fig leaves but it wasn’t good enough. An animal needed to be slain and provide a “coat of skins.” What these animal sacrifices represented was the Saviour that was to come. The fig leaves represent all that we do and are. We try and cover our sins by doing good works, but God requires a sacrifice because our good works are not good enough. All throughout the Old Testament we read of animal sacrifices but it was all just pointing to Jesus Christ.
Back to Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned, things went on, not the same as before they sinned but life still went on. But then we reach the times that Noah was living in. The entire world was so wicked, but God saw Noah, who was “a just man.” Noah preached to the people in his time but they didn’t listen so God had Noah build an ark. The people still weren’t listening and so God destroyed them all by a flood. Basically the only people alive were Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. So from those 8 people the whole world started over again. His sons and their wives dispersed around the world after they got off the ark to populate the world and become the different tribes and nations we see today.
Basically, Noah’s sons knew about the earlier prophecy about the Saviour and knew that God required a sacrifice in order for a person to be made righteous. So they took it all over the world. That is why most if not all of the tribal or “native” cultures have some kind of idea about sacrifice. From their ancestors (the sons of Noah), they learned about God’s anger against sin, but also that an offering can be offered that would make them okay with God. Over time however the message was corrupted, but the main thread is still there.
Each culture has sacrifice of some sort because they received a tradition from their ancestors that a sacrifice is required to please God. It has been corrupted though. The animal sacrifices as mentioned in Genesis and the Old Testament were only to show people their need for a Saviour because of their sin. Sacrifice was not for pleasing God, but it pointed to the only person who could please God, showing that Jesus Christ would be a sacrifice for sins. Ultimately these cultures that sacrificed people were trying to please their god or gods. They knew about sin and guilt and that they had done wrong. But what God was trying to show people was Jesus Christ, who is the only one who could die for our sins. Sacrifice was meant to show that people couldn’t please God on their own, but as humans usually do, we confuse the meaning and purpose.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have