For several years, I have been a vegetarian-actually a pescatarian- since I occasionally eat seafood. I was raised in a coastal town and have spent over half of my life near water so I suppose I’m part fish.

Living my retirement years amidst the organic farms and ecologically minded folks of western North Carolina has given me a deep appreciation for all the laborers who bring food to our tables; the planters and harvesters, transporters and grocers. It really is a “food chain.”

But it’s done more than that. It has provided me with much inspiration and guidance about the intimate relationship between humans and the natural world; all bound together in the sacred nature of the creation story. 

Have you ever thought about the way animals are treated in the world of faith? I’m not talking about Saint Francis and his love of birds, or the dove of the spirit, or the image of the baby Jesus surrounded by peaceful creatures in the stable or the donkey he rode into Jerusalem. I’m not talking about the Hindu religion where animals are not only “sacred” but can be considered as gods. Elephants, monkeys and snakes are revered and as we know, cows are protected.

I’m speaking of the role of the animal in sacrificial celebrations.

In Pakistan alone, nearly 10 million animals are sacrificed every August-September for the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice). Across the Muslim world, millions more are killed for religious festivals each year, and up to 50,000 chickens are killed in Brooklyn alone for Yom Kippur.

Not all Buddhists are vegetarians, but like the Jains of India, there is a special “mindfulness” toward all living things. After all, Buddha ate meat, and one legend says he died after eating pork.

Lest Christians feel any better about how they treat the animal kingdom, consider Easter and Christmas (let alone Thanksgiving), these “celebrations of life.” It’s estimated that 22 million turkeys are consumed for Christmas and 300 million pounds of ham are eaten at the holidays.

For Jews, the Ah’Kedah (the Binding of Isaac) is a story from the Hebrew Bible found in Genesis chapter 22. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mt. Moriah. Abraham begins to comply, when a messenger from God interrupts him. Abraham then sees a ram and sacrifices it instead. (Or, as one young person when asked what lesson he learned from the story replied “when someone hears a voice that says to do something awful for God, we should pause and ask questions.”)

Of course, all of this animal sacrifice in the Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) originates in Bible stories where blood sacrifice is integral from beginning to end. The Lord demands the “shedding of blood” of common birds, cattle, and sheep as proof of devotion and as requirement for forgiveness.

In the Christian story, the ultimate price of devotion is the “Lamb of God” giving his life for the sins of the world. This is what “atonement” means. I remember the words of a song we all sang during my adolescence years in church, “There is wonder-working-power in the Blood of the Lamb.” During communion services we would say, “This is the Body broken for you; this is the Blood, poured out for you.” The symbolism was ever-present.

Our beliefs have a great deal to do with the way we treat our fellow-creatures. The popularity of wildlife parks and proliferation of “pet-friends” should tell us something about all our creatures, great and small.

In the succeeding centuries after the Bible, some Jewish and Christian scholars explained why killing something was no longer required. Some said that prayer was the new sacrifice, or “giving one’s life’ in devotion. Then again, the veneration of “martyrs” as heroes of faith-the “saints”-perpetuated the belief that the spilling of blood was indeed the ultimate test of faith.

I believe the answer to the perplexing dilemma can be found in the composition and narrative of the Hebrew Bible itself.

I have long held the opinion that the historical Moses was the author of most of the book of Deuteronomy (there was added editing of the Deuteronomic Code) and that he was a pure monotheist who taught the love of God and righteous behavior without animal sacrifice or occult issues. The authorship by Moses of only the book of Deuteronomy is a view supported by many in the field of academic Biblical scholarship. 

The book of Deuteronomy was written in archaic Hebrew, mostly in the first person (Moses), and was written many years before the first four books of the Pentateuch. The books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, while containing reverent judicial, historical and spiritual material, were however, written by cultic and royal scribes and included much cult, mythical and even miraculous material.

The Torah prophets, Amos, Micah, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all continued the pure monotheistic approach of Moses as expressed in the book of Deuteronomy and utterly rejected animal sacrifice together with other occultist ideas and practices.

For years now I’ve had the thought: animals must really hate religion- especially religious holidays. Millions upon millions of furry and feathery creatures “give their lives” year after year for “sacred celebrations of life.” They aren’t dying voluntarily. It makes one wonder whether there really should be a heaven for all these creatures that die so that others may live.

Perhaps we can’t all become vegetarians, but maybe we could think more about the lives we take and consume in our celebrations of life. And…examine our own deeply held motives for doing so.

 

Ralph Buntyn is executive vice president and associate editor of United Israel World Union. An author, historian and researcher, his many articles and essays have appeared in various media outlets.