Up to a million Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal on Tuesday to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.

By Our Foreign Staff
Published: 5:21PM GMT 24 Nov 2009

Worshippers travelled long distances, many coming from neighbouring India, to attend the controversial ceremony at the in the jungles of Bara district, about 100 miles south of Katmandu. The two-day Gadhimai festival honouring the Hindu goddess of power takes place once every five years in southern Nepal.

A huge weep of “Long Live Gadhimai!” went up after the temple’s head priest launched the event with the sacrifice of two rats, two pigeons, a rooster, a lamb and a pig.

The crowd then rushed to a nearby field, where 250 sword-wielding butchers started the mass slaughter of around 20,000 buffalo, brought by devotees to be sacrificed near the holy temple.

Animal rights activists have held demonstrations in recent weeks in towns near the Gadhimai temple and in Nepal’s capital Katmandu, protesting against what one Nepalese minister said was the largest animal sacrifice in the world.

Critics say the killings – carried out by slitting the animals’ throats with swords – are barbaric and conducted in a cruel manner.

But, Hindu organisers refused to halt the slaughter, saying it is a centuries-ancient tradition. Participants believe sacrificing the animals for Gadhimai will end evil and bring prosperity. The slaughtered animals are taken back by devotees to their villages and eaten during a feast.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/6645024/Worlds-largest-animal-sacrifice-held-in-Nepal.html

Thanks to original news source

Popularity: 1%

This week there has been a conference on the study of life beyond Earth, hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. I am hopeful that their opinions will be made known publicly, and I wish I was a glide on the wall at what must be a hotly debated topic.

The main point of interest is that if we are contacted by an extraterrestrial race of beings, how would it affect us. Of course, some say that aliens are already among us, and our governments simply need to let the info out to the general public.

This conference will be debating a related topic also – if we can confirm alien beings, how should we treat them? Will they also be a being made by God, or did they come into existence in some other way?

Father Jose Funes, one of the organisers of the conference, said: “As a multiplicity of creatures exists on Earth, so there could be other beings, also intelligent, made by God. This does not conflict with our faith, because we cannot place limits on the creative freedom of God.”

There are some very deep reaching questions here. What do you reckon? Do you agree with Funes’ statement?

<

Are Aliens Made by God? originally appeared on About.com UFOs / Aliens on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:51:08.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Popularity: 1%