Wednesday, May 12, 2010

thought of the day.421

Evidence that Christianity Warps Common Sense / Animal Sacrifice

It was asked, “Could a being create the fifty billion galaxies, each with two hundred billion stars, then rejoice in the smell of burning goat flesh?” Christians certainly think so. They praise a God so pleased by the smell of burning flesh that he demanded a daily sniff for all time. Ah, but don’t dare offer an animal whose testicles have been “crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off” — this God demands his genitalia intact.

Lv 4:27-31, Lv 1:14-17, 1K 8:62-63, Lv 22:24, Lv 4:4-12, Lv 1:5-9, Lv 7:31-35

5 comments:

Unknown said...

It's true, God could have been actually pleased by the literal smell of the burnt sacrifice.

Or he could have been pleased by the fact that the sacrifices represented his people's devotion to him, the fact that they loved him, and they wanted to offer their very best, not a damaged goat that they didn't really want anyway.

john evans said...

First let's look at the fact that almost all other gods throughout history have wanted sacrifices of some kind-human, animal, wine, grain, etc. Isn't odd the one true God would want the same thing other gods wanted? Seems obviouse to me that MAN liked the smell of burning flesh and therefore they projected that onto their made up God.

Second, Isn't it just a bit pathetic thinking some being craves attention and worship? I mean we think other HUMANS are bit pathetic if they need a bunch or praise and fawning over let alone a GOD.

Third, is there not a better way to show devotion to someone than by twisting the heads off doves and butchering goats and splattering blood all about? A bit primitive, no? How about honoring a God by being kind to those animals instead and kind to one another?

Unknown said...

First, "Isn't odd the one true God would want the same thing other gods wanted?" No. The counter-example that comes immediately to mind is how almost every mythological and religious account of the world's creation and history includes a flood story - i.e. Gilgamesh - along with Christianity and the story of Noah. And I think that makes it more likely that there would have been a flood. (Note: I am not trying to start another debate on whether or not there was a flood. I am trying to make the point that if a bunch of religions match up on one point, then it's likely that that point can be agreed upon, and we can move to the next point.)

Second, no. If another human needs attention and praise for the things they do, I generally attribute that to a need for acceptance or love, usually due to a lack of it at somewhere else in their life; however, God is on a wholly different plane than humans. God is the only one who even deserves all of our praise. I wouldn't exist if it weren't for God. I know you're probably cringing that I say that - but think about it for a sec - if God really did exist, if everything that I believe is true, wouldn't God deserve praise? I'm just saying, if. Because that's the if that I believe.

Third, animal sacrifices are a representation of Jesus' death on the cross. Jesus was the ultimate Sacrifice for us.

I hope I made sense. I'm on new allergy meds and they're making me very foggy...so if I was unclear about something I said, I can clarify :)

john evans said...

Sorry to hear about your allergies! Hope you feel better soon!

As to your thought on Jesus... The NT writers simply took the OT idea of a goat who took away the sins of the people and put a man in its place.

Do you not find it a bit strange that an all-knowing God would choose animal sacrifice as the way he wanted to be worshiped? Can you not see how it was the priests who benefited from this ritual? They got the best cuts of meat to eat for themselves--for all time. The priests in all belief systems benefit from the gifts of their followers. No God has anything to do with it. It is all about power over others. “God” is simply the idea used to gain and hold that power.

Unknown said...

"Do you not find it a bit strange that an all-knowing God would choose animal sacrifice as the way he wanted to be worshiped? Can you not see how it was the priests who benefited from this ritual? "

Why wouldn't God be using that to take care of the priests?