However God loved animal sacrifice.
Gen.8:20-21 "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour."
Num.18:17-19 "Thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD."
Dt.12:27 "And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh." there are more, but these should be good enough.
God seems to have no problem with the death of animals and the eating of thier flesh in the bible. 'Cource it can be hard to tell what the bible says on any subject.
Or did she?
The great Jewish philosopher Abarbanel believed animal sacrifice was briefly allowed by God in order to end the idolatry the Jews practiced in Egypt. He cited a Jewish writing that indicated that the Jews had become accustomed to sacrifices in Egypt. To wean them from these idolatrous practices, God tolerated the sacrifices but commanded that they be offered in one central sanctuary:
Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said "Let them at
all times offer their sacrifices before Me in the Tabernacle,
and they will be weaned from idolatry, and thus be saved."
(Rabbi J. H. Hertz, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, p. 562)
This was after the Jews had come out of Egypt. One Jewish theologian indicated that God did not want the Israelites to bring sacrifices; it was their choice. He based this on a biblical verse read on the Sabbath when the book of Leviticus (which discusses sacrifices) is read:
Isaiah 43:23
I have not burdened thee with a meal-offering, Nor wearied thee with frankincense.
The bible teaches that animal sacrifices were voluntary. Many have taken the scriptures to mean that we must sacrifice animals in order to please God. This is not what pleases God. We are commanded to obey his laws. This can be see in the book of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 7:22-23
For I spoke
not unto your fathers,
nor commanded them on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning
burnt-offerings or sacrifices; but this thing I commanded them, saying, "
Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
God never commanded us to sacrifice animals. His message was "obey my voice". Nowhere in the Ten Commandments is there any reference to sacrifice, and even when sacrifices are first mentioned (Leviticus 1:2) the expression used is "when any man of you bringeth an offering," the first Hebrew word ki being literally "if", implying that it was
a voluntary act.
I say it again: animal sacrifices were never a law of God. Infact God prefers we don't sacrifice animals. That is what is meant by "To do charity and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice" (Proverbs 21:3). Also, in Hosea 6:6, God said "What I want is mercy, not sacrifice." As was stated before, animal sacrifices were permitted only for a brief time after the exodus from Egypt. After that, God began to hate animal sacrifice. Consider the following verses from the book of Isaiah....
Isaiah 1:11-16
"The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong!
I have stated this a few times before....I believe that "the" Bible started out as a very good interpretation of "God's" word....."man" has since then changed it completely to try an manilpulate other men into doing what they want (perfect example tything).
Indeed, the Roman Empire perverted early Christianity greatly. The Nicene Council played a huge role in the changes.
