For most, the greatest day of their lives, is the day their child is born
For most, there is no greater love, than the love for their children.
So, there is no greater horror than child sacrifice.
I remember as a child hearing of the Canaanites and their prolific altars filled with the blood of children. I was horrified, angry, and it justified their utter destruction.
How could they do such things?
They didn’t.
But this rhetoric has driven millions to feel the same emotions I did.
But it’s a lie.
The Canaanites, who would become the Phoenicians, were superior in everything they did.
They were the “first Ikea,” making ships that could be assembled anywhere.
They formed the first alphabet, which is the foundation of what we use today.
They sailed and traded along the entire African coast.
They discovered and specialized in purple dye, which is why they were named the Phoenicians. Phoinos is the Greek name for the color the Phoenicians produced.
Their stellar business acumen led to enormous success and made them the envy of the ancient world.
As envy will do, their success led to their demise. They had to be conquered.
After all, they were Africans, and Greece and Rome were “superior.” The mere presence of the Phoenicians dispelled that racist myth.
An alliance of envy with the Hebrews sealed the Phoenicians’ demise and furthered the lie that they were baby killers.
If they weren’t baby killers, their annihilation wasn’t justified.
Through manipulating empathy and instilling fear in the masses of child sacrifice, their ethnic cleansing was acceptable.
We know child sacrifice was prominent in the ancient world, because it’s the foundation for most biblical stories. From the Flood, to Abraham and Isaac, to the ultimate child sacrifice, Jesus; killing kids forms most of the widely known stories.
But the Canaanites were the problem?
Yes! (Insert sarcasm)
The first commandment states the God of Abraham was the best, and the Canaanites worshiped Baal. The Hebrews literally turned Baal into the devil: Beelzebub. Manufacturing the first “Satanic child sacrifice.”
Boys were the prize of the patriarchy, so of course, the slander included the Canaanites/Phoenicians sacrificing baby boys.
Astarte was their Goddess, and they practiced ritual sex. Pubescent girls gave their virginity at Astarte’s temple. So, the Hebrews demonized sex, and virginity was labeled a prize only for the patriarchy. Non-virgins were vilified, labeled trash, and banished, if not killed, from the misogynistic societies.
The Goddess represented feminine power and was soft and round, with big hips and full breasts. So the patriarchy said softness and roundness were bad and ugly, and turned full breasts that fed children, into sex objects.
After condemning and discarding most of femininity, the patriarchy used a woman’s heart to hate and fear others; claiming the enemy was killing the children women cared for the most.
Unlike in the Americas, there is virtually no evidence of Canaanite/Phoenician child sacrifice. Logically, if it was such a large part of their lives and they were fully literate, wildly successful, and enormously wealthy, they would have boasted of such practices. But there isn’t any evidence, just a ton of projection and finger pointing from their conquerors.
When Rome conquered the Phoenician capital of Carthage, in the Second Punic War, the Phoenician library was destroyed, burning all their intellectual property and religious texts. Rome conveniently claimed the library contained proof of the baby murders. However, history shows that justification of annihilation is often prized and widely distributed. But in this case, they destroyed it. Ok…
Phoenician art of a priest holding a baby is used as “evidence” by proponents of the child sacrifice fable. But, Christians have similar pictures of Jesus, claiming it shows his love.
They claim Phoenician child cemeteries prove sacrifice. But female DNA, animal bones, and children up to 5 years old prove it was just a cemetery for children.
They claim unusual reverence for these cemeteries, but then assert the Phoenicians, widely and without mercy filled these graveyards.
For over 3,000 years, child sacrifice has been the ultimate boogeyman. The “proof” of one group’s superiority and the justification of eliminating the other.
But, just like today with Qanon, it is based on racism, envy, slander, and it is emotional terrorism.
It is horrific lies and scare tactics used on the naïve and vulnerable, to incite anger against their neighbor.
It is the shredding of our heartstrings, and they use it for their agenda, power, and egos.
It is a shameless lie.
Lies that are used to perpetuate racism, division, hysteria, and murder.
Lies used to win wars, not save lives.
Lies that are used to instill hate, where our deepest love resides.
It is the lies of white supremacy and the inhumanity of people of color.
The facts show it is only projection and distraction, but the facts also show it has been effective for over 3,000 years.
It shouldn’t have been believed then, and it shouldn’t be believed now.
A lack of proof is the fact.
The lies are clear.
But some still refuse to see. That only proves they haven’t evolved in three millennia, and chances are, their own faith once condoned it.
