Rabbis Call for Return of Animal Sacrifice

Rabbis Call for Return of Animal Sacrifice

Source Link: www.cnn.com

Via CNN

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A fringe group of extremist rabbis wants to resume the biblical practice of animal sacrifice at an explosive religious site in Jerusalem, members said Wednesday.

The request defied centuries of religious bans and triggered a stiff protest from a Muslim leader.

When the Jewish Temples stood in the Old City of Jerusalem more than 2,000 year ago, animal sacrifice was a centerpiece of the religion.

(visit the link for the full news article)

mod edit to remove editorial comment


[edit on 1-3-2007 by DontTreadOnMe]

Well Its pretty much set that they intend on building that 3rd temple and they want to keep in practice.

BIG PROPHECY WARNING HERE GUYS!


The return of animal sacrifices is explicitly desrcibed in the book of revelation as marking the begining of the end times! be on guard guys, with the situation with Israel, Iran, Russia, and China, biblical pieces are falling into place.

Seeing that humans are technically animals, they could trim down the population a bit.

But seriously, animal sacrifice is stupid and wasteful. I guess it doesn't matter what religion you belong to, if you're an extremist, you're logical part of the brain has probably died long ago.

Oh yeah. I'm vegan, and I think PETA is a joke. I can't stand them.

[edit on 3/1/2007 by Arcane Demesne]

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
BIG PROPHECY WARNING HERE GUYS!


The return of animal sacrifices is explicitly desrcibed in the book of revelation as marking the begining of the end times! be on guard guys, with the situation with Israel, Iran, Russia, and China, biblical pieces are falling into place.

I'm not holding my breath. Various Christian factions have been heralding the end times since the first century. I'm more worried about PETA.

Originally posted by befoiled



I'm not holding my breath. Various Christian factions have been heralding the end times since the first century. I'm more worried about PETA.

Im not saying go stalk up on food and water, Im saying that these things were described 2,000 years ago and are happening now.

Yes, lets spill blood! That is what I would want if I were God! That would appease me Can anyone say "Return to the dark ages"?

How ridiculous !

As if it's not bad enough that Christianity is based on the ignorance of goat-herders of a couple of thousand years ago ------- current goat-herders are STILL stuck in the same ignorant mind-set !

And what an INSULT to God it would be if rabbis once again began slitting the throats of 'sacrificial' goats ! They must believe God has the same low-life mentality as they have !

God seems to give Earth a wide berth (and who could blame him ! ) but I'd like to think that this attempt to reintroduce animal-sacrifice would p*ss even him off to the point he felt he just had to put the record straight once and for all by appearing on Oprah or Letterman and saying:

" Listen, you numb-nuts, it was never ME who wanted all that old animal-sacrifice back in the year dot ...... it was YOU ! YOU with your atavistic blood-worship that you inherited from your ignorant ancestors. YOU are the ones who're fixated on blood, not me. Are you INSANE ? WHY would I -- God -- want you to slaughter animals to me? It was YOUR insane idea from the start. YOU live and die by blood --- not me. It's YOU who is OBSESSED with blood. It's YOU who are SO ignorant that you're even obsessed with menstruation and deem that somehow 'bad'. Ignorant clods. You're no better than primitive Witch Doctors, seeking to dazzle and awe the other goat-herders. Are you SO IMPOTENT that the only thrill you get is by slitting a goat's throat ? You call yourselves men? You believe yourself religious leaders? Oh, I wash my hands of you. You're stuck in the Stone Age and you LOVE it there ! Go kill goats if that's what gives you a thrill. But don't you DARE claim you're doing it in my name or for my sake! Or the next throat to be slit will be your own ! Now get your ignorant selves out of my sight ! "

Dock 6, Thank you! I agree with you 110%. Like I said "Dark Ages"!

The old religion was centered at jerusalem, and there was only one temple in all of judaism, the temple ar jerusalem. It was there that Priests, not rabbis, who are just religious teachers, conducted the rites and rituals of judaism, and it was only there that it could be done. With the destruction of the temple, you could no longer have the sacrifices.

So what has changed that makes these rabbis think the practice should be reinstated?

Apparently, they are calling themselves the Re-Established Sannhedrin. But they are not cohens, no, they are not the actual preistly class in judaism, they don't have the authority to do these things.

And notice that these guys want to have the sacrifice at the site, even though the temple is gone, its not a jewish site right now, its a Muslim Mosque that is sitting there. Its almost blasphemous to judaism to conduct high holy jewish rites in a muslim mosque (or a christian church, or anywhere that isn't a proper jewish temple).

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
The return of animal sacrifices is explicitly desrcibed in the book of revelation as marking the begining of the end times!

Where? What other 'specific' things from revelation have happened and yet, the world didn't end?


As far as it being 'primitive and savage' to have animal sacrifice, I think most of the religions that do carry out sacrifice, like santeria and others, would take great offense at being called such.

[edit on 1-3-2007 by Nygdan]

Dock6

Just to clear things up according to the old testament it was G-d himself that told Abraham to sacrifice a goat instead of Isaac on the altar. If you recall G-d tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his only son (or rather favorite son). When he was just about to slit his throat G-d told him 'don't send your hand on the child' and told him to sacrifice a goat instead.

In my view this is representative of the transfer in the ancient world from human sacrifice (of the Pagans who worshiped idols of animals) to animal sacrifice. This signifies the shift of the past where animals were revered as gods and therefore valuing animals as being superior to humans of lower castes to valuing human life above that of animals.

Ya know, when I picked up the bible to start reading it when I was a mere teenager, and I got to the part about the butcherin' and BBQ'in'.
It was at that point where my journey toward Atheism began (I'm agnostic still),
I asked myself why the creator of the Universe would require animal sacrifices to be happy?
Why was god so into BBQ's, and why did these blind shepherds fall for this so hard that they gave up their best animal? (it would be better for the integrity of the flock quality to sacrifice the worst animal actually)

It's almost like some herder got really bored and killed his neighbours best goat, and he got out of punishment by saying god made him to it, (never mind the devil) next thing you know it's the big fad now.

"Abe! Hey Abe, showith thou up to the BBQ!"
"Yes, I hath will also bringeth my sacrimental keg of beer"

"Abe, tell everyone god will punish them if they don't bring meat for the spit , I hate moochers "

[edit on 1-3-2007 by Toadmund]

Nygdan,

The old religion was centered at jerusalem, and there was only one temple in all of judaism, the temple ar jerusalem. It was there that Priests, not rabbis, who are just religious teachers, conducted the rites and rituals of judaism, and it was only there that it could be done. With the destruction of the temple, you could no longer have the sacrifices.

I am not sure that what you said is accurate. Previous to the temple in Jerusalem there was the temple in Gilgal which was essentially a big tent. Sacrifices occurred there as well.
Rabbis can be priests or Cohanim as well, it is hereditary and passes from father to son. The Rabbis know how sacrifices occurred back in the old days and they can perform it if they are Cohanim.
The only thing that makes Jerusalem's temple so attractive is that it was a symbol. The prime of Judaism.

Originally posted by JudahMaccabbi
In my view this is representative of the transfer in the ancient world from human sacrifice (of the Pagans who worshiped idols of animals) to animal sacrifice. This signifies the shift of the past where animals were revered as gods and therefore valuing animals as being superior to humans of lower castes to valuing human life above that of animals.

I gather that you're Jewish (don't ask me how - I guess I'm a bit psychic or something) so to me you have some credibility on this subject.

I am curious as to whether you view this return to animal sacrifice as a 'good' thing. I see this as a "two steps forward, one step back" in terms of religious evolution. Do you think that the conservative and reform sects may view this as barbaric in this age?

Originally posted by Toadmund
I asked myself why the creator of the Universe would require animal sacrifices to be happy?
Why was god so into BBQ's, and why did these blind shepherds fall for this so hard that they gave up their best animal?

Keep in mind that during a sacrifice, and I don't know how it worked for the jews, the animal was prepared and eaten by the people, while the parts not worth eating were slapped together and given 'to the god'.

So really, a sacrifice of animals was the occasion for a feast and a festival for people to particpate in, not a throwing out of resources. Feasts were one of the few ways that a poor person could supplement his diet with healthy meat and protein and the likes.


Also, as far as this being barbaric, animals are slaughtered all the time. INdeed, animals are ritually slaughtered so as to be kosher all the time, and thats not even a sacrifice to a god. Or consider that after an animal is killed in a bullfight, which occurs through the spanish speaking world, it is then butchered and sold as meat.
So this doesn't really seem any different, the animals going to be slaughtered, which would happen to it anyway, and they're going to mutter some magical spell while doing so.

JM
Previous to the temple in Jerusalem there was the temple in Gilgal which was essentially a big tent. Sacrifices occurred there as well.

Interesting. But as long as the temple in jersualem was around, the preists werent' performing its rituals elsewhere no? Short of perhaps the Samaritans and the likes.

By the by, is the animal ritually sacrificed at the temple then consumed, in part or in whole?

The Rabbis know how sacrifices occurred back in the old days and they can perform it if they are Cohanim.

I wonder though if the 70 or so people in the Re-Established Sannhedrin are of the preistly family lines.

[edit on 1-3-2007 by Nygdan]

Originally posted by Nygdan
Its almost blasphemous to judaism to conduct high holy jewish rites in a muslim mosque (or a christian church, or anywhere that isn't a proper jewish temple).

I was bar mitzvahed in a chemple. it was a church on sundays and a temple on saturdays. time share as it were.

this sounds more to me like an attempt by a fringe group to force the removal of a mosque which I doubt will even be considered.

A few clarifications:

1) The sacrifices themselves were only permitted to be performed by a "Kohen" (priest).

2) The sacrifices were only permitted to be performed in the holy temple. In early Jewish history that was not the case, but when the Tabernacle was established in Shiloh and later on the Temple was established in Jerusalem, those were the only places a sacrifice was permitted.

3) Jewish people today are expressly forbidden to offer animal sacrifices because the Temple is not standing, bloodlines have become so diluted that no one is sure who is a Kohen 100%, and because according to the Torah all of humanity is currently in a state of impurity that can not be corrected until the temple is standing and the ashes of a purely red cow are used to purify them.

It's all very clear in the old testament. There is absolutely no way, no how, any form of animal sacrifice is permissible in this day and age. No temple, no purification, no Kohens, no sacrifice. Period.

The group calling for it to be restored is clearly not familiar with certain critical Jewish laws.

Now, to answer the question of "so what do they do instead of the sacrifices today?"... the answer is that the Rabbis decreed that passages be added into the Jewish prayers in which the sacrifices were discussed, and by reciting those passages the Jews would, in a manner of speaking, be performing that commandment.

[edit on 3/1/2007 by Djarums]

Originally posted by Crakeur
I was bar mitzvahed in a chemple. it was a church on sundays and a temple on saturdays. time share as it were.

Yes but these are temple rites that we're talking about, not mere bar mitvas. The reason why these rites stopped 2 thousand years ago is because the temple was destroyed, and they were only supposed to be done there.

Originally posted by Nygdan

Originally posted by Crakeur
I was bar mitzvahed in a chemple. it was a church on sundays and a temple on saturdays. time share as it were.

Yes but these are temple rites that we're talking about, not mere bar mitvas. The reason why these rites stopped 2 thousand years ago is because the temple was destroyed, and they were only supposed to be done there.

agreed but please don't say my bar mitvah wasn't a temple right. I spent way too much time making up for all the cut hebrew school classes for it to be a mere bar bitzvah. it was an essential moment in my life. it was a monumental occaision in my family. hell, it was a momentous milestone that was recognized globally.

ok, it wasn't. (I was just making a little joke before making my point about the real reason for the press to bring back sacrifices although it really was in a chemple.)

For Christians, such as myself, Jesus's crucifixtion was the last sin/atonement offering required for the Jewish people.

From then on accepting Jesus as your lord and savior allows Jew or Gentile to be a beneficient of his sacrifice and no further animal offering is neccesary.

But - like others have said - the animal sacrifices were used in a productive way - and were not the barbaric (or wasteful) practice that comes to mind to many of us today.