I know that it's been a couple of months since I posted anything and I'm sorry about that. Things have just been so busy and this is the first time, in a long time, that I've been able to do anything with this blog. I've changed things, so that's something. But what I want to talk about is animal sacrifice and the debate, and rage, that fuels it. Animal sacrifice was used in every culture that didn't have a belief in one god.
Isreal being the only exception
This included cultures like Rome, Egypt, Greece, Persia, and others. Human sacrifice was also done, but it was done in huge quantities in the Aztec and Myanan cultures. Animal sacrifice served many purposes. It was an offering to the gods and it was a way for the common person to get meat in their diet, which wasn't something that everyone could afford to have. Another purpose of animal sacrifice was to gain a god's favor. And during ancient times that was very important.
When Christianity came around animal sacrifice was outlawed and punished by death. The idea of sacrificing an animal to a god, or goddess, was considered sickening, barbaric, and demonic. This belief in the unnaturalness of animal sacrifice as bled into animal rights activists, vegan diets for those that aren't vegan due to health reasons, and the general dislike of those that eat meat. When we read about animal sacrifice that was done in the past, we envision hundreds of animals being killed for a particular god, or goddess, and hundreds of thousands of people eating what was cooked.
The reason behind this post was a picture that was posted on Facebook that showed a Heathen burning the remains of a goat that was given to Thor. A couple of years ago I saw a photo of a deer that was sacrificed to Artemis. The Hellenists didn't care that it was an animal sacrifice as long as it was done humanely. The response that non-recons gave to the photo was shocking. Most of them absolutly hated seeing it on their news feed. They screamed and they made their anger known.
I've asked recons what they think about this and, of course, they gave the ancient reason that this would of been done. It didn't really give a modern reason for the answer. However, I do believe I know the reason and the reason is very clear. This hate for animal sacrifice, which stayed with people long after it was outlawed, bleeding into animal rights activists, vegan lovers, and anti-religious idiocy, shows it's fangs when a recon attempts animal sacrifice to whatever god that they believe in. The simple belief that modern pagans do not take part in these practices has become so mainstream that it's not even funny.
They want all pagans to follow this, even if it's not apart of their tradition and they are attempting to regain what was lost. Do I support animal sacrifice? Yes, I do. I believe, as long as the animal is humanely killed, that it does have a place on the altar of our gods. What I don't support is fake outrage, screaming, attacking something that meant something to those that took part, and just being a jerk. Don't state that animal sacrifice was the worst thing that the ancients did. This was their traditions, traditions that were taken from them, and if they want to take part then let them.
That's all that I have to say.
Isreal being the only exception
This included cultures like Rome, Egypt, Greece, Persia, and others. Human sacrifice was also done, but it was done in huge quantities in the Aztec and Myanan cultures. Animal sacrifice served many purposes. It was an offering to the gods and it was a way for the common person to get meat in their diet, which wasn't something that everyone could afford to have. Another purpose of animal sacrifice was to gain a god's favor. And during ancient times that was very important.
When Christianity came around animal sacrifice was outlawed and punished by death. The idea of sacrificing an animal to a god, or goddess, was considered sickening, barbaric, and demonic. This belief in the unnaturalness of animal sacrifice as bled into animal rights activists, vegan diets for those that aren't vegan due to health reasons, and the general dislike of those that eat meat. When we read about animal sacrifice that was done in the past, we envision hundreds of animals being killed for a particular god, or goddess, and hundreds of thousands of people eating what was cooked.
The reason behind this post was a picture that was posted on Facebook that showed a Heathen burning the remains of a goat that was given to Thor. A couple of years ago I saw a photo of a deer that was sacrificed to Artemis. The Hellenists didn't care that it was an animal sacrifice as long as it was done humanely. The response that non-recons gave to the photo was shocking. Most of them absolutly hated seeing it on their news feed. They screamed and they made their anger known.
I've asked recons what they think about this and, of course, they gave the ancient reason that this would of been done. It didn't really give a modern reason for the answer. However, I do believe I know the reason and the reason is very clear. This hate for animal sacrifice, which stayed with people long after it was outlawed, bleeding into animal rights activists, vegan lovers, and anti-religious idiocy, shows it's fangs when a recon attempts animal sacrifice to whatever god that they believe in. The simple belief that modern pagans do not take part in these practices has become so mainstream that it's not even funny.
They want all pagans to follow this, even if it's not apart of their tradition and they are attempting to regain what was lost. Do I support animal sacrifice? Yes, I do. I believe, as long as the animal is humanely killed, that it does have a place on the altar of our gods. What I don't support is fake outrage, screaming, attacking something that meant something to those that took part, and just being a jerk. Don't state that animal sacrifice was the worst thing that the ancients did. This was their traditions, traditions that were taken from them, and if they want to take part then let them.
That's all that I have to say.
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