Judaism
- See main article: Korban
Many Jewish sources discuss the deeper meaning behind korbanot. For example, Sefer Hachinuch explains that an individual bringing an animal sacrifice for a sin understands that he personally should have been sacrificed as punishment for the rebellion against God inherent in his sin, but God mercifully accepts the sacrifice in his or her place. Furthermore, it is considered fitting that an animal is used as a sacrifice because at the moment of sin, the individual in question disregarded his elevated human soul, effectively acting as an animal.
In Kapparot, a rooster literally becomes a religious and sacred vessel and is sacrificed on the afternoon before Yom Kippur. The purpose of the sacrifice being the expiation of the sins of the man as the chicken symbolically receives the man's sins, which is based on the reconciliation of Isaiah1:18 in the Hebrew Bible.
The Samaritans, a group historically related to the Jews, practice animal sacrifice in accordance with the Law of Moses.
Christianity
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Further information: Lamb of God
References to animal sacrifice appear in the New Testament, such as the parents of Jesus sacrificing two doves (Luke 2:24) and the Apostle Paul performing a Nazirite vow even after the death of Christ (Acts 21:23-26).
Christ is referred to by his apostles as "the Lamb of God", the one to whom all sacrifices pointed (Hebrews 10)[2].Christ's crucifixion is comparable to animal sacrifice on a large scale as His death serves as atonement for all of man's sins.
Some villages in Greece also sacrifice animals to Orthodox saints in a practice known as kourbània. Sacrifice of a lamb, or less commonly a rooster, is a common practice in Armenian Church and Tewahedo Church. This tradition, called matagh, is believed to stem from pre-Christian pagan rituals. Additionally, some Mayans following a form of Folk Catholicism in Mexico today still sacrifice animals in conjunction with church practices, a ritual practiced in past religions before the arrival of the Spaniards.[3]
The Survival of Animal Sacrifices inside the Christian Church
Author(s): Fred C. Conybeare
Source: The American Journal of Theology, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan., 1903), pp. 62-90
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3154334
Accessed: 12-03-2015 19:53 UTC
Animal Sacrifice in the Armenian Church
Animal rituals in Hinduism
See: Gandhimai festival :
Animal rights ONLY in Islam
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