God and animal sacrifice

[Guest guest]

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*http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/god14.htm*

*Why does God love animal sacrifice?

 

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For most people, the last chapter offers sufficient evidence to prove to

themselves that God did not write the Bible. Clearly, an all-loving God

cannot be a huge proponent of slavery. Therefore, since the Bible specifies

that slavery is perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, it is easy to

conclude that primitive men wrote the Bible rather than God.

 

However, if you need additional evidence, then we can approach the Bible

from another angle and reach the same conclusion.

 

To any normal human being, the idea of animal and human sacrifice is both

abhorrent and nauseating. The dictionary defines " sacrifice " in this way:

 

The act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homage,

especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or a person.

[ref<http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=sacrifice>]

 

 

This, quite clearly, is something that primitive savages would do. There is

no need to beat around the bush: We all know, without question, that animal

and human sacrifice is an absurdity. Sacrificing and burning an animal on an

altar does not have any beneficial effect for anyone.

 

<http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/video2.htm>

Watch the video <http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/video2.htm> The Aztecs in

Mexico would take a virgin to the top of a pyramid, slice her still-beating

heart out of her chest and eat it -- or *whatever* -- and we all know that

their practices were insane and barbaric beyond belief.

[ref<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/topics/human_scacrifice\

..html>]

The death of the virgin did absolutely nothing to improve crop yield or

rainfall, nor did it " appease " the Aztec gods (since those gods were

completely imaginary). It is impossible to understand why the Aztecs would

do something so bizarre and disgusting. Was it mass delusion? Rampant

superstition taken to the Nth degree? Total desperation? A horrific

combination? There is no way to know, but we do know that the behavior of

the Aztecs was insane.

 

Any normal person is disgusted by religious sacrifice, and you would imagine

that God is too. Ritual slaughter like this has nothing to do with an

all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, prayer-answering creator of the

universe. The idea of killing an animal, splattering its blood about and

then burning its flesh is, quite obviously, absurd and ridiculous. God would

have nothing to do with animal sacrifice.

 

But then we examine the Bible -- the holy word of God and the single

authoritative source of all information about Jesus -- and find passages

like these:

 

Leviticus Chapter 1

 

The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He

said, " Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an

offering to the Lord , bring as your offering an animal from either the herd

or the flock.

 

" If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a

male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of

Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord . He is to lay his hand on

the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to

make atonement for him. He is to slaughter the young bull before the Lord ,

and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it

against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is

to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the

priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then

Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and

the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. He is to wash the inner

parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the

altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing

to the Lord .

 

" If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the

sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect. He is to slaughter

it at the north side of the altar before the Lord , and Aaron's sons the

priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. He is to

cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head

and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. He is to wash the

inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of it

and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire,

an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

 

" If the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he is to

offer a dove or a young pigeon. The priest shall bring it to the altar,

wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out

on the side of the altar. He is to remove the crop with its contents and

throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are. He shall tear

it open by the wings, not severing it completely, and then the priest shall

burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt

offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

 

Burning flesh is an aroma pleasing to the Lord? Does this make any sense to

you as a rational human being?

 

Here is another example:

 

Leviticus Chapter 5

 

'If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public

charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will

be held responsible.

 

'Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean-whether the

carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean

creatures that move along the ground-even though he is unaware of it, he has

become unclean and is guilty.

 

'Or if he touches human uncleanness-anything that would make him

unclean-even though he is unaware of it, when he learns of it he will be

guilty.

 

'Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether

good or evil-in any matter one might carelessly swear about-even though he

is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty.

 

'When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what

way he has sinned and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must

bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering;

and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

 

'If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young

pigeons to the Lord as a penalty for his sin-one for a sin offering and the

other for a burnt offering. He is to bring them to the priest, who shall

first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its

neck, not severing it completely, and is to sprinkle some of the blood of

the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must

be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. The priest

shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and

make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be

forgiven.

 

You are an intelligent human being, so think this through. Here is the logic

expressed in Leviticus chapter 5:

 

" Today I accidentally touched something that was 'ceremonially

unclean,' and I didn't know about it at the time, but fortunately a priest

brought it to my attention, and I am guilty. Now, I can't afford a lamb. But

I can get two young pigeons for a shekel over at Saul's bird emporium, and

then I can take them both to the priest. He will wring the head from the

neck of one of them, but not sever it completely. And he will sprinkle the

blood, and drain the rest. And then the priest will burn the other pigeon.

Then I am forgiven. Thank God! "

 

What does your common sense tell you about this? It probably tells you that

it is impossible to imagine an all-loving, all-knowing God demanding this,

and you are correct.

 

Here is another example:

 

Leviticus Chapter 7, *The priest's share*

 

The Lord said to Moses, " Say to the Israelites: 'Anyone who brings a

fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as his sacrifice to

the Lord . With his own hands he is to bring the offering made to the Lord

by fire; he is to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the

breast before the Lord as a wave offering. The priest shall burn the fat on

the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. You are to give the

right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.

The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering

shall have the right thigh as his share. From the fellowship offerings of

the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is

presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their

regular share from the Israelites.' "

 

Does it seem more likely that God commanded this, or that primitive men

looking for the " priest's share " wrote this?

 

Here is another example:

 

Leviticus Chapter 9

 

[Moses] then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and

Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the ram

and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on

the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also

brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their

right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their

right feet. Then he sprinkled blood against the altar on all sides. He took

the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of

the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.

 

Then from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the

Lord, he took a cake of bread, and one made with oil, and a wafer; he put

these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. He put all these in the

hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the Lord as a wave

offering. Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar

on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an

offering made to the Lord by fire. He also took the breast-Moses' share of

the ordination ram-and waved it before the Lord as a wave offering, as the

Lord commanded Moses.

 

We have Moses putting the blood of a freshly slaughtered animal on the ears,

thumbs and toes of other people.

 

What does your common sense tell you about these passages?

 

When looking at passages like these in the Bible, everyone can see the

problem. Animal sacrifice is abhorrent, and it has nothing to do with an

all-knowing and all-loving God.

 

For most people, no further evidence is needed. It is obvious that primitive

men wrote the Bible, not God. God would have nothing to do with the Bible if

these passages are in it, and the Bible is an all-or-nothing book (see Chapter

13 <http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/god13.htm> for details). No

all-powerful, all-loving God wants people to kill animals, splatter their

blood, cut them up into pieces, arrange the pieces on an altar and burn them

so that he can " smell the pleasing aroma. " There is no difference between

the Bible's book of Leviticus and the insanity of the Aztecs.

 

Therefore, in the same way that the slavery passages in the previous chapter

prove that God did not write the Bible, these animal sacrifice passages

prove that God did not write the Bible. The whole notion of an all-knowing,

all-powerful God purposefully writing this material is patently absurd to

any rational human being.

 

Key PointAll of this material about animal sacrifice is found in the Old

Testament of the Bible. This is the same place where we find the Ten

Commandments. Only about 20 pages separate Exodus chapter 20 -- the source

of the Ten Commandments -- from Leviticus Chapter 1.

 

Keep in mind that all of this material about animal sacrifice is found in

the Old Testament of the Bible. This is the same place where we find the Ten

Commandments. Only about 20 pages separate Exodus chapter 20 -- the source

of the Ten Commandments -- from Leviticus Chapter 1.

 

*Human Sacrifice*

 

If you are a Christian, how do you handle these passages in the Bible? A

Christian has a problem, because it is hard to put faith in a book that

harbors numerous passages where God demands animal sacrifice. As with the

slavery problem discussed in the previous chapter, there are two possible

approaches for a Christian:

 

1. Pretend that the passages are not there and change the subject when

they are mentioned.

 

2. Try to develop some sort of highly convoluted rationalization on

God's behalf to explain the passages.

 

Christians tend to take the latter approach, and then they do something

quite unexpected. You would imagine that Christians would try to distance

themselves as far as possible from animal sacrifice. But they do not.

 

Suprisingly, many Christians embrace these parts of the Bible. Only in the

context of this abhorent practice does the horrific death of Jesus on the

cross (as portrayed in the movie The Passion of the

Christ<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=B00028HBKM/teenresourcecentA/>)

make even a modicum of sense. For Christians, the human race had to actually

move into the realm of *human sacrifice* to finally appease their God.

Senselessly killing animals was not sufficient. According to the Christian

faith, Jesus is the *human sacrifice* that satisfied God.

 

For example, here is something that a Christian minister might say:

 

If you read all those dry regulations for sin sacrifices in Leviticus

and if you read about the requirements for the Passover lamb, you will

realize that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for sin. He is the first-born

son, not of a sheep or a goat, but of God. He is innocent of all sin, He

volunteers of His own free will—that is, He was convicted only by His own

confession. He freely submitted to His Father's will. He is, by the

Levitical code, a perfect sacrifice, and therefore He perfectly removes all

sin. He meets all the requirements for a fellowship offering, and thus

places us in fellowship with God. Since even on the cross, none of His bones

were broken, He also meets all the requirements for a Passover lamb, whose

blood protects us from the angel of death, thus He prepares us for the

Resurrection.[ref <http://www.kencollins.com/question-13.htm>]

 

As uncomfortable as this sounds, this is the core belief of the Christian

church. Christ had to die as a *human sacrifice* for our sins to appease the

" God " of Leviticus. The most prominent religion on this planet, practiced by

two billion people, has *human sacrifice* as its central tenet.

 

When we read about animal sacrifice in the Old Testament, what we discover

is a God who must be insane. No rational human being can accept that an

all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God could possibly support animal

sacrifice.

 

But then we turn to the New Testament and find that God has moved beyond

insanity. God becomes a monstrous absurdity who demands *human sacrifice*.

In other words, Christians are dwelling in the same realm as the

virgin-killing Aztecs.

 

*Contemplating the crucifixion*

 

Have you ever thought about how bizarre the crucifixion story is? Imagine

the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe sitting on his

magnificent throne in heaven. He looks down onto earth and says to himself:

 

Those evil humans down on earth. I hate what they are doing. All this

sin...

 

Since I am all-knowing I know exactly what the humans are doing and I

understand exactly why they commit each sin. Since I created the humans in

my own image and personally programmed human nature into their brains, I am

the direct author of all of this sin. The instant I created them I knew

exactly what would happen with every single human being right down to the

nanosecond level for all eternity. If I didn't like how it was going to turn

out, I could have simply changed them when I created them. And since I am

perfect, I know exactly what I am doing. But ignore all that. I hate all

these people doing exactly what I perfectly designed them to do and knew

they would do from the moment I created them...

 

So here's what I am going to do. I will artificially inseminate a

virgin. She will give birth to an incarnated version of me. The humans will

eventually crucify and kill the incarnated me. That will, finally, make me

happy. Yes, sending myself down and having the humans crucify me -- that

will satisfy me. I feel much better now.

 

It makes no sense, does it? Why would an all-knowing being need to have

humans kill himself (Jesus is God, after all) to make himself happy?

Especially since it is a perfect God who set the whole thing in motion

exactly the way he wanted it? The whole story of the crucifixion is absurd

from top to bottom if you actually stop to think about it.

 

Chapter 21 <http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/god21.htm> explains where this

bizarre story actually comes from. It has nothing to do with " God " .

 

*Thinking about our sacrificial God*

 

Have you ever stopped to think about it? If you are a Christian, have you

ever thought about how uncomfortable this is? You are worshipping a God who

demanded animal sacrifice, and then was finally " appeased " by human

sacrifice. Many Christians seem to actually revel in human sacrifice. How

else can we explain the tens of millions of Christians who flocked to the

movie The Passion of the

Christ<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=B00028HBKM/teenresourcecentA/>?

 

 

Key PointMany Christians actually seem to revel in human sacrifice. Tens

of millions of Christians flocked to the movie " The Passion of the Christ " .

 

Have you ever consciously thought about how truly uncomfortable this

situation is?

 

Please simply take a moment and think about what you have read in this

chapter. Here are two points of view for you to consider:

 

1. God wrote the Bible and the Bible is the word of the Lord. God

demanded animal sacrifice and he specified how he wanted the sacrifices done

in minute detail in the Bible because God enjoys animal sacrifice. These

ritualized animal killings allowed humans to atone for our many sins against

God, and the aroma of the burning flesh was pleasing to the Lord. By moving

to the level of human sacrifice, Christians were finally able to appease

their God.

 

2. Animal sacrifice is absurd, abhorrent, ridiculous and revolting.

Human sacrifice even more so. The Bible was written by primitive men, not by

God. Those primitive men were as insane as the Aztecs.

 

Use both your head and your heart to analyze the situation. Which point of

view makes more sense to you?

 

Now, let's look at another example that is just as outrageous...