Humans wish for goods and services from the gods
It was the job of ecclesiastical specialists (priests) to obtain these

Options:

• Aggressive approach: threathen to harm the gods who do not cooperate.  Does not work with supreme beings.
• Exchange goods and services with the gods
• Appeal to the gods' mercy and generosity, promising love and devotion in return
• Sacrifice as an expression of devotion: destruction of ones property, self mutilation, slaying a loved one.

Without gods help, humans cannot feed themselves
Must feed the gods to get that help.

But gods only require spiritual essence of food set out for them
The material food itself can be redistributed to the people.
Gifts of food and donations to the gods became taxes for the church in larger state societies.

Meat Offerings

Meat:

• The central focus of food sacrifices to the gods
• Meat is the most prestigious and desired food among humans and therefore also gods
• Thus animal slaughter and religious ritual closely intertwined
• At  the dedication of first temple in Jerusalem, King Soloman sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as a peace offering.
• Meat was not left to rot, but was redistributed to people in feasting.

Human Sacrifice

Human flesh was not generally viewed as meat the gods liked to eat.
Human sacrifice in most instances was intended to win the sympathy of the gods.

Usually children were sacrificed: buried beneath foundations of buildings or burned in Biblical times.

In Carthage, 20,000 children were sacrificed between 400 B.C and 200 B.C., buried in urns.

Prisoners of war also sacrificed.
Most widespread human sacrifice occured at the death and burial of kings.  Often all wives, concubines, cooks, grooms and other servents killed when king died.
 

The Gods Who Would Not Eat People

Why did the gods not like to eat people?
Not an ethical impulse of humans to protect human life -- humans readily slaughtered on battlefield.

Did people not prefer to eat humans?
Not likely -- cannibalism practiced in many band-and-villiage societies and chiefdoms: often prisoners of war eaten

In large state societies:

• It was more cost effective to turn prisoners of war into slaves.
• Each farmer and worker in a state society can produce a surplus of goods and services.
• The larger the population, the more surplus, and the more powerful the governing class becomes.

Band-and-villiage societies:

• Cannot produce large surpluses
• Have no large central government to unite defeated enemies
• Have no governing class to benefit from taxation.
• Bringing a captive home to be a slave is just one more mouth to feed.
• Therefore, more benefit derived from eating a captive.

The Gods Who Ate People

Aztecs had a lsarge state society but their gods craved human flesh, especially human hearts.
Big question: why cannibalism here and not in other state societies?

Job of priests:

• To satisfy craving of gods for human flesh
• If craving not satisfied, gods would destroy the world.
• Prisoners held down on top of pyramid temples, heart cut out still beating, offered to gods.
• Body of prisoner rolled down pyramid, head cut off and displayed, flesh redistributed for meat.
• Cortez found 136,000 heads of sacrifical victims

Why did Aztec prisoners get eaten and not put to work as slaves as in other state societies?
Answer:

• Lack of domesticated animals for meat in new world.
• No other way Aztec rulers could play the role of being great providers by redistributive feasting
• Also satisfy human physiological dietary needs for protein, vitamins and minerals found in meat

The Non-Killing Religions

In the 1000 years before birth of Christ

• New charismatic leaders arose in the Mediterrianian, Middle East, Persia, India
• New leaders denounced ritual killing of people or animals as way to win favors from gods.
• Gods demand lifetime devoted to good deeds, love, kindness to people and all living things
• If defend the poor and weak and restrain appitites and ego, expect reward in heaven: immortality or eternal peace.

Zoroastrianism: ancient Iran and Persian Empire, then died out.

Zoroaster

• Founded by Zoroaster  (Zarathrustra) 7th century B.C. after a vision of Ahura Mazda, Lord of Enlightenment
• Cosmic struggle between god of Good (Ahura Mazda) and god of Evil (Ahariman)
• Humans free to choose one side or other
• If choose Ahura Mazda, must give up intoxicants, ritual slaughter of animals, and shedding of blood and go to heaven when die
• If choose Ahairman, go to hell when die.

Jainism: India, still practiced by 2 million followers

Mahavira

• Founded by Mahavira in 6th century B.C. after he acheived spiritual fulfillment opposing Vedic traditions of animal slaughter and redistribution.
• Accepted rebirth, but denounced caste system and Brahmin rituals
• Path of liberation involves 5 vows: do not kill, tell lies, steal, fornicate, or acquire excessive riches
• Animals, even insects not killed.
• Adepts had higher standards: complete chastity, self mortification including exposure to hunger, thirst, cold, insect bites and intense heat.

Buddhism: Arose in India, spread to far east

Buddah

• Founded by Guatama Siddhartha in 6th century B.C. after enlightenment: realized that he must give up self-inflicted fasting and punishment and find a middle way.
• Opposed caste system and animal -killing religion of the Vedas
• Eight-fold way to achieve nirvana (deliverence from cycle of reincarnation and pain): mental and physical discipline to avoid lying, lusting, killing of animals or people, stealing, or bringing harm to others.

Hinduism: Evolved in India from Vedas

Krishna

• Vedic Brahmans gave up killing of animals and instead became guardians of animal life
• All Hindu castes work to prevent slaughter of cattle, and consumption of beef
• Ahimsa, or reverence for all living beings became central ethical component.

Judiasm: Israel

• Judiasm was not an otherworldly, soul-saving religion
• Israelites followed Jaweh's commandments to be blessed with progeny, freedom from disease, victory in battle, and abundance of wheat, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep.
• Animal sacrifice occurred on a large scale in ancient Judiasm.
• Not really a non-killing religion despite commandment "Thou shall not kill"

Christianity: arose from Judiasm

Jesus Christ

• One of the more recent non-killing religions
• Christianity removed animal sacrifice and redistribution of meat and replaced it with symbolic meal: Eucharist Ritual (last supper).
• Apostle Paul said that the blood of animals cannot take away sin: God had sacrificed his only son to remove human sin, and those without sin would have eternal life.

The Origin of Non-Killing Religions

How did non-killing religions arise and replace redistributive feasting?
Answer:

• When States were being ravaged by brutal and costly wars
• When environmental depletions, population growth, and the rise of cities created food shortages and made it difficult to maintain a steady supply of meat for redistributive feasting
• When the class system produced widespread poverty among the common people

Vedic meat-redistributive religions in India (Ganges Valley) thrived in 1500-500 B.C.:

• Populations were small and spread out in villages
• There were dense forests, and fodder for animals.
• No conflict between raising animals and plowing fields.

By 600 B.C. when Jainism and Buddhism arose:

• Most people in the Ganges Valley lived in a state society
• Population had risen to the millions
• Towns and cities had sprung up
• The Gangetic plain had become deforested
• There was a shortage of pasture and fodder
• Oxen were too scarce to be consumed in feasts (and were needed to plow fields)
• Warfare was incessent, and droughts produced dust bowls.

"Lakes, wells and springs were dried up...Sacrifices were in abeyance.  Agriculture and cattle-rearing were given up.  Markets and shops were abandoned...Festivals died out.  Everywhere heaps of bones were seen and cries of creatures heard.  The cities were depopulated, hamlets burnt down.  People fled from fear of one another or of robbers, weapons, and kings.  Places of worship were deserted.  The aged were turned out of their houses.  Kine, goats, sheep and buffaloew fought and died in large numbers.  The Brahmanas died without protection.  Herds and plnats withered.  The earthe looked like trees in a crematorium.  In that dreadful age when righteousness was at an end, men...began to eat one another" -- Hindu epic poem Mahabarata

Christianity arose:

• At a time of guerrilla wars aimed at overthrowing Roman power.
• High priests, big landowners, and wealthy merchants lived in splendor amidst widespread unemployment, landlessness, and mistreatment of peasants and slaves.
• Throughout the Roman Empire one did not have to be a slave or peasant to be appalled and to feel threatened by the corruption, brutality, class antagonisms and ceaseless wars
• Apostle Paul preached that the promised kingdom was not on earth but in heaven.
• Neither worldly riches nor worldly pain were important because those who loved humankind, lived in peace, and believed in Jesus would be rewarded with the gift of eternal life.

However, to become world religions, the religions of love and mercy:

• Sponsored and encouraged military conquest
• Aided and abeted harsh forms of political repression and control.

How the Non-killing Religions Spread

None of the non-killing religions has had a detectable influence on the incidence or ferocity of war, and each is implicated in devastating inversions of the principle of non-killing and reverence for life.

Why did non-killing religions appeal to warlike founders of empires and dynasties?

• Concern with the soul's prospects in the next life
• Advantages in preserving and incorporating defeated populations as as source of labor and wealth.
• Non-killing religions reassured the enemy that they could survive capture, and made foreign rule easier
• Promise of rewards in afterlife instead of rewards to the body in life was convenient
• Life on earth was painful, but poverty and suffering improved ones chances of eternal bliss
• Governing class did not have to provide wealth and happiness to validate its right to govern.
• Redistribution could not work anyway in times of high population, environmental destruction, economic crisis
• Killing justified by self-defense or wars that were Just, Good and Holy
• Soldiers went into battle convinced that their souls would be rewarded if they died in combat

Kublai Khan

• Spread throughout India and into the far east via 1000 years of war.
• Kublai Khan converted to Buddhism, then conquered China

Hinduism:

• Hindus battled Buddhists in India for hundreds of years
• Buddhists eventually defeated, driven out of their homeland (India)

Christianity:

Constantine

• Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312 A.D.
• The Roman Empire became Christian
• Christians were obliged to perform military service for the Empire
• Rival Christian factions (Gnostics) were suppressed: Roman Church dominated
• Pagan worship, Pagan temples, Judiasm, and Manichaeism all severely dealt with
• Emperor Justinian (529 A.D.) ordered all who refused to become Christians to surrender their property and go into exile.

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