ANIMAL SACRIFICES ARE COMMON AMONG THOSE WHO SEEK REDEMPTION BECAUSE THEY CANNOT PERCEIVE OF ANY OTHER MEANS. The Problem With Animal Sacrifice Is It Is Ineffective And Therefore Unnecessary. Human sacrifice has become a better means for attaining life eternal, but Satanists or Luciferians think child sacrifice is a better option rather than acknowledging the truth that Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world.

In the Old Testament days, was animal sacrifice just a Jewish thing or common in other nations? Where did it start?

Were any nations against it?

Happy Riches Answer requested by Diane Shatto

Across the world, there is evidence of animal sacrifice within most cultures. Notable exceptions are Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam. Providing that you do not count the sacrifice of animals for food. Taoism bans animal sacrifice in its temples, but animal sacrifices are offered by adherents to the gods of the ancestors by the people themselves.

Within the Bible, the first animal sacrifice was the animal used to make garments for Adam and Eve. Whether this was a religious sacrificial offering is often debated, for there is no conclusive statement that it was appeasement for sin.

• And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”— therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:21–24)

There is nothing in the above context from Genesis to suggest that any animal slain was a sacrificial offering required for appeasement. In fact, from a Christian viewpoint, what is more conspicuous is the fact that God clothed the man and the woman who had violated His requirement. The need for God to clothe us is overlooked by people today; even by those who expound the text and claim that the skins were provided by a sacrificial lamb.

• “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. (Revelation 3:15–18)

Although you ask whether animal sacrifice has been a common act, what needs to be understood is there exists an inherent recognition within humans that everything is not right on Earth; therefore, something has gone wrong somewhere. Sacrificial offerings are offered in the hope that this might somehow appease the Creator. Those who are totally blind spiritually deny that there is a Creator (who is the judge of all) and seek to utilize, what they perceive as, the gullibility of the masses for their own enrichment and self-aggrandizement. Hence, we find various interpretations of examples within history that suggest human sacrifices were being offered to the gods to appease rulers, who may have considered themselves the embodiment of a god.

One thing we do know, according to the Bible, King Herod accepted worship as God and was eaten by worms.

• On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and made an oration to them. And the people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he did not give God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:21–23)

The Jewish system of animal sacrifice was tutorial and never really considered by Christians to be effective of itself in accomplishing the desired outcome represented by the sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews spells this out:

• For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near. (Hebrews 10:1)

• But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. (Hebrews 10:3)

• When he said above, “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law). (Hebrews 10:8)

• And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (Hebrews 10:11)

Within the different cultures around the Earth, people offered sacrificial offerings to the gods for various reasons. The Bible states that the first animal sacrifice was made to clothe humans—interpreted to indicate the need of a sacrifice being required to cover the naked shame of giving God the finger, which morons delight in doing. Yet God is prepared to overlook the idiots who act in ignorance and clothe them with righteousness. According to the book of Revelation, idiots have to wise up first, if they are to be clothed by God, rather than be shamed for acting like morons who refuse to acknowledge the truth about existence.

The Jewish system of animal sacrifice was not performed to appease the Creator God’s bloodthirstiness, rather it was created as a viable system of worship that provided instruction for those who sought to understand the truth of existence, and food for those who were to attend to the spiritual needs of the people. Other civilizations may have utilized similar systems for controlling the people bound by the culture, but the rationale for the sacrifices did not contain the truths that are to be found within that which was given by our Heavenly Father to the Israelites. For everything within the Israelite system pointed to Lord Jesus Christ and how people ought to be faithful to one another.

Truths Inherent Within The Sacrificial Offerings Are Overlooked And Misunderstood

SIGNS OF A GUILTY CONSCIENCE CAN BE COVERED BY THOSE WHO ARE SOPHISTICATED ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THAT CONFESSION CAN BE PROVIDED OPENLY IN A COVERT MANNER. Not Everybody Is Able To Grasp The Concept Of A Sophisticated Conscience That Is Able To Make Veiled Confessions. Most people simply feel guilty because they are internally challenged in respect to what they have done and said.

What is a guilty conscience? What are some signs of this?

Harry Riches Answer requested by anonymous

First of all, let us define what is a conscience and what is guilt, before considering what the signs are of a guilty conscience.

One’s conscience is the internal recognition of what is morally right and wrong. But a more developed definition that nearly answers your question is found in a glossary of psychology:

• Your conscience is what tells you whether an action is right or wrong. It is the reason you have guilt or remorse after doing something morally questionable, and the reason you feel relief or pride after telling the truth or giving to charity. It can also have an affect on decisions you are contemplating. If you just have a bad feeling about a possible action, your conscience may be telling you to choose otherwise. The sense of right and wrong is learned and deeply embedded, so someone with a very strict religious upbringing may have a more critical conscience than someone brought up with a looser moral compass.

Guilt can be construed as a feeling or as a judgment that attributes culpability to a person. If guilt is construed as moral responsibility for some action or oversight, judgment may be struck by a court to ratify that this is so. However, if the person charged with the violation does not feel any remorse or is unaffected by the decision of the judge, then there may not be any pain experienced by the declared culprit.

An habitual liar has no conscience and can look you in the eye and claim s/he is going to help you in every way s/he can while thinking about how s/he can rip you off and increase her own wealth.

Politicians promise the world, but in reality mean the world that they promise you is not the world they have in mind for themselves.

Once a conscience is seared there is no feeling of guilt, therefore liars make good salesmen when talking to the fools of the world. But if a conscience is not seared, then a salesman with a conscience will not sell as much as one with a seared conscience. Pangs of conscience will bring him undone if he finds himself saying things with which he disagrees within himself or knows are not true.

A guilty conscience therefore is one that experiences pain when a person violates his or her internal code of what is right and what is wrong.

Importantly, it needs to be understood that there is a difference between a true conscience and a distorted conscience.

A true conscience lines up with the Ten Commandments, which is the standard of morality acceptable to the Creator.

A distorted conscience is one that is the modified to disregard the Ten Commandments and accept other standards that are right or wrong. Freud called this the superego:

• The division of the unconscious that is formed through the internalization of moral standards of parents and society, and that censors and restrains the ego.

Many people suffer anxiety, even neurosis, because they possess a distorted conscience; which is why it is wise to consider the following:

• Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31–32)

Jewish culture had incorporated many cultural beliefs that were causing anxiety and neurotic behavior among the people. However, Jesus of Nazareth said that by continuing in his word—meaning as the Son of God through Whom came the Ten Commandments—people would know the truth and they would be set free from what Freud termed the superego. The superego is a false conscience—a distorted conscience.

Neurotic behavior results from unresolved anxiety and manifests in obsessive compulsive disorders, unsubstantiated fears, inhibited expression and development of abilities, feelings of depression and unworthiness, and the like. Essentially, violation of our conscience leads to anxiety, which is an unconscious fear of punishment for wrongs done. However, in many cases this inherent fear of punishment for doing what we know to be evil—therefore wrong—is misconstrued within our subconscious as punishment for not performing some perceived transgression.

Confession is not only good for the soul, it prevents people from suffering anxiety from a guilty conscience over real wrongs or perceived wrongs. Politicians are able to overcome their internalized anxiety by admitting that they have done wrong and by telling people they are going to shaft them, while they say they are going to benefit the voters—which is another example of a guilty conscience.

Another way people demonstrate they are guilty and are able to relieve the pain of their conscience is by re-framing their perception of events as they confess their guilt.

Say for instance, two parents killed their daughter and hid her. Typically, as do politicians, they will not answer questions directly but would re-frame the question by providing a different answer to another question, even though not asked.

For instance: Did you kill your daughter?

The natural response would be along the lines of:

• No. We want the person who knows where she is to bring her back to us.

The re-framed response by the murdering parents would be along the lines of:

• Whoever has killed our daughter knows where she is and if we know what has happened to her, we know we can have some closure.

The second response tells that the parents are saying they killed their daughter and because they know where she rests, they have closure. There only fear would be being found out. Time would be on their side. The longer the daughter is missing the more accepting others will be that she is not going to be found.

Irrespective of who we are, until we completely sear our conscience in a three hundred and sixty degree manner, there will always be a little flicker of hope that some pang might cause us to acknowledge the truth. Nevertheless, anxiety is a tell-tale sign in some, but among the sophisticated, we have to listen carefully to what they are saying, for they know confession is good for the soul, and by indirect confession they relieve their feelings of guilt.

Finding The Truth Comes Easy When People Who Have Life Experience Show The Way

A CHRISTIAN SEEKS TO KNOW HOW TO KEEP FAITH IN THIS DAY AND AGE. Yet The Answer To The Question Is So Simple That A Christian Who Has Faith Would Not Ask The Question. This is because to be a Christian, one has to possess faith in the first place, without which it is impossible to be a Christian.

How do Christians keep their faith in Christ in this day and age?

I am curious to know how believers today live their lives in an age where almost everything is accessible and the dynamics of Christian living at the workplace, home and public life. What do Christians do when they encounter roadblocks?

Happy to hear about your personal experiences too.

Happy Riches Answer requested by 1 person

Life is about choices. People make their own choices, even when they are in jail and have restrictions placed upon them that those on the outside do not have. People can exercise freewill, irrespective of the restrictions people have placed upon them by the government, any education or training institution, hospital, workplace, society, organization, means of transport or at home.

The concept of “keeping the faith” to the Christian asking this question appears to be more akin to taking a stance regarding one;s commitment to an ideology, rather than a relationship with Lord Jesus Christ.

Relationships are experiential; therefore, they are vital and very real. People have faith in beliefs that they are told are true; such as, 13–15 billion years ago there was a big bang.

How can anybody be sure there was a big bang? Can the big bang be reproduced in a laboratory? If not, it is not scientific.

Large Hadron Collider creates 'mini Big Bang is not the Big Bang. That is like two molecules smashing into each other, but if you want to believe that is a mini big bang, so is a firecracker. Nevertheless, NASA will show to get from the Big Bang to now in 10 steps—just make sure that you live billions of years.

When I see a dog turn into a cat, then I will believe the theory of evolution. Until such time there is no evidence. Yet people have faith in the evolution belief.

Whereas I have faith that healthy caterpillars will metamorphose into butterflies or moths, and the process will be replicated over and over and over again.

Still waiting for a butterfly turn into a frog, though; or a caterpillar to turn into a bird, rather than being eaten by one.

When a person has a relationship with someone, that relationship is very real; that is, until it is killed off. The people whom a person does not have a relationship with, may as well not exist, because they mean nothing to the person—who are they?

When a person enters into a relationship with Lord Jesus Christ, that person has become a Christian. When I became a Christian, I entered into a relationship with Lord Jesus Christ.

Just like I do not know you and you do not know me, I did not know Lord Jesus Christ. This changed after I entered into a relationship with Lord Jesus. For when he came into my life, my life changed. Which is what you would expect since I can feel the assurance of His gift to me within myself, all the time. Like some mini big bang, human relationships do not have the same reality as what occurs when possessing a relationship with Lord Jesus Christ.

When You Know Where You Stand In A Relationship, An Assurance Surpasses A Belief.

PROOF THE APOSTLE PAUL EXISTED AND WROTE THE BOOKS ATTRIBUTED TO HIM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS HIS OWN HAND. The Apostle Paul Had An Identifying Mark Which He Stated Was His Own Hand Writing. Hand writing is a particularity that is specific to each one of us.

Thessalonians 3:17 says the mark of Paul's letters is his own hand. Does this cast doubt authenticity of Romans, since it was written by his scribe?

Happy Riches Answer requested by Diane Shatto

When people accept a theory to be true, they do so merely based on methodology and not by proof. For proof requires evidence that is real, now.

Some of the marks that point to the authenticity of the Bible are found in fulfilled prophecy and historical evidence.

When it comes to prophecy, many people claim that the prophecies that have been fulfilled were written after the event. Or the prophecies were found after the event. Yet here are two prophecies that are happening in our day that are written in the Bible. But not just recently, but in the first century AD and before.

The first prophecy is the fact that Israel has become a nation once again. For it is foretold in the Bible that it will cease to exist and then become a nation once more. Many people once scoffed at the Bible in the 18th century, just over 120 years ago because Israel did not ever look like becoming a nation.

The second prophecy is that nobody will be able to buy or sell without the number 666. This number is on every bar code that records manufactured items.

The Red Sea crossing has been found with chariots and horses hooves on a bridge that crosses the Red Sea. Mount Sinai has been discovered and at the top the rock is black, as if burned by fire (God is a consuming fire) when God appeared to Moses on top of it. Mount Horeb is also called the Mountain of God—its distinction being a cave—and it adjoins Mt Sinai. There is much more evidence that verifies everything in the Exodus account, not to mention the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah being found and Noah’s Ark (proven with modern scientific instruments to have metal and wood and be the exact size as described in the Bible) but guess how many people would look fools and have no jobs if these were acknowledged.

Paul was an apostle who wrote under the inspiration of God. There are other people who have written under the inspiration of God, even today. People read the books and they feel like God is speaking to them through those books, because they point to Lord Jesus Christ and the truth— the test being whether they speak according to the Law and the testimony (Isaiah 8:20).

Jesus said:

• You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39–40)

Paul agrees with this when writing to Timothy, but expresses the truth in different words:

• How from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)

The Scriptures and the Sacred Writings are the Old Testament. Paul taught out of the Old Testament, as did all the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in his time. The gospels, Acts, the Epistles and the Apocalypse (Revelation), unbeknownst to the writers of the day ,actually fulfilled the prophetic type given to Moses that the indicated that the light for the churches of God would have 66 books.

However, it is only when people share these truths with others who are able to appreciate the workings of God, because they have the assurance of salvation, is it possible to grow in the more sure knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The fact Paul states that he wrote the book of Thessalonians in his own hand is viewed as evidence of its authenticity. However, when one understands the key truths within the book of Romans and Thessalonians, the Apostle's statement is a mark of authenticity for those who knew Paul’s handwriting. For others, the statement merely reaffirms what is already found in the other epistles that are attributed to Paul.

Understanding The Foundation Is The Most Important Component To Sound Teaching

THE DIFFICULTY OF CONVINCING PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY ARE EDUCATED THAT THE BIBLE IS NOT THE WORD OF GOD IS EASY. Everybody Knows An Educated Person Is Not A Fool, Because Fools Lack Sense And Judgment. Not everybody agrees to the definition of a fool, because the Bible states that anybody who does not accept the truth concerning God being the Creator of the Universe and life is a fool.

How can I convince an educated person that the Bible is not the word of God?

Happy Riches Answers request by anonymous.

Convincing an educated person that the Bible is not the Living Word of God is not difficult.

Convincing a person who thinks he is educated that the Bible is not the word of God is easy. Many people who think they are educated believe lies and the bigger they are, the better.

Convincing a person who is educated that God is real and the Bible bears witness to His plan and purpose for mankind is unnecessary, for an educated person already knows this—otherwise he would not be educated. For the Bible calls those who deny the existence of God, fools. By definition, fools are not educated, for we are told a fool is classified as any “person who lacks sense or judgement”.

From the perspective of a person who is educated, and wisdom being what differentiates an education from a secular indoctrination, those who are not wise enough to secure their eternal standing before the One to Whom they have to give an account of themselves and their actions, prior to being cast off the playing field, obviously lack sense, regardless of their judgments.

There Is A Way That Seems Right To Man But Its End Is Eternal Separation From Life

THE MYSTERY OF LAMENTATIONS IS LOST ON MANY PEOPLE YET IT OUGHT NOT BE. Every Person At Some Time In Life Laments Things Done, Whether Knowingly Or Unwittingly. Who has nothing to lament about? Are we not all in the same boat? Are we not all destined for the same end?

What is the book of lamentations chapter 3 in The Holy Bible speaking about?

who is telling this story?

Happy Riches, Answer requested by Jamar Grimsley

The author is unknown, but historically the book of Lamentations has been attributed to Jeremiah because what is written in chapter three aptly describes what he went through.

Jeremiah was leaving the city when he was taken prisoner and later thrown down a cistern that was filled with mire—or, maybe, sewage. Notice how Jeremiah says that he has become a laughingstock (Jer. 20:7) and the writer of Lamentations uses the same language (Lam 3:14). Also, it is clear that the writer of Lamentations could very well have been at the bottom of a cistern; walled in, everything was dark, and, sunk in the putrid mire, he felt enveloped and besieged with the bitterness of the people, as he suffered tribulation.

• O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; every one mocks me. (Jeremiah 20:7)

• So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchi′ah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire. (Jeremiah 38.6)

• I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;…he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light….besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago….He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me… I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the burden of their songs all day long. (Lamentations 3:1–14)

Although, Lamentations records what reflects the experience of Jeremiah, we can also appreciate the sufferings of Lord Jesus Christ being expressed in this lament, and even our own, as we share similar sufferings.

• For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (2 Corinthians 1:5)

The Bible is a book that has a historical and prophetic witness. The Bible is also a book that is a psychological and spiritual record of various individual’s perceptions when suffering. Even so, many readers still endeavor to uncover the hidden rather than understand the obvious and, because of this, are always looking for esoteric tantalizers. Not that there would be much to find of a tantalizing nature in a sewer.

However, if we are wise, we will realize that the historical elements, though relevant to the authenticity of the scriptural record, do not provide the insights of the devotional aspect that comes when meditating the moment that belongs to the now and realizing that “now never ends”. This esoteric appreciation is missing in too many expositions of Scripture because of its personal nature.

Those who attempt to prove that they are right and others are wrong, overlook what is recorded in the Bible, where the state of each individual is described, as here in Lamentations, chapter three. For unless there is a resurrection of the dead, then we may as well be cast into a walled-in sewer, consumed by the stench of bitterness that comes with the very hopelessness experienced by victims of evil tribulation.

Nonetheless, as we read in Lamentations, chapter three, there is always hope of something better while we are alive on planet Earth.

The Adventure Of Life On This Planet Is Discovering One’s Purpose For Existence

WHY READ THE BIBLE WHEN YOU CAN MEMORIZE IT AND THEN NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT IS WRITTEN WITHIN ITS PAGES. Memorizing The Bible Is The Most Convenient Way Of Carry The Written Word On Your Person. For it is not only on your person but within your very mind.

Is there a study Bible that exists in purse size?

Harry Riches Answer requested by Diane Shatto

I once had a small New Testament with 6 point print that was pocket size, which I used to memorize Scripture as I traveled around or went for a walk. Today, we can access much more information on iphones. However, if you do not want to use too much data on your phone, you can always print out passages of Scripture, put the sheet of paper in your purse with the required verses or chapters and refer to that, rather than having to carry around a Bible.

Better still, memorizing Scripture has more benefits. In fact, memorizing passages such as John 3:1–21; John 1:1-18; Romans 5:1–10; Romans 8:1–30; Hebrews 5:7–6:12; Philippians 2:1–18; Matthew 5:1–20; Exodus 20:1–17; Psalm 1; Psalm 23; Malachi 3:6–12; 1 John 1.1–5:21. This way you can carry wonderful truths around in your head.

I think that memorizing Scripture in passages even surpasses carrying a pocket-sized Bible, because in doing so, we are able to develop the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Memorizing Truths Of God Enables Us To Get A Perspective That Surpasses Reading