Do Christians slaughter lambs? If not then where does the phrase "Lamb of God" come from?

author

Yes they do. And here is a link that tells something about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_god Mar 10 08, 6:01 AM

star_gazer

Christians do not slaughter lambs any more or less that other peoples of different religions might. "Lamb of God" is used in Scripture to represent Jesus the death of whom atones for the sins of humanity. http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/lamb-of-god.htm Mar 10 08, 6:38 AM

Baloo55th

I can't find anything in author's site to support this - the only reference in there to actual slaughter of a lamb is in Old Testament connection. There is a rather interesting bit in there which suggests that Lamb of God might be no more than us saying God's Kid. The vast majority of Christian sects have rejected the OT physical sacrifices of the Mosaic law (which makes the adherence of some of them to what they consider the letter of Biblical law rather dubious - how can they insist on homosexuality, for example, being forbidden, when they do not perform the set rituals laid down for purification and other occasions?) and instead use communion/eucharist and similar rituals as substitutes. Lamb of God is also a rather good heavy metal band (originally known as Burn the Priest) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_God_(band) Mar 10 08, 8:03 AM

author

The lamb is eaten in all cultures, and therefore also slaughtered. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:British_Lamb_Cuts.svg I might have misinterpreted the question. If the question goes: Do Christians slaughter lambs as a part of their religious rituals, the answer is probably 'no'. The Christian replaced the Jewish ritual slaughter - the Korban - with other rituals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban Here is a quote from the same reference about the Christian belief. Quote: Christians understand that sacrifices were commanded by God because of mankind's need to be ransomed from the punishment of sin (Lev. 17:11). They believe that since God is holy, he demands perfection in his followers, which is an unattainable standard (Rom. 3:23). The sacrificed animals were a sign of God's grace to mankind - in effect allowing the death of an acceptable animal to take the place of a man's death. Christians believe that this system of substitutionary atonement was prophesied to end with the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah's death was to be the atoning sacrifice for the entire world, thereby invalidating the need for the old system of animal sacrifice (Heb. 10:1-18). Mar 10 08, 9:57 AM

author

Note also this, as a comment to Baloo 55th. Quote: Geza Vermes writes that the title Lamb of God does not necessarily refer to the metaphor of a sacrificial animal. He points out that in Galilean Aramaic the word talya, literally "lamb," had the common meaning of "male child". This is akin to "kid" meaning "child" in modern colloquial English. The female equivalent of Talya was Talitha, literally "ewe lamb" and figuratively "girl" (the word is found in the Narrative of the Daughter of Jairus). Thus, "Lamb of God" could have been a slang means of saying "Son of God" or "God's Kid". This view differs from the traditional understanding of the phrase as it is used in reference to the acts of Jesus, and not merely his status as the Son of God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice#Christianity Finally, today animal sacrifice is practiced by two Christian groups, namely the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Christian Churches of God (CCG). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_sacrifice#Christianity Mar 10 08, 10:15 AM

Baloo55th

Nitpicking again - the Jains don't slaughter lambs at all, and the Japanese slaughter very few (but do eat them), importing their lamb 99% from Australia and New Zealand, most of the rest coming from the USA and for some unlikely reason Iceland. Sheep in Japan are only reared in Hokkaido. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-381413/SCOPE-Japan-asks-Where-s.html#abstract Mar 10 08, 11:33 AM