How to arrange a destiny, or What is a sacred sacrifice

From time immemorial, religious rituals included sacrifice. It could have been peace offerings in the form of food and flowers or insane bloody bacchanals by today's standards. And although the gods have become less vindictive and do not require human lives, the behavior pattern has remained. Now, like ourselves, rituals have acquired an external shine and civilization, in fact, remaining an ancient, archetypal fear of the future. And the evidence is fervent debate about what a sacred sacrifice is, and how to give the gods their offering.

What is sacred sacrifice in Christianity ?

In ancient temples during the ritual, the worshiper stood knee-deep in the blood of sacrificial animals. The number of victims sometimes amounted to thousands - the echoes of the ancient Greek hecatomb, when, to locate the gods, they cut a hundred bulls. Imagine the smell of blood, the cries of animals from the pain and apprehension of death. A myriad of flies circling over puddles frosting, smelling of blood smoldering, and crowds of excited believers - women and children, enraptured by the spectacle of death. A terrible thing, but it was not always so - many holidays, like today, were accompanied only by plant food and handicrafts with a sacred meaning. But nevertheless, the mores of our ancestors would terrify the most zealous Satanists.

The Bible, despite its general peace-loving spirit, abounds in cruelty. Beginning with the expulsion of his beloved children from paradise, God continued, as that steel, to temper people, then demanding from Abraham to kill his son, then forcing Cain to make short work of his own brother. All ended with the fact that Jesus died on the cross by the decision of his father and atonement for the sins of the world. And as the constant danger that lurked contemporaries of the apostles gave way to a measured, lazy current of modern life, so did the blood gradually leave the church, leaving echoes of cruel customs in the form of blood-stained eggs on the Easter table and a quiet confession to the priest.

Ritual traditions of the Slavs of the pre-Christian era

Contrary to the opinion of those advocating the exclusiveness of the so-called "Russian way", our ancestors did not shy away from sacrificing not only animals but also humans. Of course, these were mostly captives and slaves, but words from the song, as they say, can not be erased. There was a hierarchy of gifts brought to the gods - chickens, dogs, horses. The most significant gift that an idol could receive was a man. There are many medieval accounts of the death of concubines and widows at the funeral of a noble husband.

After all, what is sacred sacrifice in the form of human life, as not the highest act of obedience and recognition of the primacy of the spiritual world? From the notes of Turkish travelers it is clear that the people of Kiev in 983 did not shy away to kill for the glory of their gods. According to foreign subjects, Perun was once devoted to the life of a young Varangian who refused to bow to a wooden idol. A German scientist Helmold told of the martyrdom of the Christian bishop in 1066. As we see, the ancestors did not deny themselves the satisfaction of religious feelings through the suffering of others.

Origin of the word "victim" in Russian

It is hard to imagine, but the word "to eat", which is so beloved by ill-bred teenagers, comes from the Church Slavonic "zhrytva". Therefore, a rough "grub" originally related to ritual food, consecrated meal, which served as a representative of the cult. The priest followed the ritual and was the first to taste the food prepared for the gods, often leaving himself tidbits. Due to the universality and relevance of the tradition has survived many churches and religions.

Insatiable Indians

Nowhere in the known societies did not shed such rivers of blood as the ancient inhabitants of South America. Maybe excessive humidity and darkness of mosquitoes excite cruelty, maybe even that, but the fact is that the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs to the whole world have thundered with their excessively bloodthirsty holidays. For the sake of justice we say that not always for the sake of pacifying idols, adults and children were killed. Victims could be less bloody - plants, weapons and household items.

It is believed that in the excessive cruelty of the Mesoamerican tribes, their myths are to blame. Thus, Quetzalcoatl shed blood from the genitals to create the world, and in the myth of the Fifth Sun, the gods sacrifice themselves for the sake of the human race. In defense of this theory is the cult of suicides, practiced by the Aztecs. If you want, you can plunge into the atmosphere of cruelty and fear, after watching Mel Gibson's famous movie "Apocalypse", known for its realism.

Modern sacrifices

Bloody victims of religion have sunk into oblivion, leaving echoes on the dark African continent, where life costs half a morsel of corn and two cigarettes. The press no-no da da scares ordinary people with stories about the rituals of "voodoo" and the use of human organs for the spirits to send the harvest. But for most, all this is just horror stories, not everyday reality. What is the sacred sacrifice for us - the contemporaries of Facebook? Everyone finds his way out to an important religious instinct. One does not wash clothes, when Spartak plays, another does not eat flour, the third has vowed celibacy for one well-known reason - genetic habits will continue for a long time.