One thing I have learned through my research into the historical past of humans is that in ancient days, especially amongst groups which did not have dictators who tried to conquer their known world their lives were based on the practicalities of survival. Even when they developed great artistry, and wisdom, they still viewed it in a practical way, and the spiritual/religious aspect was properly integrated into their way of living.

For some people, it is necessary to accept that sacrifice has its place within the world. Today we may be too materialistic, and lack much spiritual and even practical attitudes to living which often results in a limited one-sided view of life. Over the past 2000 years we have tried to compartmentalise everything including spirituality!

In my view, in the past, people were concerned about getting enough food. They were also concerned about giving up something in return for the resources they needed to survive. I think they felt this was important. So many ancient groups believed in giving up a life, pouring the blood onto the land, drinking the blood of sacrificed people to pass on the goodness their blood held, etc. Ritualistic yes, but also practical. They, like many today, did not believe in getting something for nothing. “There is no such thing as a free lunch” is a very modern statement. This attitude is based on the idea of sacrifice, and often we “eat” the fruit of our negotiated endeavours. Perhaps these people in the past believed that if they ate the blood/meat of their human sacrifices they would be filled with a greater goodness?

I also find the idea of the Eucharist being a sacrifice, something that I was taught to believe when I was a young girl. So often I was told that the bread was Christ’s body, and the wine was Christ’s blood. It may be symbolic, but in essence what the Eucharist is about is a form of sacrifice, and by eating/drinking of Christ’s symbolic body we also, symbolically, become one with Christ. The fact that a more modern Christian believes it should be viewed as taking the food from a mother figure, is enlightening, and I certainly don’t mean to cause offense when I suggest that this, along with other aspects of Christianity, has changed its emphasis, not only over 2000 which is always a great possibility, but even during my almost sixty years of life. Certainly, when I was younger at Easter it was the sacrifice that Jesus gave, willingly, for all our souls, that was important. The resurrection was secondary to that. But then I was born soon after WWII so the idea of sacrifice was still prevalent in people’s minds.

The blood of many innocent people was spilled all over the world then, and the soil of this planet would have been nourished by it. Ås we have gained “mother’s nourishment” over the centuries from our planet, so “sacrifice” and blood being spilled, can be seen as a return of the life giving favour.

For those who eat the flesh as in what we call cannibalism it is often due to a need to survive and it may feel as if fate/the planet/god has left those who are desperate a means to survive.

I remember hearing about a group of tribesmen somewhere who when they buried one of their family would do so in a set family area, and as part of the ritual would take the skull of an ancestor and drink the blood of the newer dead person from the skull. I can’t verify it, but it was definitely reiterated on a documentary once so the whole idea stuck in my memory. I can’t say how accurate this statement is, but it has become a part of my knowledge base and made me realise how important it is to view what people did in ancient times as part of a very practical view of the world around them.

It would seem that any matter disscussed in an objective manner in the context of history will demand respect.

Dont forgat that a lot of us could not care less and just want to say eeer or feel better than others and lastly cement our similarities to feel better about our selves and our social group.

On the other hand some ill educated individuals may take the article to be authoritive…how do you feel about cannibalism?