“It is difficult to locate a pagan religion anywhere on the Earth that did not practice child sacrifice.”
Human sacrifice has been part of almost all ancient religions, including non-pagan ones. Christianity is centered around sacrifice and shedding of the Savior’s blood. The Cross itself symbolises (human) sacrifice. God’s own son, sent as human, to be sacrificed for man’s sins.
Hebrews/Israelites take pride in the attempted sacrifice of Issac by his Father Abraham... the story gets twisted in Koran with Ishmael being the subject, but Islam takes pride in that too and names Ishmael as the father of the Muslim Nation.
So, human sacrifice isn’t just among pagan/non-Abrahamic religions. In fact, pacifist religions like Jainism and Buddhism are totally against any violence and that includes prohibiting any kind of physical sacrifice.
Abraham did NOT sacrifice Isaac.
He just showed that he was willing to do so.
It also showed that Isaac was willing to be the sacrifice, since he was certainly old enough and strong enough at the time to defend himself from his aged father.
Furthermore, Abraham believed in the resurrection, that God would resurrect Isaac, since Isaac was the “child of promise”. God had promised that Isaac would have innumerable descendents.
This would not be possible if Isaac were permanently dead.
However, rather than allow the human sacrifice and resurrection to proceed at that time, God interrupted Abraham before he could complete the sacrifice. It was a demonstration to us, a metaphor, that God’s only begotten Son would give Himself as the only sacrifice sufficient and necessary to absolve mankind from Sin.
Jesus made it clear that nobody would take His life from Him, but that He would give it up willingly.
Because of Abraham and Isaac’s obedience, God promised that the Messiah would be a descendent of Abraham and Isaac.
The shedding of blood as atonement for sin began in the Garden of Eden, when God fashioned coats out of an animal’s skin to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve.
Until Christ came and GAVE HIMSELF as a WILLING SACRIFICE, animal sacrifices were used to typify, or as a metaphor for, the coming sacrifice of God Himself, manifest in the flesh.
Everywhere in the Bible, Human sacrifice is explicitly forbidden, proscribed and CONDEMNED!
The one and only exception is Christ allowing Himself to be a WILLING sacrifice, the one and only human sacrifice, for the sins of all of Mankind for all Time.
In fact, this was more than a human sacrifice, it was a sacrifice of God Himself, offered by God Himself manifest in the flesh, unto God Himself.
Jesus Christ not only had the power to offer Himself as a sacrifice, He had the power to resurrect Himself to assert His conquest over Sin, Death, and Hell itself.
He is the ONLY sacrifice capable of this.
The first time Jesus came to this earth, it was to pay a debt. The debt of sin.
The next time He comes, it will be to collect.
The mortgage to the deed of earth, held by Satan since the Fall of Man in Eden, has been paid in full.
The bad tenent has been given his eviction notice.
And, just like any bad tenent I’ve ever known, Satan is of a mind to trash the place before the eviction takes place.