Animal sacrifice - Citizendia

Tauroctony of Mithras (British Museum, London)

A sheep is led to the altar, 6th century BC Corinthian fresco. A tauroctony is an artistic depiction of the mythic hero and ancient religious savior Mithras engaged in the ritual slaying of a bull The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a Roman mystery religion which became popular among the military in the late The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece.

1652 illustration of the Ashvamedha of Kaushalya in the Ramayana epic. The Ashvamedha ( Sanskrit: sa अश्वमेध aśvamedhá; " Horse sacrifice " was one of the most important royal Rituals Kaushalya ( Sanskrit: कौशल्या kauśalyā in the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, was the eldest of King Daśaratha 's The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki

Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning "to make sacred" from Old French, from Latin sacrificium: sacr, "sacred" A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature. Animal sacrifice has turned up in almost all cultures, from the Hebrews to the Greeks and Romans and from the Aztecs to the Yoruba. Hebrews (or Hebertes, Eberites, Hebreians, " Habiru " or " Habiri " Hebrew: עברים The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political The Yoruba (Yo•row•ba ( Yorùbá in Yoruba Orthography) are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or Ethnic groups in West Africa

Remnants of ancient rituals of animal sacrifice are apparent in many cultures, for example the Spanish bullfights, or kapparos in Judaism, or ritual prescriptions for slaughtering procedures like shechita or ḏabīḥah. Bullfighting or Tauromachy (from Greek ταυρομαχία - tauromachia, "bull-fight" is a traditional spectacle of Spain Kapparos or Kaparot ( כפרות, "atonements" is a traditional Jewish religious ritual that takes place on the eve of Yom Kippur Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Shechita ( Hebrew:he שחיטה is the Ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws. Dhabīḥah (ar ذَبِيْحَة is the prescribed method of Ritual slaughter of all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law Slaughtering lambs is a common practise in Islam (the meat being typically consumed, not burned).

1 Ancient world
2 Indo-European cultures
3 Judaism
4 Christianity
5 Islam
6 India
7 Strangites
8 Agriculture
9 References
10 See also

Ancient world

Animal sacrifices were common throughout the Ancient Near East, as well as some of theMediterranean islands. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq For example the Minoan culture of Phaistos on Crete reveals basins for animal sacrifice dating to the period 2000 to 1700 BC. Phaistos (Φαιστός also transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Phaestus is an ancient city on the Island of Crete Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the ^[1]

Indo-European cultures

Further information: Proto-Indo-European religion and Horse sacrifice

Judaism

See main article: Korban

Many Jewish sources discuss the deeper meaning behind korbanot. The existence of similarities among the deities and religious practices of the Indo-European (IE peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-European Many Indo-European branches show evidence for Horse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from a PIE ritual. This article discusses the historical religious practices in the Vedic time period see Hinduism and Indian religions for details The Ashvamedha ( Sanskrit: sa अश्वमेध aśvamedhá; " Horse sacrifice " was one of the most important royal Rituals Ancient Roman religion encompasses the collection of Beliefs and Rituals practised in Ancient Rome in the form of Cult practices The Equirria (Festival of Mars - held on February 27, First Equirria and March 14, Second Equirria were holy days with religious and military significance Tauromachy (from Greek ταυρομαχία - tauromachia, "bull-fight" from ταύρος - tauros, "bull" + In the Roman empire of the second to fourth centuries taurobolium referred to practices involving the sacrifice of a bull, which after mid-second Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. A holocaust is a religious Animal sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire In Ancient Greece, a Hecatomb ( Ancient Greek ἑκατόμβη / hekatómbê) was a sacrifice to the gods of 100 cattle ( hecaton = one hundred Celtic polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices of ancient Celts, prior to the Christianization of the Celtic-speaking lands Germanic paganism refers to the religious beliefs of the Germanic peoples preceding Christianization. The blót ( Old Norse plural same as singular refers to Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and Elves. Korban ( Hebrew: "sacrifice" קרבן (plural Korbanot קרבנות in Judaism, is the term for a variety of sacrificial offerings For example, Sefer Hachinuch explains that an individual bringing an animal sacrifice for a sin understands that he personally should have been sacrificed as punishment for the rebellion against God inherent his the sin, but God mercifully accepts the sacrifice in his or her place. Sefer ha-Chinuch ( ספר החינוך Hebrew: "Book of Education" often simply "the Chinuch " is a work which systematically discusses God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Furthermore, it is fitting that an animal is used as a sacrifice because at the moment of sin, the individual in question disregarded his elevated human soul, effectively acting as an animal.

Christianity

Further information: Lamb of God

References to animal sacrifice appear in the New Testament, such as the parents of Jesus sacrificing two doves (Luke 2:24) and the Apostle Paul performing a Nazirite vow even after the death of Christ (Acts 21:23-26). Lamb of God ( Latin: Agnus Dei) is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) A nazirite or nazarite, (in Hebrew: נזיר nazir) refers to a Jew who took the Ascetic vow described in.

The Christ is referred to by his apostles as "the Lamb of God," the one to whom all sacrifices pointed (Hebrews 10). Lamb of God ( Latin: Agnus Dei) is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament and consequently in the Christian

Islam

Wealthy Muslims sacrifice an animal during the Festival of Sacrifice (Eid ul-Adha). Eid al-Adha ( Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā, Urdu: بقرعید or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated This is also the time of (Hajj)(Pilgrimage to Mecca). The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Usually a sheep or goat (sometimes cattle or even camel) is sacrificed then distributed to the poor, in commemoration of God's forgiveness of Ibrahim (Abraham) from his vow to sacrifice his son Ismael. The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the Ibrahim ( إبراهيم, Ibrāhīm) or Ebrahim ( Ebrāhīm) is a Arabic name given after prophet Ibrahim אַבְרָהָם Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Ishmael ( Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Standard Yišmaʿel Tiberian Yišmāʿêl Arabic: إسماعيل

India

Though most of the hindus are vegetarians, there are some temples in India where goats are sacrificed and the blood tasted by the priests as part of a festival. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe Semmunisamy temple in poosariyur village in Erode district of Tamil Nadu is one of the places where this festival takes place every year on the Tamil month of Chithirai. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Erode ( Tamil: ஈரோடு) is one of the ten municipal corporations Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India. Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern }The Tamil Calendar is used in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in India, and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, ^[2]

Strangites

Animal sacrifice was instituted in the Book of the Law of the Lord, a scripture accepted by apostate mormons called Strangites, founded by James J. Strang in 1844. The Book of the Law of the Lord is a book accepted as Scripture by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement with more than a thousand members James Jesse Strang (March 21 1813 &ndash July 9 1856 was one of three major contenders for leadership of the Latter Day Saint movement during the 1844 Succession Crisis Strang was a lawyer and newspaper editor from New York who had converted to Mormonism just prior to Joseph Smith's murder, and he claimed to have been appointed by Smith to succeed him as the Church President. Although the majority of Latter Day Saints rejected his claims, Strang managed to gain a sizable following before being murdered in 1856. ^[3]

In 1851, Strang announced publication of the Book of the Law of the Lord, purported to be a translation of the "Plates of Laban" that figure prominently in parts of The Book of Mormon. This article is about Laban a person in The Book of Mormon. For other uses see Laban. The Book of Mormon is a Sacred text of the churches in the Latter Day Saint movement. Chapters 7 and 40 dealt with animal sacrifices, for forgiveness of sins^[4] and as a part of Strangite celebration rituals. ^[5]

Given the prohibition on sacrifices for sin contained in III Nephi 9:19-20,^[6] Strang did not require sin offerings. Rather, he focused on sacrifice as an element of religious celebrations,^[7] especially the commemoration of his own coronation as king (July 8, 1850). A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a Monarch with regal power specifically involving the placement of a crown upon his or her head and the ^[8] The head of every house, from the king to his lowest subject, was to offer "a heifer, or a lamb, or a dove. Every man a clean beast, or a clean fowl, according to his household. "^[9]

The killing of sacrifices was a prerogative of Strangite Priests,^[10] but female Priests were specifically barred from participating in this aspect of the Priestly office. ^[11]

"Firstfruits" offerings were also demanded of all Strangite agricultural harvests. ^[12] Animal sacrifices are no longer practiced by the Strangites, though belief in their correctness is still required:)

Agriculture

Animal sacrifice is still practiced today by most major agricultural companies in most regions. It's believed by scientists that nitrates in animal blood helps promote crop growth and aerate the soil. However in Santeria, such animal offerings constitute an extremely small portion of what are termed "ebos" – ritual activities that include offerings, prayer and deeds. Some villages in Greece also sacrifice animals to Orthodox saints in a practise known as kourbània. The practice, while publicly condemned and not often talked about, is tolerated and considered necessary for the benefits it provides to the agricultural industry and the sense of community it engenders.

References

^ C.Michael Hogan, Knossos Fieldnotes, The Modern Antiquarian (2007)
^ Times of India, Chennai Edition, 4 May 2008
^ http://www.strangite.org/History.htm.
^ Book of the Law of the Lord: Being a Translation From the Egyptian of the Law Given to Moses in Sinai. (St. James, 1851), pp. 106-09. This article uses the expanded Edition of 1856: http://www.mormonbeliefs.com/book_of_the_law.htm. The 1851 edition is at http://www.strangite.org/Law.htm.
^ Book of the Law, pp. 291-98.
^ Book of Mormon.
^ Book of the Law, pp. 293-97. See also http://www.strangite.org/Offering.htm.
^ Book of the Law, pg. 293.
^ Book of the Law, pp. 293-94.
^ Book of the Law, pg. 199, note 2.
^ Book of the Law, pg. 199.
^ Book of the Law, pp. 295-97.

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