# Jews, Christians and Animal Sacrifice. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957 "2019-03-11T17:09:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/1 "2019-03-11T17:09:32Z")
Why don’t Jews and Christians practice animal sacrifice? It is mentioned in the Bible. Well the Old Testament at least. And I think Muslims practice it. Plus Jews and Christians do eat meat by and large, which is worth pointing out. :):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/2 "2019-03-11T17:15:11Z")
I believe that sacrifices had to be made at the Temple, which was destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/3 "2019-03-11T17:35:18Z")
The Jewish answer is that once the Temple was built, no other place was allowed to be used for sacrificial service, forever. The source for this is Deuteronomy 12:8-14 > [@](#): > > 8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, 9 since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. 12 And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you. The “inheritance” in verse 9 refers to the Jerusalem temple site. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/4 "2019-03-11T17:58:45Z")
The Christian answer (at least how I was taught) is that JC’s self-sacrifice (“lamb of God”) obviated the need for future animal sacrifices. (Of course, the whole “I sent me to sacrifice to me to save you from me” is a whole other problem…) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/5 "2019-03-11T18:27:27Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > The Christian answer (at least how I was taught) is that JC’s self-sacrifice (“lamb of God”) obviated the need for future animal sacrifices. Yup, this is the answer as I was taught, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/6 "2019-03-11T18:52:41Z")
The Jewish answer is that we need the temple rebuilt to have animal sacrifices: > [@](#): > > So the short answer to your question is that we can no longer bring Sacrifices because the Torah forbids us to bring any Sacrifices outside of the Holy Temple. Since we have no Holy Temple, and it is impossible for us to rebuild it at this time, we keep praying to Hashem that we should be able to rebuild it soon in peace, and once again be able to bring the Praise and Thanksgiving Sacrifices once again. > **[Why do we no longer bring animal sacrifices?](http://www.beingjewish.com/unchanged/sacrifices.html)** > > Since Jews live by the Torah, and the Torah commands us to offer sacrifices, why don't we still offer sacrifices today? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/7 "2019-03-11T19:06:08Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The Jewish answer is that we need the temple rebuilt to have animal sacrifices: > > [Why do we no longer bring animal sacrifices?](http://www.beingjewish.com/unchanged/sacrifices.html) And an orthodox Israeli once told me that only a priest (not a rabbi) can consecrate a temple, but no priest can be created for want of a temple. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/8 "2019-03-11T19:11:43Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And an orthodox Israeli once told me that only a priest (not a rabbi) can consecrate a temple, but no priest can be created for want of a temple. I’m as Gentile as they come, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s true (then again, it’s also possible that there isn’t agreement on the subject within the Jewish faith). A few Jewish sites I’m looking at speak of kohanim (priests) in the present tense. [This site says](https://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/rabbi.htm), “After the destruction of the Temple, the role of the kohanim diminished significantly in favor of the rabbis; however, we continue to keep track of kohein lineage.” Other cites: [https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-jewish-priests/](https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-jewish-priests/) [Kohen - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohen#Modern_application) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/9 "2019-03-11T19:23:33Z")
Hari Seldon: > [@](#): > > And an orthodox Israeli once told me that only a priest (not a rabbi) can consecrate a temple, but no priest can be created for want of a temple. This is not true. Priests don’t need to be “created”, any male-line descendant of Aaron is one by birth, and there are plenty of Jews who identify as such. In theory, sacrificial service could resume as soon as a) it is 100% certain the exact spot upon which the Temple altar had stood, and b) it can be done without loss of human life (e.g., Arabs rioting), as that is not one of the commandments that the Torah requires risking one’s life for. The HIGH priest would need consecration, but the Temple sacrificial service could be (mostly) performed even if that office was not filled. Not performing the parts that the High Priest performs does not invalidate the other parts of the service. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/10 "2019-03-11T19:40:29Z")
Practical guess - as money became more prevalent, the meat wasn’t as necessary to support the priestly caste and the pressure to supply it dropped. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t the entire animal that was burned, but only representative parts. It’s been awhile, so I could have misread it. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/11 "2019-03-11T19:42:08Z")
Although it’s not mentioned [in the Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephantine_papyri#Jewish_temple_at_Elephantine), there were animal sacrifices at the Jewish Temple at Elephantine. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/12 "2019-03-11T20:10:25Z")
Hmmm, so PETA should be opposed to rebuilding the Temple… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/13 "2019-03-11T20:25:05Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Why don’t Jews and Christians practice animal sacrifice? > > It is mentioned in the Bible. Well the Old Testament at least. And I think Muslims practice it. I think Muslims would dispute that. Muslims practice religious butchery, that is, no animal can be consumed without being properly killed according to Muslim religious requirements, but that is not the same as animal sacrifice. But any Muslims who wants to correct me on that feel free to do so, as I am no expert. Likewise, kosher-keeping Jews also practice religious butchery. But, again, most people don’t view that as animal sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/14 "2019-03-11T20:25:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **cmkeller** : > > This is not true. Priests don’t need to be “created”, any male-line descendant of Aaron is one by birth, and there are plenty of Jews who identify as such. Nor are we restricted to self-identification. The common surname “Cohen” (and its linguistic variants) denotes such a man. And male-line descent can also be identified via Y chromosome DNA testing, so we know that Cohens really are the male-line descendants of the same individual (with a surprisingly low rate of non-paternity events). If someone bears the name “Cohen” or one of its variants, and has Y haplogroup J-P58, you can be extremely confident that that man is in fact of the priestly lineage. There are other obstacles to consecrating a new Temple (like needing a flawless red calf), but all of the rest of them are insignificant compared to the fact that the Dome of the Rock is on the same site. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/15 "2019-03-11T20:36:24Z")
[Why do Jews no longer sacrifice animals? Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2091/why-do-jews-no-longer-sacrifice-animals/) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/16 "2019-03-11T20:41:55Z")
Chronos: > [@](#): > > The common surname “Cohen” (and its linguistic variants) denotes such a man. A good rule of thumb, but not 100% reliable. My primary Rabbi was named Cohen but was not a descendant-of-Aaron Cohen. The name Katz is similar in this regard. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/17 "2019-03-11T20:53:17Z")
I expect that he inherited the name via a known non-paternity event, from someone who was a descendant of Aaron? In any event, that’s why I said combined with the Y haplogroup. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/18 "2019-03-11T21:02:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > … (with a surprisingly low rate of non-paternity events). > > … I’ve heard them also referred to as “pedigree errors”. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/19 "2019-03-11T22:30:11Z")
Chronos: > [@](#): > > I expect that he inherited the name via a known non-paternity event, from someone who was a descendant of Aaron? I never asked. Could be, or could have been some sort of “Ellis Island” name mixup. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957/20 "2019-03-12T00:52:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m as Gentile as they come, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s true (then again, it’s also possible that there isn’t agreement on the subject within the Jewish faith). A few Jewish sites I’m looking at speak of kohanim (priests) in the present tense. [This site says](https://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/rabbi.htm), “After the destruction of the Temple, the role of the kohanim diminished significantly in favor of the rabbis; however, we continue to keep track of kohein lineage.” > > Other cites: [https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-jewish-priests/](https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-jewish-priests/) > [Kohen - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohen#Modern_application) Today, especially in an Orthodox service, the kohanim still perform some exclusive duties during various services often on behalf of the congregation. Basically, these are simply blessings. (Nothing flashy like sacrifices. :D) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-christians-and-animal-sacrifice/830957.md?page=2)