Transcript: Child Sacrifice in Ancient and Modern Times: Biblical Perspective

Child sacrifice. Barbaric. Evil. Ancient. Modern. There's nothing new under the sun. Throughout history, children have been sacrificed to a variety of deities in attempts to gain favor or blessings. Aztecs cut their children's hearts out to appease the gods of rain and war. Incas sacrificed their children to the sun god so their crops would flourish. Canaanites sacrificed their infants to Molech for prosperity. Drums were played loudly to drown out the baby's screams. Child sacrifice never stopped, and we still don't hear their screams. There's nothing new under the sun We sacrifice our children today Not for rain or war victories But for freedom or convenience We sacrifice to gain favor in the workplace Or for the blessings of money or fame We sacrifice our babies on the altar of free sex Child sacrifice is no longer a public event It's done behind closed doors Rather than a gory burning or bloody stabbing, it's become a neat, sterile, and clinical event. We don't throw our children into the fire or leave them to freeze to death. We starve our babies. We poison them. We rip off their arms and legs and crush their skulls. We call it choice. We call it empowerment. and our culture condones it. We celebrate it. We celebrate baby murder. We consider it vital to our existence. It's become a right. But nothing is different. There's nothing new under the sun. Innocent human beings are still being sacrificed for the selfish gains of those more powerful. Modern child sacrifice is thriving. We must end it. End abortion. high school to help support the family and I did and then by 18 I was kicked out of my home and homeless because I was no longer a paycheck because baby bonus was no longer being issued by 19 I was in an abusive relationship that I endured for two whole years because I was completely convinced that I loved this person probably because I had grown up in abuse that it was so normal to me. He had placed me in a hospital because he had physically beaten me so badly. And I had gone through at least 19 apartments, park benches, cars, centers, shelters to shelter myself in by the time I was 21 and found myself exotic dancing to get away from that abusive relationship and then at 22 I found myself pregnant my life situation when I found out that I was pregnant was less than ideal I was an alcoholic I was addicted to prescription pills I was a weekend cocaine addict and I was just an all-around mess. And I was in a relationship and pregnant with someone's baby who I didn't see a future with. And in an instant, I realized that I'm going to have to be a single mother. And so that dream of having a two-parent household and a stable family and everything that I never had was instantly gone. So once I found out I was contemplating abortion for about an hour, wrestling with this, because I was like, I can't bear a child into my situation. But then it dawned on me, it doesn't matter if it's their child. It's also my child, and that's what really shifted things for me. So I decided to choose life, but I had no idea how I was going to do it. I had my neighbor come and give me a newsletter. And on the very bottom was Wynn's Maternity Home. And I found out that as soon as I walked into the home and I chose life, where negative choices used to follow me, now right ones were. and there was support and there was love and there was tools to grow up into the mother that I knew I could be My daughter Azalea is a blessing and the reason for my turnaround. And she is the reason I wake up every morning. So what I would say to someone who is facing an unplanned pregnancy is that I would encourage life and that there are resources out there, and no matter what your situation is and what you're going through, that you're not alone. Make a choice you can both live with. Choose life. The moment I found out I was pregnant was, wow, extremely overwhelming. I have never been so scared in my entire life. I just felt sick to my stomach. Like, what am I going to do? And I felt really alone. And I was really scared of telling my family, and I felt ashamed to admit that I was pregnant. I'm only 22, and I have dreams and ambitions, and I really felt in that moment that all of that was gone. So I contacted my local maternity home and I got an interview to come in and see the home, see what it's about. I was angry. You know, someone who I didn't even know was telling me, you know, it's going to be okay. You could like have this child. And I'm on the other end saying, no, like this wasn't what I wanted. This was not planned. This is my body and my choice. And I felt that because of the situation that I was in, the only option was for me to have an abortion. And that's what I was going to do. And that was going to be my choice. I had booked my appointment and everything. I had it set. And this woman kept saying, no, Megan, your child has a purpose and a meaning. And this baby has a life. It's not just your life. It's this child's life. and those words stuck with me. I woke up one day and I felt that what she said was right. This child has a purpose and a meaning and I'm pregnant for a reason. And I didn't know what the future would hold with this baby, but I felt that I couldn't go forth with having an abortion and terminating my pregnancy and essentially killing this baby. I wouldn't be able to come to terms with it afterwards. So I decided to choose life and keep my child because she's worth it. My baby is worth it. And aside from what I'm going through, or if my boyfriend's in the picture or not in the picture, or whatever it may be, that we're going to make it. And I'm going to make it, and this child's going to make it. My daughter, Sretni Grace, she has changed my life for the better. She is literally the definition of her name. She has brought back that peace and the calmness into my life. And I would not be who I am today if I did not keep her. When I hold her and I look at her and I think about what could have been. And that I almost made the choice of not keeping her. I just I can't I'm so thankful that she's here today and that I chose life if you're facing an unplanned pregnancy I think what's really important to understand is that your life is not over so the dreams you had or the things you want to accomplish you could still have and do but it just may look different and it's probably going to be more challenging but it's worth it. Make a choice you can both live with. Choose life. My name is Louise. I am 24 years old. I am a mother to an angel and my angel was born out of rape. I was raped by somebody I knew, and five weeks later, I had missed my period. And that's when I knew I was pregnant. I decided to choose life because I wasn't going to let an innocent life pay for one man's intent to hurt me. She hasn't hurt me. She's provided me with healing and growth and new experiences that I never knew that could happen in my life. So she's not going to pay for what one man's intentions were because her intent is just to enjoy her life. When people say abortion is needed in cases of rape I feel that is very unfair If your body has already started to create life undoing the process seems very detrimental I also knew in my heart that there already a heart beating, there's already a life there, and for me to go and intentionally take away someone's chance at life, that wouldn't sit well with me for the rest of my life. My daughter is my angel. She brings me a lot of hope for the future to let me know that not every disaster has to bring traumatic pain to where you can't cope. It actually can bring about beauty if you look for the beauty in the disaster. So she's my beauty. I am so grateful I made the decision to have my daughter because she's brought me so much joy. Every day I wake up to a beautiful smile and had I not made that decision, I would have just been left with a disaster on my heart. Becoming a mother has changed me in ways I could never imagine. I feel like the most optimal version of myself. I feel more purpose to each day I live. It's just given me super strength, really. I've drawn a lot of strength internally that I didn't know was there before, so I'm very happy and I love being a mother. What I would say to a woman who has just found out she was pregnant as a result of rape is that there's hope. There's hope beyond just healing from the traumatic experience you've been through and figuring out how you're going to make it for what's to come. I would say don't give up because if you survived such a traumatic experience and you were gifted with a miracle, then clearly you have more potential than you could ever know. Make a choice you can both live with. Choose life. The very definition of love is a birth mother's love that she has for her unborn child. When she chooses adoption as the option for that child, My husband and I met in high school. We were high school sweethearts. We dated throughout high school and then throughout the university years as well. Shortly after university, we got married. And, yeah, the next step for us was to start a family. And after a few years of trying to have children on our own, it just wasn't happening. And so the next step naturally for me was to turn to adoption. So Kayla Elizabeth is our eldest daughter. She's nine years old. and she became our forever daughter at 12 weeks of age. Kay Elizabeth's adoption took place through CAS. It's therefore a closed adoption. So her birth parents didn't get to choose the family that were going to adopt her. CAS chose us. Kay Elizabeth is a very happy, outgoing, and fun-loving child. And she has brought so much joy into our lives. and from the moment I first held her, I fell instantly in love with her. Kezia Faith, our energetic four-year-old, became our forever daughter at birth. She was adopted through a private adoption agency, and her birth parents had full say over who the adoptive family was. In fact, we got to meet with them a couple of times before the birth took place, and they chose for us to be present at the birth. You know, I can say firsthand that after going through two adoptions that there was this special chamber within my heart that was just hidden. I didn't even know it was there. And the moment I held my first daughter, Kay Elizabeth, it's like this chamber that my heart just opened up. And it's a love that just I didn't even know existed and it came so profound and just pouring out into this child. and it's unconditional love that I have for both my girls. Birth mothers may feel that they're being judged or that they are viewed as being selfish and irresponsible in choosing adoption, but it's actually the opposite. They are mature and wise beyond their years and they're able to make a decision that, with a child's needs, plays first. And it's all driven by the love that they have for their unborn child. There are hundreds of families waiting across Canada to adopt and they're just longing to be called mom, be called dad. And it doesn't make any difference if the child has grown with inside you or not. I mean, the love that, again, I experienced was immediate. I would also like to say to women out there who perhaps carry a baby that's been diagnosed with Down syndrome or health concerns, that there are many families who are waiting to adopt babies with exactly that, Down syndrome and health concerns, and those babies are wanted. Adoptive parents never doubt that the birth mother doesn't love the child, and that's not the reason that they're giving this baby up. It's the opposite. We know how much you love your unborn child and we remember that always every time we look into the eyes of our child Make a choice you can both live with Choose life Let's talk about one of the most emotionally charged subjects there is. Abortion. But in an unemotional way. Also, let's not touch on the question that most preoccupies discussion of the subject, whether abortion should be legal or illegal. The only question here is the moral one. Is ending the life of a human fetus moral? Let's begin with this question. Does the human fetus have any value and any rights? Now, it's a scientific fact that a human fetus is human life. Those who argue that the human fetus has no rights say that a fetus is not a person. But even if you believe that, it doesn't mean the fetus has no intrinsic value or no rights. There are many living beings that are not persons that have both value and rights. Dogs and other animals, for example. And that's moral argument number one. A living being doesn't have to be a person in order to have intrinsic moral value and rights. When challenged with this argument, people usually change the subject to the rights of the mother, meaning the right of a mother to end her fetus' life under any circumstance for any reason and at any time in her pregnancy. Is that moral? It is only if we believe that the human fetus has no intrinsic worth. But in most cases, nearly everyone believes that the human fetus has essentially infinite worth and an almost absolute right to live. When? When a pregnant woman wants to give birth. Then society and its laws regard the fetus as so valuable that if someone were to kill that fetus, that person could be prosecuted for homicide. Only if a pregnant woman doesn't want to give birth do many people regard the fetus as worthless. Now, does that make sense? It doesn't seem to. Either a human fetus has worth, or it doesn't. And this is moral argument number two. On what moral grounds does the mother alone decide a fetus is worth? We certainly don't do that with regard to a newborn child. It is society, not the mother or the father, that determines whether a newborn child has worth and a right to live. So the question is, why should that be different before the human being is born? Why does one person, a mother, get to determine whether that being has any right to live? People respond by saying that a woman has the right to control her body. Now that is entirely correct. The problem here, however, is that the fetus is not her body. It is in her body. It is a separate body. And that's moral argument number three. No one ever asks a pregnant woman, how's your body, when asking about the fetus? People ask, how's the baby? Moral argument number four. Virtually everyone agrees that the moment the baby comes out of the womb, killing the baby is murder. But deliberately killing it a few months before birth is considered no more morally problematic than extracting a tooth. How does that make sense? And finally, moral argument number five. Aren't there instances in which just about everyone, even among those who are pro-choice? Would it acknowledge that an abortion might not be moral? For example, would it be moral to abort a female fetus solely because the mother prefers boys to girls, as has happened millions of times in China and elsewhere? And one more example. Let's say science develops a method of determining whether a child in the womb is gay or straight. Would it be moral to kill a gay fetus because the mother didn't want a gay child? People may offer practical reasons not to criminalize all abortions. People may differ about when personhood begins and about the morality of abortion after rape or incest. But with regard to the vast majority of abortions, those of healthy women aborting a healthy fetus, let's be clear. Most of these abortions just aren't moral. Good societies can survive people doing immoral things. But a good society cannot survive if it calls immoral things moral. Thank you.