The Origins of Animal Sacrifice

Animal sacrifice. It is one of humanity's oldest rituals. But how old? When did this ritual originate?
Part 2: Ancient Greek Sacrifice: Why did they do it? • Ancient Greek Sacrific...
Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry
Facebook: religionforbreakfast
Patreon: / religionforbreakfast
Andrew's religious studies book recommendations: amazon.com/shop/religionforbre...
RIP Dr. Jonathan Z. Smith. This episode was filmed before I was made aware of his death on Dec. 30th, 2017. His death is a loss to the entire discipline of religious studies, and we are indebted to his scholarship.
The video that almost made me faint. Don't watch if you can't handle it. Watch it if you want to experience one of the most widespread rituals in human history: • Video
Photograph attributions:
Homolovi II ruins: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Machu Picchu: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Reindeer herd: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Reconstruction of auroch hunt cave painting: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Four horned altar: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Greco Roman sacrifice: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religio...
Bibliography
Walter Burkert, Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth. See especially p. 14 for the discussion of the mammoth skulls. books.google.com/books?id=pNG...
Jonathan Z. Smith, "The Domesticated Sacrifice," in Relation Religion: Essays in the Study of Religion.
For an extensive discussion of the lamb burial at Catalhoyuk, see N. Russell and B.S. During, "Worthy is the Lamb: A Double Burial at Neolithic Catalhoyuk," Paleorient, vol. 32/1, p. 73-84. The reconstruction of the burial that I show comes from page 79 and is by John Gordon Swogger. I claim that my use of the image falls under Fair Use. www.academia.edu/151744/Worth...
Nerissa Russell, Social Zooarchaeology: Humans and Animals in Prehistory

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

KZbin has permanently demonetized this video. Religion apparently is not "advertiser friendly content." If you would like to support this channel, consider becoming a patron on Patreon (www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast) or donate at PayPal! www.paypal.me/religionforbreakfast

[@CaptainPilipinas]

[Facepalm] Just look it in the Bible...

[@tommytigert5993]

Sorry about the demonetization this is quite intriguing and most educational.

[@AA-db9cb]

Try mirroring your videos on other platforms man. KZbin is in decline.

[@MonLeeMane]

But your videos aren’t religious. They are information about religion, which is a part of human history.

[@davidoverstreet2875]

I hope you've been reading my comments my friend. You are the perfect soil for what I have to say. I hope you benefit in some way from my statements. God bless you, child of God, in your great and endless God quest adventure! 👼

[@kimpalonen1978]

Our occasional compassion for animals and our complicated relationship to our pets are actually one of few hopes I have in favor of a future humanity that doesn't suck.

[@karlscher5170]

Only in western middle class

[@Birthdayboytablet]

​@@karlscher5170Cows in India, Cats in the Middle East. But you're free to make up a reality to live in.

[@KevZen2000]

Animal sacrifice has many meanings in various spiritual traditions. Here's some common reasons: 1. Transferring sins, or purification.. 2. An offer to something for a favor (s) from a spiritual force. 3. Political 4. To generate various spiritual experiences, that are usually mixed with other rituals, such as chanting, music, meditation 5..A way to make money for religious practitioners. It add a "mysterious" nature, and a way to manipulate people into additional services 6..To practice "darker" spiritual practices, as a mockery, or please "dark" entities 7. Magic practice to help spells "work" better 8. Fear of "punishment" from spiritual forces, for not practicing "properly."

[@lshulman58]

As to the theory of WHY? Animal sacrifice of domesticated animals suggests to me a sacrifice of PROPERTY - thus of wealth. Today, it is not animal sacrifice, but more typically a sacrifice of monitory value - giving a certain percentage of income or wealth to charity and/or as a "tithe" to support the faith community. I imagine that sacrifice - animal or otherwise - was a way to give back to the gods a portion of what the gods have given to us. A way to say "thank you" for providing what we need to survive.

[@timothymclean]

It probably helps that blood tends to be associated with power. Neolithic medicine wasn't very advanced, but they understood that blood was a big part of how living things stayed that way.

[@2degucitas]

lshulman58 There remains animal sacrifice in major holidays. Passover, Thankgiving ( we let others kill the turkey) , Tabaski ( Ishmaels sacrifice by Abraham) . Can you think of any others?

[@lizicadumitru9683]

2degucitas Would the term sacrifice be equal to killed or slain animal _only_ or killed/slain for a specific purpose?

[@lshulman58]

Lizica Dumitru I would say a specific purpose. Otherwise any animal we kill for food would also be considered a sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrificed animal IS ultimately eaten, as part of the sacrificial rite, but more often than not, we simply kill to eat without any ritual (or thought) about it.

[@lshulman58]

bagsik buto I said SOMETIMES it is eaten, as a PART of the rite (thinking of the Muslim eid al adha - the "feast of the sacrifice", where the animal that is sacrificed is then shared with family, friends and those in community who could not afford to make their own sacrifice. It is a sacrifice AND a literal feast that binds the community together). I also was saying that MOST often when we kill to eat it is NOT a sacrificial ritual at all. I had also noted that TODAY many religious sacrifices do NOT involve the slaughter of animals. We sacrifice other things of value.

[@gingercore69]

Wait, mamoth sacrifice? The set of balls needed for that is outstanding...

[@MichaelJonesC-4-7]

They could have just been the collected heads of mammoths which were killed and eaten over a long period of time. When I hunted deer and fished for bass, I would nail the antlers or the head of the bass (mouth open) to the side of a small barn where everyone could see it and admire my ability to successfully hunt and fish. Although I no longer hunt or fish, I still understand the _why_ of it all. If that anthropologist had discovered my barn, would he assume a mass killing spree?

[@colinrobinson1924]

@@MichaelJonesC-4-7 I agree the mammoths were probably killed and eaten over a long period of time. And that the way the ancient hunters arranged the heads was comparable to what you did with antlers and bass heads... except for the point that the mammoth heads were arranged around a statue. Did the hunters want to be admired, or did they want to express admiration and thanks to the power embodied in the statue - the god, or goddess, or ancestor-spirit who had granted them success in hunting?

[@MichaelJonesC-4-7]

@@colinrobinson1924 A bit of both, I suspect. The hunter has a special reverence for, and admiration of, their prey, that those who have never hunted will never know.

[@colinrobinson1924]

@@MichaelJonesC-4-7 Well said, Michael. While I have never hunted land animals, I have had the experience of getting my own food from the sea (fish and molluscs) and I can relate to what you say.

[@petterhouting7484]

Its obv bs

[@mythpanchal]

Meat comes in vacuum sealed pack. What an irony.

[@AI-hx3fx]

In some places here in the Philippines, laying a building's foundations still involves sacrificing a chicken to the genii loci, and sprinkling the blood on the ground. Most people dismiss this as "pagan" and "archaic", but I wonder if butchering animals for fiesta meals is a vestige of animal sacrifice.

[@2degucitas]

AI 0891 Could be. I think it is obvious to the hunter or slaughterer that they are doing something dramatic when they kill. The loss of life and suffering instinctively makes us uneasy, sad for the death. Perhaps this dramatic thing needed to be used in a way that justified the death, so ritual killing was a way to appease any "god" that might take offense, or who could bless the hunt. Thanksgiving, tabaski, easter, passover still involve animal killing and eating. Which fiestas were you referring to? Philippine?

[@AI-hx3fx]

That’s what I wondered, if slaughtering an animal is, deep down, for the saint and we just end up eating it.

[@easternstrategist5276]

Chinese in 3000 years ago used to behead slaves and bury them under the building they were building. Later on it was replaced by animal sacrifice and artificial man figure.

[@La_Muerte917]

2degucitas 2degucitas There are many Fiestas in Philippines, starting from New Year, Chinese New Year, Feast day of the many Saints per towns, Xmas, end of Muslim’s Ramadan, all of these events will involve slaughter of pigs or cows, also goats. Just unfortunate really, poor animals.

[@brendansmith5529]

Do they refer to them as genii loci in the Philippines?

[@chickfinnegan8969]

Been a while. Glad to see you still posting!

[@robbalink]

Thank you for the video. Your work is always so well done and informative that I see a long, successful career in store for you. Bravo darlin!

[@neilholding5721]

This is really one of the better channels on KZbin. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! You should do a video on the Yezidis! Not only is their faith very interesting, but due to ISIS and conflict, their religion is threatened which poses the question: how important is it to save religions or at the very least, preserve them?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Good idea doing a video about Yazidis. I've also considered writing an "Endangered Religions" video, which would fit this theme. I'd consider it important to preserve religions in the same way it is important to preserve endangered languages.

[@seandowling1260]

It is more important to put emphasis on ethnicity than religious motif, what we are saving is a population of humans. It depends on our intention, however, if saving the practice and the people is the result, I would say that's a pleasant surprise.

[@JakeSanMartin]

Vatos Locos for life 😎

[@soylentgreen6082]

Yezidis are the longest standing overtly Satanic religion in the world, and their understanding of the Peacock Angel is a marked contrast to the beliefs of most monotheists as to the character of the Devil. The definitely deserve a video.

[@ruthbaker5281]

He's done one on the Yazidis. It's fascinating. Do a search.

[@caradocapcunobelin2875]

The goat video you linked to has already been taken down.

[@caradocapcunobelin2875]

I found another though. 👍👍

[@normdeplume4082]

Great work. I love how you attempt to treat every subject in an unbiased manner. You really try to stick to the facts. That being said, I really am interested in your personal beliefs.

[@joecaner]

It is said often that if one had to kill and dress one's own meat, more people would become vegetarians. Thing is, there always seems to be enough people around will to do the deed so those with a more sensitive nature are spared the task. Andrew Henry might consider vegetarianism if he finds animal sacrifice disturbing considering that modern animal husbandry and slaughter practices are even worse.

[@billybobthekidiswack]

@LagiNaLangAko23 there's a thing called hunting

[@proverbalizer]

When I was young and I used to fish, I definitely learned to clean a trout and bass. I miss trout fresh from the river...soooooo good. Maybe even better than Salmon and Chilean Sea Bass Plucking chickens is a tad bit tedious, but not that bad really. But then there was time I plucked a duck....wow!!!! The number of feathers was literally 10 or 20x more...all that soft down was frustrating me for more than an hour, and then when it came to cutting and cleaning it continued to frustrate and confuse me....I assumed the inner anatomy of a duck would be similar to a chicken but it was confusingly different....but after all that trouble, the stew I cooked was literally one of the most delicious I have ever tasted in my entire life. Ever ever ever. Unimaginably unexplainably good.

[@joecaner]

​@@proverbalizer Most of the fresh trout I’ve eaten were harvested from mountain lakes while hiking in the Sierra Nevadas. Hunger makes the best sauce, and there are few things that will fan one’s appetite more than miles of walking burdened with a backpack combined with a few thousand feet of altitude gain. This makes it difficult to fairly compare my experiences of eating trout with Salmon of Chilean Sea Bass, both of which are excellent. I would imagine that under circumstances where acquiring another species of fish cost a similar effort, I would enjoy them that much more. I’ve eaten a fair amount of Great Northern Pike that I’ve harvested during long outings, and it was some of the best fish I have ever eaten.

[@diogenes9088]

I really like how you opened this video with that personal story about almost fainting. Badass cos most people would feel embarrassed to admit that. But it's really significant in showing the true awesome brutality of the spiritual experience. :)

[@youthnation1]

Wow! Great intro to the topic!

[@elizabethkleine8153]

There are probably a few different reasons why. And it will probably be dependent on religions themselves (types). Reciprocity, purification, etc.

[@seadawg93]

"Strike us as inhumane animal cruelty" Say so many Americans as they eat factory farmed meat! (thats not a sleight against you, but many of our fellow Americans)

[@SuperKittenator]

For many Americans, it's outta sight, outta mind

[@cpeithman999]

What I think is interesting - Some animal rights folks seem to think that if Americans were exposed to the realities of slaughtering food, they'd massively flock to veganism/vegetarianism - BUT... judging by the matter of fact slaughter around the rest of the world, SOME might go vegan, most would just become desensitized and carry on.

@Claire AwesomeSauce Chinese people think the same for eating dogs. do you agree?

@Claire AwesomeSauce this is the actual comment I wanted to reply to :) I wrote in a different place I think - anyways this logic is the same logic as chinese people and I'm sure there are goodly behaved dog slaughtered houses. So I guess you are ok with that? If dogs are treated very well during their lives and then killed for human nutrition, you are ok with this? Also what is the best treatment for animals do you think? Ope air, sun, water etc. What age should they be killed? Should they also have the right to be loved? Or have their families? Do you think they have the right to own a family or reproduce by choice? The moment you leave these decisions to Humans, the moment the whole system collapse! There is no such thing as humane meat, there will never be. The logic of seeing them object (that fill your stomach) the moment you (people in general) with treat them as objects. You see, the problem is, we don't own them. They are not objects. There is no such law as animal rights, because it is paradoxical. The moment we give rights to them, we are the ones to decide on their 'better' conditions. And in the end, we always choice our own interests - meaning not their interests. So do you think, we can give other living beings , their own fundamental rights with keeping our own interest in the center? (filling you stomach with their bodies, as a necessity - which is an illusion- is also an interest) I would also suggest you to search some Humane Meat, go visit their facility and ask them the animal's fundamental rights? Don't forget to ask them, where the male babies are, how they reproduce, what age are they killed, whether they are free, how they react when going for a slaughter... So many conflicted views eh? Always better to question, than to ignore. So either way, I'm happy that you even put effort on this!:) Cheers!

[@coleball6001]

Jane lane Why is animal sacrifice worse than normal animal killings? Animal sacrifice is simply just the ritualistic slaughter of an animal, really no different from any other form of slaughter.

[@bromponie7330]

Could you please discuss the the Codex Barococcio? I simpy can't find any images or information regarding it's content, origin, etc.

[@alessandrorossi7135]

Could human sacrifice predate domestication? With the sacrifice of animals replacing " expensive" loss of manpower?

[@dingovory]

Back in high school, my AP US History teacher showed us a clip from the Vietnamese war, where a Viet Cong was assassinated by being shot in the head point blank. His head was leaking like a faucet. One of the most disturbing things I've ever seen.

[@rosicroix777]

Great Video. As for your point @ 3'30 the 12 reindeer found in a river & weighted down sounds like a neothic food catche, the river would have refridgerated the meat for a while & the catche was probably forgotten. Lastly I'd like to say that animal sacrifice has come full circle in the west w/animals that are originally intended for food becoming pets to farmers who never eat of that specific animal, much the way non farmers keep & invest time in pets. this is a modern affectation that wouldnt've existed 1000yrs ago. Keep up the good work as I explain this episode to my pet (formerly feeder ) Rats.

[@Bonzulac]

Is it possible to make the links in the notes open in a new tab? If so, why haven't you done that?

[@unclegrim]

Congrats on the 10k subs! I know its just a matter of time before you hit 100k. Keep up the great content.

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

+Uncle Grim Thanks! Excited to finally pass 10K

[@pearspeedruns]

Now past 200k

[@--Paws--]

When I was a kid, I saw how a goat is prepared for a feast. I was very young then and it did not impact me or bother me at all. Today it might make me cringe or look away but I don't have the same fascination I had when I was a lot younger.

[@shock_n_Aweful]

6:06 my first thought is that the Lamb could be a 'food source' for the dead. We have other instances of providing food for the dead in some cultures. That isn't the only reasonable explanation but it could be.

I personally saw a similar rite in Katmandu. But it wasn't a baby goat, it was a full grown ram with horns and everything. It was a bit shocking cause it was in the middle of a public square.

[@Vanished_Mostly]

Every time I think I've finished your backlog, another one shows up on my home page.

[@TurquoiseInk]

There are religions today that practice sacrifice of animals, fruits and other food. A part is given to the Gods, most is given to the community. These animals are treated well, much better than in factory farming. I feel like there is economic privilege in being distanced from the life & death that sustains us.

[@zackxmagz6343]

I still don’t understand how something so peculiar like sacrifice can be found on nearly every part of the world in ancient times. Why did all nations agree that a quite random act like sacrifice was a fit way of worship?

[@juanmanuelsanchezrodriguez6325]

You should definitely make avideo following this' line on human sacrifice.

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

I'd like to. I was planning a video on Aztec religion, but a video dedicated to human sacrifice would make more sense following this one.

[@kevindowney5256]

I had classes wit JZ Smith. Brilliant and creative thinker. Also loved his Swift Hall rivalry with Wendy Doniger. Good times.

[@PlainsPup]

I agree with the post-domestication hypothesis. The Paleolithic caribou weighed down with stones were probably being refrigerated in cold water.

[@danstiver9135]

Well Ainu religion heavily featured sacrificing bears, and bears are definitely NOT domesticated.

[@coleball6001]

But the Ainu did tame the bears. They would get cubs and raise them better than Ainu because the bear represents a god. They when the cub turns 2-3 years old they would sacrifice the bear. Unfortunately its not nearly as badass as a BEAR SACRIFICE.

[@airliadazen9495]

The bear was their totem,and yes they did raise bears.

[@debbiemarquis3231]

Use to? Still happens very much where I'm from....most of the times it offered as payment to an Entity for a requested job...or as a thanks giving for a job done....there are other reasons ..it can be used as a retainer too....

[@leonlawson2196]

And you know it does absolutely nothing ye?

[@ChrisLeeW00]

I think it makes sense to have ceremony behind the practice of preparing an animal for eating meat. It used to be more rare, and can be an honor to the life of the animal and it’s provided nourishment.

[@dantejager9296]

Hey ,can you do a video on the ,,age'' of Religion,like how old is religion really ?And Im not talking about organized Religion,but religious ideas in general.For how long have humans and other races been ,,religious'',did they start being religious at one point,or have they been religious since the first time they became capable of abstract thinking? You can look into the oldest burial sites( some of them as old as 100,000 BC) and go into their religious connotations.

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

I'm super fascinated by the "origins" of religion. So, yes, I'm definitely going to do a topic on this. Some anthropologists say religious ideas originated in early humans' survival instinct to attribute agency to natural phenomenon.

[@mikeycham3643]

Where are you from, pronouncing bury that way?

[@davidlabreche3784]

What about any connection between animal and human sacrifice. Would, for example, the replacement of Issac with a lamb in Abraham's sacrifice to God indicate that animal sacrifice replaced earlier human sacrifice?

[@polumathes9729]

My understanding of animal sacrifice, at least from the Jewish/Israelite perspective, is that it’s meant to make real to you the consequences of sin. Placing your hand on an innocent lamb and literally feeling the life leave him puts death right in front of you, and specifically the death of an innocent creature, and the idea is “you caused this. Your sins caused this”. That’s, again, at least my understanding

[@sunshowerpainting1]

I am wondering if you know if there is animal sacrifice in the J document?

[@Nick19904]

That beard gives you all authority! No need for a bibliography. I trust that beard.

[@longcastle4863]

But why did so many ancient cultures and civilizations even on different continents and thousands of miles away all engage in this same practice. Are we saying there's no connection and that the practice arose independently in all these different places?

[@darapdiengdoh2179]

Come to India in the state of Meghalaya and witnessed the religious ceremony of animal sacrifice till date.

[@dustindavis55]

I’m thinking, what if in pre animal domestication days, hunting was seen as a ritual event punctuated by the killing of the pray? It seems like that would be an organic cultural basis for the ritual killing of later domesticated animals. And yet it would be unlikely to find proof of “hunt as ritual behavior? What can we learn about the meaning of animal sacrifice by trying to pinpoint its origin in time?

[@PureVikingPowers]

What about the origins of human sacrifice?

[@ketsune23]

Human sacrifice is connected with cannibalism. In some ancient tribes, they would fatten children and women for food and sacrifice. When human sacrifice was fully established, man-eating became taboo; human flesh was food only for the gods; man could eat only a small ceremonial bit, a sacrament.

[@drakejoy2902]

Well pagans used to do that. That's why as much as possible don't worship pagan gods if you are interested in religion you can always read the Bible and might learn something about religion and people's faith. The God of israel always warn about this.

[@oftin_wong]

@@ketsune23 in the Amazon they ate every bit of the body ..you cant ever give one reason

[@ketsune23]

@@drakejoy2902 you forgot there are human sacrifices made to the god of Israel in the Bible too and is not also "pagan" believe that the human sacrifice of Jesus atoned sins?

[@voldlifilm]

As someone who plans to study either history or anthropology this fall, I find this channel very interesting. Solid stuff. I still prefer coffee and toast for breakfast though. Can I watch this for lunch instead perhaps?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Religion for Lunch has a nice ring to it. Religion for Coffee-break...not so much. Good luck with your history and/or anthropology. I was a history major myself.

[@francesca3453]

One of my kids has a pet snake. It eats live rats. Once My younger son and his little friend watched it. My son was cheering on the snake, but his little friend, was mortified. We are all different about this kind of stuff. Good post.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

The comment section here is amazing. So many suggested "reasons" why animals were sacrificed, but no actual explanations. People, there are no lack of statements in sacred writings or myths from "gods" who demand meat sacrifice. This gentleman has plenty of experience reading and hearing about such statements as well as references to the numerous religious traditions which include it in their rituals. This is _information._ But it is *NOT* an _explanation._ Why does a non-corporeal entity require a corporeal entity to die violently in order to be made happy or satisfied? None of you are actually answering this question. Nor does pointing out that it is no more cruel than factory farming - or any meat-producing slaughter, for that matter - translate to an explanation. Why would anyone think that explains anything? Unbelievable.

[@ericohm9474]

There are as many reasons as there are types of sacrifices. It is irresponsible to say with any degree of certainty why they ALL sacrificed animals. In the bible there is a verse about burning the sacrificed animal, so that the pleasant aroma could reach up to the heavens and please god. Meaning they thought that god would (much like a human) enjoy the smell of cooking meat. Many gods are depicted as having very human traits. So your insinuation that gods should not be like humans is ignorant and dismissive of the time period that they took place in.

[@proverbalizer]

E=mc2 The separation between matter and energy is an illusion The distinction between wave/particle is illusion The separation between the physical and the spiritual is an illusion

[@normdeplume4082]

From a psychological point of view it makes total sense that domestication is a precursor to sacrifice. When you rear an animal from birth you have an attachment. Not only that but if the animal produces eggs or milk than killing it becomes an exchange. You loose a source of recurring food for a single instance. So you make a sacrifice. Killing it would inevitably bring up some emotions. So the ritual is developed as a coping mechanism that not only justifies it but it compels it. That is why rituals often require the ritualistic burning of organs that frankly don't taste very good. But most of the meat is eaten by the practitioner. I once told a Rabbi that after reading the scriptures that call for sacrifice it seems that God really loves BBQ.

[@extra_nos5081]

I'm going to use this video as a discussion starter for the men's breakfast discussion tomorrow with my lay people. particularly up to the 2:50 mark.

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Awesome, I'm curious to hear what they think.

[@extra_nos5081]

I'll report back sometime tomorrow then.

[@bhagwatshah]

Animal sacrifice had a spiritual function. Hunter gathers believed animal sacrifice was a way to thank ‘nature’ for what they took from nature. Sacrifice helped please the spirits and guarantee future cooperation from them.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

How does cutting off one of "Nature's" fingers translate as gratitude?

[@htoodoh5770]

@@DarkMoonDroid They are taking food from nature so it is natural they offered gratitude.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

@@htoodoh5770 Then make them a bowl of vegetable soup.

[@htoodoh5770]

@@DarkMoonDroid I believe they do. I remember in the Bible that wheat were sometime offered. But I forgot where. Hunter gather may have offered wheat or other plant as gratitude. Meat was a important component of Hunter gatherer diet. About a significant third of ones' calories so it make sense they want to show gratitude.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

@@htoodoh5770 You're not really understanding my question. Nevermind.

[@THEShogunBallistic]

It makes sense that the neolithic period would be great for burnt offering in man's early attempt to understand their connection to nature, right? Especially read Hancock's Supernatural... K

[@soylentgreen6082]

Gods love blood.

[@coleball6001]

MsBizzyGurl Not all culture would offer up the blood to the gods. But generally the reason why is that since blood represents “lifeforce” divine beings would want to have that, at least thats the case for ethnic Yoruba religion.

[@TheTyrantOfTyrus]

@MsBizzyGurl it's about dedication and sacrifice and devotion ya know. It's like fasting or donating more than you know you can handle. It's like a tangible demonstration of faith, in the same way rituals and rites are. Except with living creatures and blood.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

No one has yet explained why this instead of the countless other ways you can give up your possessions or resources or wealth or security to a god. All you guys are doing is repeating the statement in various ways without explaining why.

[@UraniumStorm]

God loves gore

[@allahhernandez3546]

Humans love blood not God read and pay attention to what the Bible says.

[@hieronyma_]

Ah, I'm looking into Boston University as a college for me. Is it any good?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

I've loved my time here, yes. The undergrads seem to like it too. I think a lot of it will depend on your major. I, of course, will recommend a religious studies major haha.

[@hieronyma_]

lol, I'll probably major in the Japanese language and minor in the German language, but I'll probably take some religious studies courses anyways!

[@pearspeedruns]

@@hieronyma_ Did you end up going to BU?

[@JKTCGMV13]

“I was taking a Greco Roman class and I hadn’t eaten all day or slept the night before, so naturally I was feeling very lightheaded...”

[@donaldbakaitis864]

You should watch the 1985 Soviet movie "Come and See"

[@mordirit8727]

(almost) Entirely unrelated to the video, but you mentioned being from Boston... Is it common for the Boston accent to say the word "burial" as if it were "borial" (or even "beaurial" with a French reading of the "beau")? I found it so weird, have been watching your videos for a long while and this was the first time I had a little trouble understanding a word before realizing what you meant by "beaurial" and "beauried"

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Might be from my upbringing, I dunno. I've tried to pronounce it like normal people, but ingrained habits are hard to break...

[@mordirit8727]

@@ReligionForBreakfast all's well ^^ I just found it weird because as I said, never before had I had any issues understanding your accent

[@jkjerbdhetheth]

As an avid daruma collector, I have immense respect for your shared affinity

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Cool! Yeah my brother bought all of those during his travels in Japan. His channel is EC Henry.

[@pascouramment7994]

I wonder what came first; animal sacrifice or human sacrifice. Maybe you’ve made a video about this already. I will check.

[@BlasitoGinawang]

I belong to the Kankana ey Applai sub tribe, one of the many Igorot tribes in the Cordillera region, We all practice animal sacrifices in accordance to the costoms of my ancestors, based in the way we live, from birth, to childhood, to be initiated into a Man by his spirit of bravery and skill and a Woman by her spirit of caring and modesty, to marriages and death. It is giving back what we received from the great creator spirit, to the ancestors and its carnation within our spirits, and to the physical animate or inanimate things we see or feel, and freeing the spirit of the sacrificial animal and giving thanks to it for providing its flesh to nourish the whole community that help make the rituals happened, by providing the services for the host family and for all the people poor and rich be given an equal amount of meat and rice to eat. But in this globalized world, we still do this practice just for giving and sharing what we have to the people's of the village.

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

Ive always sort of reckoned it started in herding culture to get a day off from the predators, sacrifice one to our former brothers the hunters.

[@arturocevallossoto5203]

In Mexican rural areas, parties such as wedding or baptisms would involve the sacrifice of an animal. But in this case for consumption. And ALL the animal would be consumed. It was icky at first but tongue and head tacos are pretty tasty tbh.

[@ericohm9474]

Is that really sacrifice though? Is there really a ritual taking place or is it just slaughtering to fulfill a catering order? Theres a difference.

[@leminjapan]

Even the simple description of the video made me weak. I live in a sanitized and privileged society, and I'm grateful.

[@wompa70]

Dude. I was laughing at you while trying not to faint myself and didn’t even see the thing!

[@jebremocampo9194]

Was kinda disapointed that you didn't put the video in, but I understand. Saw my first goat butcher when I was 7. Still feel the warm splatter of blood on my face. The goat was still kicking after the head was gone. I enjoyed the meat extremely more after that. maybe because I saw what had to be done just to get it or maybe I was a blood thirsty boy. Who knows?

[@scottstensland]

what do you mean probably a 1000 years ago it would be common ... more like 50 years ago here in the west and for many still very much alive today

[@colinrobinson1924]

It's unlikely that ancient hunter-gatherers sacrificed wild animals such a mammoths the way later farming communities sacrificed goats and sheep, by taking the living animals to a temple and killing it there. The difference is that domestic animals generally go where they are led, but a wild animal would not… Even so, the arrangement of mammoth skulls around the statue strongly suggests that they were put there by people who felt there was a connection between mammoth-slaying and that particular image, kept in that particular place. Even if it wasn’t quite the same thing as later rituals of sacrifice, it sounds like a precursor to them.

[@vincevic1062]

It was the sacrifice of human people. Not animals.

[@Mamaosa63]

Thanks so much for educating us with your lectures.

[@ketoonkratom]

Love One Another

[@angelawildman122]

I really have issues with animal sacrifice unless it’s for food, and even then it’s problematic. I support lab-grown meat for this exact reason! I’ve always been upset by the killing of innocent animals 😿

[@Mirage_Group]

For many hunter gatherer societies killing was not so much a mechanical but more an esoteric act. Perhaps in first agricultural societies the act of animal sacrifice performed by the priesthood preserved this esoteric meaning where it was gradually transformed into the first forms of organized religion.

[@rafaelbrgnr]

The ritual sacrifice could not have began as a ritual of hunter-gatherers and as human societies evolved be exclusive to sedentary or agrarian societies?

[@dsjanc]

Humans are animals. If you truly want to prove your loyalty to gods, take your own life.

[@ashleyoasis7948]

Conscience & freedom Allah Akbar 💣 lol 😂

[@TheNuanceTV]

Sacred things don’t demand sacrifice. Sacrifice makes things sacred.

[@HessianHunter]

4:42 This man is the most gangster scholar I have ever seen

[@brunogiambroni1422]

Burkhert’s ‘ Greek Religion’ was one of the my favorite books from my undergrad education

[@lilitheden748]

In the olden days human sacrifice was also common. Today there still are lots of religions that demand animal sacrifices in order to please the Gods or to ask favours or in some cases to remember certain religious events... Me, I find it outrageous that in this time of what we should call enlightenment these things still happen. I know that in order to eat meat animals have to be killed but today there are different ways to keep the animal suffering to a minimum. With sacrifices that is mostly not the case. Religion is just dripping of blood, human blood, animal blood ...

[@proverbalizer]

Yeah, cause the animals don't bleed when they are sacrificed only to our stomachs...no dripping involved By age of enlightenment perhaps you mean age of "out of sight out of mind"

[@casparcoaster1936]

if you ever had hunting buddies, who rubbed their rabbit's foot before a hunt, you'd understand. it's really hard to nail a buck from a 1000 ft even with a high powered rifle, much less a spear or bow & arrow. It takes LUCK. And it's always the gods who have it. They can help you with the problem of slipping and falling (on your spear, or you hunting who buddies, who is dorking your girlfriend). Best to keep up with the local shaman, in all personal issues, if you can.

[@Zanimater]

Digging the beard.

[@amberdenisewike431]

It's a practice that needs to be undone, everyone would have a different opinion if it were human sacrifices.

[@Thomas-be7mr]

I remember at a ritual I attended the Mambo and Lwa sacrificed a chicken... I stayed in the house sipping a drink as much as I love religion I still feel for the animals.

[@NuncNuncNuncNunc]

How does hamburger get to your plate? How is the everyday slaughter of animals not inhumane brutal animal cruelty? Without too much effort you could have found religious animal sacrifice not far from BU while you were there. Could the sinking of the carcasses be a form of disease control?

[@Tritium21]

I promise you that those breakfast links are not vacuum sealed. they are barely heat sealed. Check your breakfast sausage packages for holes before you buy them, people.

[@GenevaPilgrim]

Enoch 19:1 "And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods." Enoch 7:5 "And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and 6 fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones." As for the timeline-the fallen angels seemed to have come down in the days of Jared. According to Enoch 6:6 the fallen angels descended in the days of Jared. Jared became the father of Enoch .when he was 162. So it seems that sometime between 3566 BC and 3039 BC is when the sacrifices were taught FIRST by the fallen angels.

[@periodpooh9816]

THANK YOU! Sooooo much for this!!!!! 😭😭😭 Gonna read Enoch!! I see why “they “ left Enoch out of the Bible .... animal and human sacrifices are NOT of God

[@ATGsaturn]

Do a video on dbz theology

[@TodaysReligiousTalk]

Its funny how some societies exchanged blood of animals for Favour and others did it for atonement from sin. How can the same practice be used for different outcomes. I guess it depends on who the blood was for.

[@islandplace7235]

My cats bring me mice and toys, (as what I immediately assumed was some kind of offering) I wonder if early people observed this behavior in animals.

[@AustinLittley]

"burry"

[@leponishere5906]

In my religion, animal sacrafice is often small rodents. Just to put it out there.

[@anilin6353]

1000 of years ago, more like 100s, and there are still animal sacrifices happening to day in America.

[@matthewbittenbender9191]

What about human sacrifice? We know that it wasn’t so widespread in Europe but there was evidence of Celtic ritual human sacrifice and clearly it was practiced in Mesoamerica cultures, but how did this ever become a practice throughout the world over myriad coutures?

[@daveed467]

Hard to believe that some people in have never actually slaughtered an animal, nor even seen one :/ it's just weird how many different narratives there are on planet earth

[@jackkraken3888]

That seems perfectly plausible to me. I I have never slaughtered an animal nor in recent memory seen one slaughtered.

[@johnrider7619]

Epiphanius wrote in his Panarion (he was a Catholic priest circa 400CE) ; As their (the Essenes) so called gospel says, I, Yeshua came to abolish the sacrifices, and if you cease not from sacrifices, wrath will not cease from you.

[@rogerg4916]

There must be some kind of rationale for doing this because the killing was not necessarily done for food. What was the rationale for this? It isn't just in European cultures but also South American.

[@jelumbard]

So are anthropologists inherently objective?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

As a 2nd year PhD student, I equated "academic" with "neutral." Then I read Donna Harraway, haha.

[@cqquinn1628]

no

[@jackkraken3888]

I'm sure they try to be but bias can always exist even if they didn't realize it.

[@andrewlankford9634]

How do you go about ritualistically killing several woolly mammoths at once?

[@ninjaturtletyke3328]

Poor babies. They don't deserve this

[@princevesperal]

There is certainly something to say for the transition from human sacrifice to animal sacrifice. The episode of Isaac being replaced at the last minute as a sacrificial offering by a ram points to this shift. It continues with the notion of scapegoat: transgression is no longer borne by a human sacrifice, but transposed to an animal. Until Jesus makes the ultimate sacrifice, that pays for all transgressions, past and future.

[@proverbalizer]

-humans form societies and learn the value of gratitude and reciprocity ("givers never lack", a grateful person is more likely to receive future favor than an ungrateful person...you know the obvious) -humans learn to hunt (and also how to domesticate animals) for food -humans decide to show gratitude and reciprocity by giving back gifts out of their successful hunting/pastoral activities to the natural and spiritual forces that have provided them with sustenance

[@mage1over137]

I feel like your teacher was flexing.