by Frank Baugh

Created on: September 17, 2009   Last Updated: September 18, 2009

I know what The Bible says about salvation: the only way to salvation is through the narrow gate of Jesus Christ. I have been a Christian for years and read the Gospels numerous times. I am familiar with the material.

But have you ever heard of Jephthah? Turn your Bibles to Judges Chapter 11. Jephthah was the son of Gilead by a prostitute and purportedly a mighty warrior, but because he was the son of a prostitute his half brothers wouldn't have anything to do with him so Jephthah had to live away from them in the land of Tob where he hung out with "worthless fellows." Now war broke out between the Ammonites and the Israelites and they sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob and apparently he was such a good warrior they offered him full command. Well, Jephthah said to them "you guys didn't want me around before, what made you change your minds?" And the Elders of Gilead said "we need you now to fight the Ammonites and if you do so we'll make you head over us all!" So, Jephthah decided that this was a sweet deal and took them up on it at Mizpah.

First of all Jephthah tried a little politics and tried to persuade the Ammonites that they had no good cause for going to war. You see, it all had to do with an event dating back to the Israelites wandering around in the Wilderness with Moses, and they had a spat with the Amorites, who got their tails kicked by the Israelites, and lost some land that the Ammonites feel like they want back now. Jephthah tried to reason with the Ammonites that the land had been won fair and square, but the Ammonites would have none of it.

Well, at this point Jephthah gets a little nervous, and you know how good religious people often do when nervous about something, they make promises to God that they probably shouldn't. That's what Jephthah did. He shot his mouth off and said that if God would give him victory over the Ammonites the first thing that came out of his house to greet him when he came home he would offer up as a burnt offering.

Well, God must have thought that was a pretty good deal because Jephthah smote the Ammonites "from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow."

Guess what the first thing to run out of the house dancing to greet him was when he came home after his victory? His only daughter; His virgin daughter (it's always better when they are virgins as far as The Bible is concerned). Do you know what Jephthah did? He offered her up as a burnt offering.

That, my friends, is a human sacrifice, and it is right there, approved of, in the pages of The Bible. So the next time you want your prayers to work maybe you should consider offering up a youngster, or at least the family pet maybe.

Now, this same Bible tells me that Jesus is the only way to this God. Seems that Jesus paid a pretty hefty price to be the Savior. Didn't he amount to human sacrifice, too? Didn't his blood have to be shed to atone for the sins of mankind?

This all seems to be creeping up on being pretty barbaric.

St. Paul on the other hand does offer a pretty reasonable view on mankind and sin. He says in Romans 2:14-16: For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Now that sounds reasonable. That sounds like it is saying that if you follow the good laws written on your heart that you can be excused. That's a lot better than someone having to shed blood or get burnt up.

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