Bread by Vader / rommelortega@gmail.com

Jesus Christ’s Sacrifice and the Kosher Animals

I would like to take this opportunity to take a break from too much management, capitalism and economics in my writings and try to revisit my Faith and explain how it is a bastion of environmentalism and social justice from the very beginning. I will also try to explain this piece with a view from a fictional novel, movies or anything that seemingly does not exist. We just have to remember that many things in the world are fiction including the belief in the unseen God as explained by Yuval Noah Harari. In perspective, the corporation you are working for now is also a legal fiction and the case about the West Philippine Sea in the Hague is also a legal fiction. What exist are the water, the living things and the “nonliving” things in the area or the whole ecosystem. I am not saying that fiction is not necessary, it is of course.

Let me start here, being a Catholic in the Philippines nowadays is nothing unusual. The nation is 85% Catholics yet some pagan beliefs continue to thrive whether openly or discreetly. For those who were born and raised in Metro Manila, they may not have any knowledge about padugo, killing of animals to spill the blood as a sacrifice. But for those of us who grew up in the provinces, we still encountered the practice. Why does this pagan stuff continue to thrive and does it have a root in Judaism which is supposed to be of clean monotheistic belief, I mean untainted monotheism? In Judaism, they were commanded to sacrifice kosher animals for their sins and other ritual observances. The Jews would usually say corban – the sacrifices that are due to Yahweh. Corban is a Hebrew term that denotes offering to God either for sins, favor or homage. Kosher on the other hand means fit or proper or it also means it satisfies the Jewish Law. 

In the Bible, I read that there were numbers of kosher animals sacrificed to Yahweh and the Jews at that time do it either annually or even daily. I could only imagine how the blood of animals was spilled to satisfy the “anger or justice” of God. Animals after all are innocent. That is the concept in the Catholic and Orthodox Belief. Christ was an innocent sacrifice for the atonement of sins of humanity; and both believe that Christ is present and alive in the form of bread and wine! Sounds interesting, isn’t it? If we go molecule by molecule, I think the bread and wine are alive by themselves alone. Well, in the Catholic Church the words or formula must be said: priestcraft isn’t it? In any case, Christ said to us that “we believe so it is.” 

What is the significance of Christ’s self-sacrifice for the Green Movement? I say, “A lot!” If not everything that the Greens are fighting for. Imagine this, all kosher animals that were sacrificed, if Christ did not come, from 2,000 years ago to now? Quite substantial isn’t it? And it could even be prevalent in the whole world if Christianity is not the prevailing belief system, more so in other parts of the world where human sacrifices were once practiced, it was also practiced in Caesarea Philippi in Israel by the pagans of that time. Let me shorten the statement: Christ released the animals and humanity from the burden of being sacrificed by putting the plant produce “equal” to Him. Because as a matter of fact, “The plants and animals are manifestations or symptoms of the Life that we could not see–who is Christ in His Spirit existence!” I am of course speaking of “God as fiction.” Or, unseen, but not necessarily could not be perceived. The use of our reason, if we are mentally capable, could be an avenue to know the Truth or the God, and faith should accompany reason to reach the certainty of God, this is an entirely different topic and I have to stop here for now.

Now, let me dig into the concept. In the Bible, when Cain killed his brother, Abel, blood was spilled on earth for the first time, figuratively. God killed an animal for Adam and Eve’s covering after they sinned thus it was in fact the first spilling of the blood as recorded in the Bible. Prior to the killings, our progenitors eat fruits and vegetables as their sustenance in paradise, there was no manufacturing system for food only that Nature provides, we could say in anthropology and sociology that they were food gatherers. Then they were thrown out of paradise. They propagated outside it but then humans got so evil that God tried to wipe them off the face of the earth through a flood. Eight, Noah’s family, were saved; they were then commanded that they could then eat animals. If we continue reading the Bible, we will stumble upon the story of Joseph the Dreamer. In the concept of bread and wine, we will end with the baker being killed and the winecup bearer being saved, as fulfillment of Joseph’s dream. Uhm, sounds bread and wine in the Church–the Bride of Christ, doesn’t it?

The trajectory of the Greens today and for the future is to go back to our pristine condition as if we were in paradise. Fruits and vegetables diet–how great would it be? Not only that, other Greens, especially the Christians, see the return to paradise as stated in the Bible in this manner: humanity will be living side by side with lions, oxen and cobras. Whew! Sounds interesting and exciting. This living with former wild animals can only be achieved with the use of gene altering mechanisms devised by humanity–in my view for now–readers correct me if I am wrong. It is also true of the genes of the wheat and the tares. It is true that cat families including lions eat grasses when they are sick and from there humanity could find out where that instinct comes from. Another way of looking at it is that Nature knows that we have to go Green when finding cures for humanity’s maladies. Looks like Green is part of the solution since humanity and the planet are sick.

Personally, I eat meat but not much–I prefer buko salad or fruit salad with a small dairy. I delight in the suggestions of the Hindus that we should only eat a little meat to satisfy our protein requirements or we could substitute it with vegetable based meats, soy from the US could be a candidate. I am just conscious that this may not be taught in churches as we are warned by Saint Paul not to succumb to teachings about prohibitions on food that have no moral value. The most that we could get is the value of patience in not eating all on the table just to satisfy our palate’s desire, Muslim and Jewish styles. This part of waiting before eating is a well documented study about success, another different story, as written by Daniel Goleman in a book: Emotional Intelligence. 

In the fictional movie Underworld, where the Clans of Vampires and the Clans of Werewolves were in a mortal struggle, we could decipher the difference between those who drink the wine (blood) and those who eat the flesh (bread). These are two species: one who wants to dominate one while the other wants freedom. The series would say that they were in fact a Church concept wherein you just add crucifixes inside the castles of vampires and you already have cathedrals. What I could say is that, the subtle messages in the series are what are the competing thoughts that we have in the world today and their visions would bring the future to the planet earth. Yes they are fiction, but wait for it and you will realize their visions materializing before our very senses. Figuratively, the Werewolves’ animal instincts are but our instincts as well that have to be mastered just like what Yahweh said to Cain, “You must master sin or let sin not be your master.” This is not a verbatim statement but the concept is here. The “godlike” stature of the Vampires is what we should aspire to – this at least is my opinion on the movie. Not that we do not have sexual urges but Christ is the Model par-excellence, it will be a struggle of course. But why struggle when Saint Peter, the first Pope, had a wife? Well, follow the Master, Jesus, but you also have a choice. I believe that Jesus is always in ecstasy in heaven. As a statement, we are in love with Christ and at the same time accepting the management or “control” by the Pope on earth. 

After all this struggle of humanity, the Greens want unity since we had one progenitor: Christ, the Root and Offspring of King David, a puzzle for many but not for Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Hindus. In addition, there was a scene in the Bible when Jesus asked the Jews of the olden-times how it was that the Messiah is the Lord and Son of David at the same time. The question was for the religious authorities, none dared to debate Him again since they could not answer but for the “uneducated”, Jesus’s words were so sweet that they were delighted by His revelations. I could only imagine that the “ignorant” people went home smiling and happy after the conversation. Now, the secrets are being revealed; and a glimpse to our salvation and the defeat of Satan are certain. So the people went home, most probably, joyful.

In Conclusion

Jesus abolished the sacrifice of animals and humans once and for all and made the fruits of the vine and the bread as equal substitutes. He also called on us to support the poor in their struggles for social justice. John the Baptist said that if you have extra tunic give it to the one who has none (equality or equitableness). He also had a message to the soldiers, “Be content with your pay, do not intimidate the people and tell only the truth.” Personally, I could not be more green than Jesus or more concerned with social justice than His cousin, John the Baptist. The soldiers and the police, though, are also our concern in our fight for social justice as they also should have hazard pay, living wage, housing, health and beauty care, continuing education, free books or meals, etc…

***I would like to take this opportunity to call our readers to join us in the Green Movement to propagate the call of our Church and Pope Francis in the Laudato Si.

***For political affiliation, if this is your way, you may contact me at rommelortega@gmail.com or text me at 0995-2026-804.

***For NGO work, you may contact us at makakalikasan.organization@gmail.com or text 0995-2026-804.

***For enterprising or business people you can also reach us at the same communication details. In fact, we are looking for green products to promote and sell. If you have one, kindly approach us. Or, if you want to sell and distribute green products, you can also approach us for that.