[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life?

[Darleen Nelson]

It is repulsive in this day of animal rights to even think of killing animals to be used as any kind of sacrifice. Several TV shows lately have dipped into this idea in a legal way withh those who did the sacrificing being really under a lot of pressure. Recently there was a case in a Houston court and the final outcome was a fine and the removal of the animals intended for sacrifice. It could be because of the SPCA and the proteciton of animal rights as well as human.

[dvdw]

Hello,

Today most people do not distinguish the difference between humans end animals, humans are created in the image of God. So they are not equal. This does not mean that we do not have to treat animals with all respect, they also created by God. But God give humans animals for food; we should not be wiser then our Creator. I agree with Pastor Ralph that most people only see meat in the supermarket; they not realize themselves that this also came from living creatures.

In Christ,

Dick van de Weerd

[jviren]

Having lived in Wyoming for 6 years, I have soaked up everything I could about ranching life. People who live "close to the earth" as ranchers do understand the concept of animal sacrifice. To them, it is a necessary part of life to raise beef or sheep and then to bring them to slaughter, for their income and for their sustenance. Most of us today are out of touch with these baser sides of life. We, many times, don't want to know about where our food comes from. Over the years, we have been "protected" or sanitized from the truth of our lives, and it is the same with our Lord. We sometimes get calloused or wash over the real life details of what Jesus Christ did for us as our sacrifice for sin.

Jan

[luray mcclung]

I, too, grew up on a farm in Sussex County, Delaware. On many occasions, I have observed the slaughter of hogs. "Hog Killing Day" was a big event to a farmer as the sacrifice of the animal became our sustenance. ( Homemade scrapple, sausage and pork chops and ham abounded.) This was a special day if you were a farmer. It seemed everyone had a job. We children kept wood on the fire around the pots. Today some with a totally different city experience would be appalled by such a practice. Additionally, I watched my grandmother on Saturday mornings hold the rooster's legs steadily as she placed his head on the maple stump. Down came the axe and off flew the rooster's head. Then the blood flowed. Having observed animal sacrifices, I can connect with Lev. 32-35. Although I had read this scripture, vs. 32 about touch has also taken on new meaning for me. Have a blessed week. lmc

[Peggie]

Animal sacrifice nowdays repulses most people because it's an unknown thing to them. Many people like me, don't stop to think about where their meat really comes from, but more like what Pastor Ralph said about the way it comes in the supermarket. The animal rights activists of today's world would (and I'm sure DO) have a hey day in a court of law over such a thing. And, rightfully so since Jesus as paid the price for sin once and for all!

[Patricia A. Conti]

Today, when we want meat, or chicken, or fish, we just go to the supermarket, or some other store, and buy it. It usually comes already cut and wrapped up in a container ready to be cooked. Unless we live on a farm, thinking about where the meat comes from doesn't enter our minds. If you were to tell someone that they were eating a cow or a pig or a lamb, etc. they would consider that comment gross and distasteful.

A farmer is very aware of where the meat comes from. An animal is "sacrificed" that we might eat. In the city, we wouldn't really think about the animal that was sacrificed to gives us our food. We just think of the meal and not where it comes from. Most people would be horrified if they went to a store to order a ham and were then told they needed to slaughter the pig. The thought that we would need to sacrifice the animal is repulsive. I have to admit, if I had to kill my own meat I would be a vegetarian.

So being a farmer and not being a farmer makes a big difference.

[Omie]

Quote

Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life? Exposition

+ Having grown up with grandparents who slaughtered their own animals for their needs. Having seen my mother kill a chicken if we wanted to eat chicken, none of this is repulsive.

+ Today the younger people have no idea what effort it takes to provide meat, fish, or chicken and prepare it. This is what living in a society where we go to the antiseptic meat and poulty department to search for what we want. No longer is everything on an animal used as it was back in the 1900's through the 1940's.
We are so removed from killing of animals, except for hunting for pleasure.

+ I am 65 -

[Julie]

I can still see this chicken running around the yard with his head chopped off, and can still see the body of the pig with the blood running down, both were done not for sacrifice but to have for supper one evening. This was years ago, and the memory is like yesterday. This is repulsive to us for we do not like to take life, and the site can affect us for many years.

[gail m]

Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life?

Reading everyone elses entries..I think that people realize animals have to be killed for food..we would be an extremely naieve society not to know this, but to just go out and kill an animal as a sacrifice and then burn it up is a foreign concept for us. Living in Alaska for some time I learned that animals that are killed for food do not go to waste in the least..even bones are used for something. I think the thought of just sacrificing an animal though to us seems like waste. (Even though in the old testement times it was the only way for God to see that you wanted to be forgiven.)

City vs. Farming way of life may have a great deal to do with the actual slaughter of an animal, but I think "sacrifices" are possibly seen the same..I don't think even farmers would want to go out and just kill their prize cow or bull just to watch it die.

Thank you God for Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice..so we can live under grace and not have to know what it is like to have to offer sacrifices..

[richard palmer]

I am thankful that animal sacrifice is not needed for atonement for sin, but some animals will always be a source of food. I never been on a farm, I have always lived in the city, but my 14 yo daughter and I are archery hunters, and fresh water fisherpersons, we know the fruits of our labor, plus we enjoy the great outdoors that God created for us to enjoy, it is good healthy living when in balance with fruits, vegetables, bread and fellowship. There is great satisfaction in having the knowledge of providing for ourselves, I believe it is a comfort that the Lord wants us to have. My daughter and I pray for the Lord to grant us successful hunts, and just after the harvest of our game, while our hearts are still pumping from the excitement of the hunt, we get on our knees after we find our downed animal and give thanks for the food. And taking care of the harvest animal, field dressing, skinning and quartering up is not a big deal when you know and understand the Lords grace overall of your entire life.

A pastor told me once, that most people don't know that if they where to go 12 mealtimes without food, they wouldn't hesitate to kill for food, a natural instinct to survive, it would be on your mind every minute your awake.

[bjcollin]

Pastor Ralph, on Feb 9 2003, 03:24 PM, said:

Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life? Exposition

Animal sacrifice is repulsive to most modern people because of the killing and the blood. While this might have to do with a city -vs- farming life style for the squeemish now days, there is a deeper root for most people. The thought is not for food, but for transferance. Why do I have to kill and sacrifice an innocent animal for what I did against God's laws? In the OT it was because God commanded it. Now that Jesus has paid the price for our sins, animal sacrifice is no longer required by God. We are to walk in the Forgiveness and Grace that is offered by our Lord Jesus.

[Peggy]

Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life?

"Modern people" are usually not thought of as third world people or even farming people, but of City people. City people only have animals as pets, or buy their meat at the store, and I'm sure don't think of the meat they buy as being sacrificed (unless they are a vegetarian). Therefore any reference to animal sacrifice I think would be seen as something "wrong" with the person's thinking and cultic. Unless the "City" person has had biblical teaching from the Old Testament, they would not be aware of what it represented in the past. I'm sure that people who buy meat know the animal has been killed in order for them to purchase it, however once again, I believe the difference here is in the understanding of the word "sacrifice". Farming people don't sacrifice their animals, they kill them to provide food.

[Connie]

Killing amimals is repulsive to some since they equate it in their minds to killing their pets, I think. I remember the story Nathan told David about the pet lamb and saying, "Thou art the man." Jesus was God's pet, so to speak, and he was sacrificed for us. I'm glad he was, but sad that was the only way for us to receive salvation.

[Patty Heard]

This is all new to me. I have NEVER replied on-line before - so bear with me as it may become long.

For the past three days I have been thinking about "Animal Sacrifices" -

Although I have never seen an animal killed (I did try to wring the neck of a chicken once, but only stretched it out, and that was REALLY sad!)
This lesson has touched something DEEP in me.

As I have pondered what it would feel like to take an unblemished, valuable female animal and put my hand on its head while it was being killed I've thought about several things.

First: As a nurse, I have been with people when they died. At the moment of death I have seen the person become ONLY a body, something leaves them. I can't explain it, but the change is there.

Second: As a woman, I have experienced the birth of three children, and have spent many years watching them grow up into the adults they are today.

Third: As an older Christian, I have learned to STOP and ponder and allow God time to teach me.

My husband and I are actively involved in prison ministry, among other things. Over the years we have seen some men change and TRULY serve God, while others have gone back to their "old habits" and ended up back in prison.

The animal sacrifice must really touch the heart. If you look at and touch something innocent, while it is being killed, it has to affect you, IF your heart is not hardened. Although this seems barbaric to us in this century and in our culture, I wonder if it really is??? Could it be that we would think about our sin a little more IF the pain of an innocent was closer to our eyes??? Do we blind ourselves to the Truth, and harden ourselves from the pain of others, by living so isolated and remote from life??? Sin costs - after the "fun"! It cost God the Father His Son (in a loving gesture to help us out - because we couldn't do it ourselves:"God forgive them, because they do not know.") It cost us our fellowship relationship to God and many times closeness to our loved ones.

A good question to think about - Thanks for the lesson and your insights.

[wayfarer58]

I think that there are several reasons that some (most?) people, at least in the western world, see animal sacrifice as repulsive. One of these reasons is most certainly our societies move away from the farming culture of the past. We have insulated ourselves as much as possible from death in general, human or animal. Obviously we have butchers to take care of our food, but also, we now have funeral homes to attend to our dead. In generations past, funerals were in the home. Also, we are much safer as a society. Workplace deaths are, thankfully, infrequent enough to make the news when they occur. So, despite the fact that we do 'see' death on a regular basis on TV, movies, videos and the like, the fact is that we are really removed from those deaths except on the rare occasion when we are forced to deal with it by it's immediacy to our lives.

Another reason, in my opinion, is the anthropomorphization of animals. Giving animals all of the characteristics, looks, foibles, emotions, etc. of humans tends to make us think that killing an animal is the equivalent of killing a human. You can see this in the Disney films, Bugs Bunny, etc.. These are not animals, they are humans that look like animals, thus the revulsion. Our whole society is enamored with the idea of animals being equivalent to us, when, in fact, God made us stewards over the animals. We are to tend to the flocks properly, but they are, after all, flocks (or herds, or gaggles, or whatever).

I hope I haven't offended anyone with my thoughts on the subject, but they are my thoughts.

Dave

[photobug]

Well killing a animal is note the best site to see but what about the death of christ that was a trrable thimg to look upon.He was no animal he was human he was god in the flesh.That was a affull site to behold of him dieing on that cross that day but he did it because he loved you and me/ Praise his holy name

[David Maher]

Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people?

I would suggest that sacrifice is repulsive to modern people because we are not normally exposed to death of animals in this manner. There are also the cries of animal rights groups who attempt to raise the rights of animals to those of humans. I think these groups have gone too far. I believe there is a difference in mass slaughtering animals to process for food and the individual, personal, sacrifice of an animal for one's sin.

Trying to look at this from a faith perspective, has really made me think. The animal sacrifice was to be personal, the person who sinned was to lay his hand on the animals head and slaughter it. It was personal. The concept has become very real to me now; as I think of Jesus being sacrificed for my sins, to accept the part I played personally and the price He paid, makes me realize how precious the gift, and how wonderful the Lord is.

How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life?

I think that people who are around animals that are slaughtered may not be so repulsed by animal sacrifice. But I think the major issue is more related modern society not taking sin very seriously. I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal that had a tag line "The Upside of Living in Sin," which spoke of the positive financial side of same sex or heterosexual couples living together, without marriage. As I look at the world around me, there are so many sins that are now acceptable by society. I think there is a real difference in slaughtering animals for food and sacrificing animals; it's called sin!. An animal sacrifice is to offer attonement for a sin that was committed and confessed.

[leo]

For many people who were raised in urban areas, the conept and reality of animal sacrifice -- and yes, even the concept and reality of animal slaughter -- is as far from their minds as the concept of stocks and bonds are to a farmer or a fisherman.

For a person who is raised in a rural setting, as some of us have answered, the concept of animal sacrifice or animals being led to the slaughterhouse is both a reality and a necessity. It is necessary because they need to have their animals slaughtered for them to be able to raise an income and feed their families. For example, thousands of fishses and lobsters and mollusks and the like everyday are caught and processed by fishermen to feed the people who prefer seafood. And I can just imagine how many cows and pigs are processed everyday to bring meat to our tables.

It is for this particular reason which is, I think, behind why animal sacrifice is so repulsive for many of us nowadays. For a lot or people, especially those who live in the fast-paced urban setting, the concept of animals being slaughtered to bring food to our tables is not that concrete. And because the urban way of life can be too fast-paced nowadays for people to spend some time preparing their food, this concept becomes further obscured by fast food chains and trays of microwave meals. Thus, for them, the reality of animals dying in an unnatural manner almost becomes limited to dogs and cats being accdentally run over by vehicles, lab animals or pests such as cockroaches and rats.

But we have to remember that people back then were familiar with, and accepted the fact that animals needed to be sacrificed both for their physical satisfaction and for their spiritual salvation. Besides, during that time, the people who occupied the earth weren't suffering from lack of available resources. During their time, they had still had more than enough to go around and they had more than enough so that they can afford to offer some of their animals to be sacrificed and burned everyday.

[Mike Dickinson]

Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people?
Many people tend to find the very thought of blood being spilt as repulsive, even nauseating. Giving it some thought, I dare say one of the reasons might be because of the associations it has with cruelty, violence and pain. Doesn’t it appear incongruous when we consider man’s inhumanity to his fellow man and yet describe ourselves as animal lovers.

How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life?
Whilst the livestock farmer accepts the slaughter of his animals as a way of life, the city dweller couldn’t distance themselves from such barbarism further. And yet, ironically, the steak restaurants and burger bars are mainly found in the city and no doubt frequented by its’ inhabitants. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind guessing that ‘Vegetarianism’ started out from those more acquainted with the city than the country. So, perhaps it comes down to different attitudes, differing cultures and individual sensibilities.