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200,000 animals killed in mass animal sacrifice in Nepal
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Today AOL News and other news outlets on the internet had an article describing the ritual sacrifice that will over the next two days kill over 200,000 animals in Bariyapur, Nepal which neighbors India. The animals to be slaughtered include male buffaloes, goats, pigeons, and chickens. The sacrifice is to the goddess Gadhimai, the goddess of Power. It seems to have attracted world attention probably because of the fact that so many animals are killed at once for this festival and because of the method of killing used which involves the use of curved swords.
This sacrifice has sparked outrage and protest throughout the world and even in the local area where the sacrifice is taking place. The feast is criticized because of the mass killings which is seen as barbaric and cruel and because of the fact that so many young animals are being killed. Young buffalo calves are killed by hacking off their heads.
It should be noted however that these animals are not just simply being killed and left to rot; they are being used for food as people take the animals used for the sacrifices and take them back to their towns and villages and have a feast.
By way of commentary, it should also be noted that the American holiday of Thanksgiving is coming and literally millions of turkeys will be slaughtered for the feast and many overlook the religious origins of the American holiday.
Another note of comment on this story is that animal sacrifice is a feature of all ancient religions and that during certain times of year mass sacrifices were held in many ancient religions. In Western religious tradition, there is Judaism, which in ancient times, at the temple in Jerusalem, would slaughter thousands upon thousands of lambs, bulls, and goats for the various sacrifices sacrificed to God, and during the feast of Pesach (Passover) countless thousands of lambs were sacrificed to commemorate that holiday where the Hebrews were freed from slavery in the land of Egypt. The Christian concept of the atonement is rooted in ancient Judaism and the fact that the ancient Hebrews offered sin offerings, both individually and as a nation to God as a way of apologizing for wrongs that were done and for making up to God -- which is what atonement basically is. There are of course also pagan elements in Christianity which also involve animal sacrifice, too and these have been melded together to create modern Christianity.
Although modern Christianity no longer offers literal sacrifices, the language still retains some of the old concepts. Why is the front of the church where the communion is served called an altar?
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