The Early Church and Infant Sacrifice

[michaelsherlock]

Whilst doing research for my book series, ‘I Am Christ,’ I came across this rather curious admission within the works of the 3rd century Church Father, Tertullian.

In his ‘Ad Nationes’ (‘Address to the Nations’), in which he attempted to answer some of the criticisms laid against the Christian religion, by the non-Christians of his day, Tertullian said:

Since we are on a par in respect of the gods, it follows that there is no difference between us on the point of sacrifice, or even of worship, if I may be allowed to make good our comparison from another sort of evidence. We begin our religious service, or initiate our mysteries, with slaying an infant. As for you, since your own transactions in human blood and infanticide have faded from your memory, you shall be duly reminded of them in the proper place…. Meanwhile, as I have said, the comparison between us does not fail in another point of view….Yet there is no great difference between us, only you do not kill your infants in the way of a sacred rite, nor (as a service) to God.

What this church father seems to be admitting is that the early church, in like manner to other surrounding religious traditions, killed babies at the beginning of their services. If in fact this be the case, in Tertullian’s defence, they were killing babies for Jesus’ sake and no matter how savage and barbaric their custom, their motivations were pure! Upon this rationale however, most serial killers in prison today would be exonerated and released by the likes of these bloodthirsty Christians, so long as the killer heard the voice of their god telling him to kill. But, to be fair, it must be conceded that no longer do Christians brutally sacrifice children to their god (exceptions do apply), instead they merely rape them repeatedly!

1. Philip Schaff. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 3. Latin Christianity; Its founder, Tertullian. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. (1885). Pg. 192