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I dont understand that either because Christians believed in sacrifices all through the bible until Jesus Died and is conciters the Last and Great sacrifies. what is the point on killing animal because you did something wrong? is nt that adding to your list of crime? if i had to kill something everytime i did something wrong that would stop me because i could not stand it...but i know people who would happyly do something wrong all the time sacrifising would be a hobby.

and now christians say every one else sacrifies animals ect.. and things it so horrable but wego around telling other that God Killed He ONLY Son for are sins and we dont believe in sacrificaly killing?

gee know wonder non-christians dont believe? that doesnt make sence at all when you put it that way!!!

Wow

You guys were busy while I was gone lol!

You have to admit, it's been a run of good questions. I'm glad the Wiccan expert is back.... <img src="/images/graemlins/rolling.gif" alt="" />

I think in modern society we often forget that we must kill to live. Even vegetarians are killing something to live. Life was lived closer to the bone back then.

So my own personal view is that because slaughter occurred frequently as a matter of course, that to make it ritualistic and to dedicate that sacrifice to some cause is a natural inclination of an attempt to show devotion to a higher power.

In Egypt, bread was baked daily and put on huge tables as "sacrifices" to the Gods. At the end of the day, all the bread was distributed to the poor. New day, new cycle begins. Wonderful, really. If only we did the same today <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The end of animal sacrifice in religion seems to take step with mankind "furthering" itself along as an intelligent species. However, the truth could well be that we are not becoming more enlightened by this, but only avoiding nature, and our own essence. The butchering still occurs, only with someone else doing this for us, leaving us with neat packages in the store (along with pleasant music to listen to while we buy it).

Who is to say then that animal sacrifices are brutal? Is it much more barbaric not to honor the animal we eat by buying a wrapped commodity in a store that doesn't show us that we are as "red in tooth and claw" as any other carnivore?

ouch good point!!! i had a picture in mind that they left the animal to rot and just left it to on a altar or something. i didnt think about them eating it for surviveal and that was there way of showing respect.

Nothing was left to waste in ancient societies. Food was as prescious as anything else. I love the example of the Egyptian bread offerings.

Nowadays, when we share cakes and ale with each other during ritual, a portion is left as a libation to honor the Lord and Lady. Generally that bit of cake and juice (or whatever it is that day) is left out in nature to either feed the critters or return to the earth.


And you are right, Rae! This has been a great discussion with good questions and dialogue!

You know, I was thinking there was this one instance where I was with other Pagans and it was like an animal sacrifice....

I was at a Pagan gathering a few years back. It was in California and it was early summer. There had a been drought that winter, so it was really dry. Really, really dry. And the rattlesnakes were coming out early.

Now, it turns out rattlers are very, very territorial, so if you've got one someplace that's not so good and you try and relocate it, the snake will just return to it's old territory.

So, all that combined one morning when it became necessary for the staff at the retreat to kill a rattlesnake as it was hanging out right in the middle of what was a busy area with humans and human children. Now, being a diverse group of Pagans, there were immediately two strong reactions:

1) Wow, I'm sorry we had to kill that snake. We should do some sort of ritual to honor it.

and

2) Wow, I'm sorry we had to kill that snake. We should eat it, to make it useful and to honor it.

Essentially, you had a vegetarian and carnivorous interpretation of the same thing going on. In the end, a group of vegetarian Pagans went out into the field and held a ritual to honor it and bury a bit of it, and the Texas-based food service cooked that snake up good, and a group of meat-eating Pagans held a brief ritual of forgivness and thanks at a dining table and then sat down to eat.

So, I guess that's as close as I've come to seeing Pagans make an animal sacrifice.

that kinda like praying over a Sunday potluck at the church, the only thing is we go to the store and buy the food already killed!

how has your vacation Fiona?

it was beautiful and very relaxing, thank you for asking <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Rae, I think that is a beautiful thing, to take something that was necessary for the camp and make it a ritual of honor and forgiveness.

i agree!!