- Historians have long noticed
the remarkable similarities
00:00:01.40\00:00:03.73
between the
world's major religions.
00:00:03.73\00:00:06.00
So today we're going to
drill down just a little bit
00:00:06.00\00:00:09.40
and ask ourselves why that is
00:00:09.40\00:00:11.84
and whether or not the
whole human race is sharing
00:00:11.84\00:00:14.84
a collective memory of
something really important.
00:00:14.84\00:00:19.01
[upbeat music]
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Visiting Machu
Picchu down in South America
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was always one
of the biggest items
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on my personal bucket list
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because well, I've
always found the Inca Empire
00:00:45.37\00:00:48.11
really, really fascinating.
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I mean, here was
this stunning kingdom
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that at its peak was
in some ways comparable
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to the Roman empire
00:00:55.95\00:00:57.45
and they built it without
the use of a written alphabet
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and even without
the use of the wheel.
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So a few years back
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I was working in
the city of Lima, Peru
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and I finally got
my chance to travel up
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to the city of Cusco.
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And from there, I made
my way out into the Andes
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into the ancient
world of the Incas.
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And I've got to tell you,
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this is one of those things
you really can't experience
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through books or pictures
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because first of
all, the physical setting
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for these ancient
ruins is absolutely stunning.
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I'm talking storybook beautiful.
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And then secondly,
the cities themselves
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they're nothing
short of amazing.
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Now, I'm pretty
sure that most of you
00:01:37.83\00:01:39.33
will recognize a
picture of Machu Picchu
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because it's one of
the most photographed spots
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anywhere on the planet.
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Scholars believe it
was built as an estate
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for the great
Inca Emperor Pachacuti,
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built in the early 15th century.
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So the city is
roughly 600 years old now,
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and except for the wooden roofs
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that used to cover the buildings
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it's still pretty much intact.
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Now if you're
gonna visit Machu Picchu,
00:02:04.39\00:02:06.42
you really wanna get to
these ruins before sunrise
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because the
whole city is situated
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around the
practice of sun worship,
00:02:11.99\00:02:14.40
the rising of the sun.
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The Inca sun god was named Inti.
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And there's a stone
at the top of the city
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known as the Intihuatana
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or the hitching post of the sun.
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There's also a solar
temple just down the hill
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and the whole
city was positioned
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to line up with the
sun on the winter solstice
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which takes place
in June down there
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because they're in
the Southern hemisphere.
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At the winter solstice,
00:02:37.25\00:02:38.79
the days are getting shorter
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and it looks like their sun god
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is wandering
away from his people.
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In the south the
sun keeps moving north.
00:02:45.36\00:02:47.93
So once a year the Incas would
celebrate the winter solstice
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and perform rituals to
convince this sun god Inti
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to come back in their direction.
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Now in the solar observatory,
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just down the hill from
the hitching post of the sun
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there was a mark on a
stone, right by a window.
00:03:02.44\00:03:05.68
And when the sun was at
its lowest point in the sky,
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the patch of light
from the window frame
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would line up with that mark
00:03:11.42\00:03:13.05
and the priests of the
sun god would know for sure
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that it was the very
moment of the solstice.
00:03:16.36\00:03:19.63
And of course then
they could inform the people
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that Inti had
heard all their petitions
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and he'd be coming back.
00:03:24.13\00:03:26.23
Now, what I find
fascinating is the way
00:03:26.23\00:03:28.50
that most ancient
cultures on this planet
00:03:28.50\00:03:30.47
have something similar.
00:03:30.47\00:03:33.07
If you head to the
other side of the world
00:03:33.07\00:03:34.51
and visit the
Boyne Valley of Ireland
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you'll find
ancient passage tombs
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that date back
thousands of years,
00:03:38.55\00:03:41.55
and maybe the most
famous of these tombs
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is the one found at Newgrange
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which appears to be more
of an astronomical structure
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than a grave
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because on the winter solstice
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when the sun sits low in the sky
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a beam of light suddenly pierces
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through to the very
center of the structure
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and lights up the back wall.
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And again, this is what you find
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with a lot of ancient cultures,
00:04:03.74\00:04:05.07
a fascination with the
sun, the moon, the stars
00:04:05.07\00:04:08.41
and the seasons.
00:04:08.41\00:04:09.98
Now, I know we like
to think that people
00:04:09.98\00:04:11.88
in the distant
past worshiped the sun
00:04:11.88\00:04:14.32
because they were
ignorant and superstitious
00:04:14.32\00:04:16.89
but the picture that
emerges out of the ancient world
00:04:18.29\00:04:20.29
is not quite that easy.
00:04:20.29\00:04:22.52
It turns out that
most of these cultures
00:04:22.52\00:04:24.93
were no more
ignorant than we are.
00:04:24.93\00:04:26.93
And in some ways they were
surprisingly sophisticated.
00:04:26.93\00:04:30.80
The night sky provided them
with a very detailed calendar
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and they could
mark the passage of time
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and seasonal cycles
with remarkable precision.
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Somehow some of
these ancient cultures
00:04:40.28\00:04:42.88
actually knew
things about astronomy
00:04:42.88\00:04:44.78
that you and I didn't figure
out until the 20th century.
00:04:44.78\00:04:48.48
For example the
ancient Egyptians
00:04:48.48\00:04:50.99
revered the dog star Sirius
00:04:50.99\00:04:53.19
because when it
appeared on the horizon
00:04:53.19\00:04:55.62
right before sunrise,
00:04:55.62\00:04:57.26
it meant the Nile
was about to flood
00:04:57.26\00:04:59.79
and it was time to
get off the lowlands.
00:04:59.79\00:05:02.46
And somehow, apparently
the Egyptians also knew
00:05:02.46\00:05:04.97
that Sirius was
actually a star system,
00:05:04.97\00:05:07.34
it had more than one star.
00:05:07.34\00:05:10.37
And that's
something we didn't notice
00:05:10.37\00:05:11.97
till the middle
of the 20th century.
00:05:11.97\00:05:14.64
The same was true
of the Dogon tribes
00:05:14.64\00:05:16.91
some 2000 miles south of
Egypt in modern day, Mali.
00:05:16.91\00:05:20.12
They knew it too.
00:05:20.12\00:05:21.78
And according to some
sources, this is disputed
00:05:21.78\00:05:24.65
but some sources say the
Dogons apparently also knew
00:05:24.65\00:05:27.82
that Saturn had rings.
00:05:27.82\00:05:29.92
And there's just
enough circumstantial evidence
00:05:29.92\00:05:32.43
to suggest that maybe they did.
00:05:32.43\00:05:35.03
So I know we
have this assumption
00:05:36.20\00:05:38.13
that our high-tech age
is far more sophisticated
00:05:38.13\00:05:40.84
than the people
who came before us.
00:05:40.84\00:05:42.97
But I would guess
00:05:42.97\00:05:43.91
that your average ancient human
00:05:43.91\00:05:45.97
had a far better
understanding of the night sky
00:05:45.97\00:05:48.21
than you or I do.
00:05:48.21\00:05:50.11
And it turns out that
very few ancient people
00:05:50.11\00:05:52.75
actually thought that the
sun, the moon or the planets,
00:05:52.75\00:05:55.68
the stars were gods.
00:05:55.68\00:05:58.82
They thought of these things
more like a point of contact
00:05:58.82\00:06:01.42
with the spirit world.
00:06:01.42\00:06:02.89
Kind of like, I don't know
the payphone of the universe.
00:06:02.89\00:06:05.59
A lot of ancient cultures
believed that the cosmos
00:06:05.59\00:06:08.20
started out as a
non-material place.
00:06:08.20\00:06:10.70
It was actually, they
said made out of thoughts
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and then slowly over
time, those thoughts condensed
00:06:13.97\00:06:16.87
into gases and
finally physical matter,
00:06:16.87\00:06:19.77
which now makes up the
world that you and I live in.
00:06:19.77\00:06:23.08
So to the ancient pagan mind
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the universe was split
into these two realms of being.
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You had the great mind of
the cosmos, the spiritual world.
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And then you had down
here this imperfect world
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that we live in.
00:06:34.82\00:06:36.52
Now, most of the time
00:06:36.52\00:06:38.19
people give Plato a lot
of credit for this idea.
00:06:38.19\00:06:40.83
We even called it Greek dualism.
00:06:40.83\00:06:43.03
But in reality,
this system of thinking
00:06:43.03\00:06:45.77
dates back a lot further than
his famous school of Athens.
00:06:45.77\00:06:49.97
The Greeks actually revered
an ancient Egyptian philosopher
00:06:49.97\00:06:53.48
by the name of Thoth.
00:06:53.48\00:06:55.08
The man, they said
invented the art of writing.
00:06:55.08\00:06:58.55
Eventually Thoth was
deified as an Egyptian God
00:06:58.55\00:07:01.68
and the Greeks renamed
him Hermes Trismegistus
00:07:01.68\00:07:04.75
or Hermes the great times three.
00:07:04.75\00:07:07.86
And it was from this
fountain of ancient knowledge
00:07:07.86\00:07:10.63
from Egypt that most of
the world's spiritualism
00:07:10.63\00:07:14.46
and dualism made its
way into our thinking.
00:07:14.46\00:07:17.67
So we can give Plato high
marks for systematizing it
00:07:17.67\00:07:21.30
but not for inventing it.
00:07:21.30\00:07:22.97
It didn't originate with him.
00:07:22.97\00:07:25.44
So what we had
in the ancient world
00:07:26.64\00:07:28.11
was a dualistic universe,
00:07:28.11\00:07:30.05
the higher realm of
disembodied spirits,
00:07:30.05\00:07:32.21
the gods if you will,
00:07:32.21\00:07:33.98
and then the lower
realm of physical existence.
00:07:33.98\00:07:37.12
Now in Greek culture
00:07:37.12\00:07:38.05
if you were a good philosopher,
00:07:38.05\00:07:39.75
you wanted to escape the
limitations of a physical life
00:07:39.75\00:07:42.49
and rise up to the spirit world
00:07:42.49\00:07:44.26
where you could go and
join the great cosmic mind.
00:07:44.26\00:07:47.93
This is what you
find in Plato's account
00:07:47.93\00:07:49.63
of the death of Socrates
00:07:49.63\00:07:51.13
who tells his students
as he sits on death row
00:07:51.13\00:07:54.57
not to feel bad
about his impending death
00:07:54.57\00:07:57.17
because he's about to achieve
00:07:57.17\00:07:59.21
the highest goal
of a philosopher,
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total release from this
imperfect physical world.
00:08:01.28\00:08:04.48
But I digress,
00:08:05.38\00:08:06.88
and I want to get back to
this business about the sun god.
00:08:06.88\00:08:10.12
The Egyptians called him Ra.
00:08:10.12\00:08:12.42
The Incas called him Inti.
00:08:12.42\00:08:14.36
The Romans called him Sol
Invictus, or the invincible sun.
00:08:14.36\00:08:18.93
But very few of these
people actually thought
00:08:18.93\00:08:21.10
the sun itself
was a literal deity.
00:08:21.10\00:08:24.17
It was more like
a point of contact,
00:08:24.17\00:08:25.77
a portal through
which the spirit world
00:08:25.77\00:08:27.84
could communicate
with the human race
00:08:27.84\00:08:29.94
and exert its
influence on this planet.
00:08:29.94\00:08:32.21
Maybe the best analogy
would be a radio or TV set.
00:08:32.21\00:08:36.18
When you and I
watch the evening news,
00:08:36.18\00:08:37.61
it's not really the TV
that's doing all the talking,
00:08:37.61\00:08:40.08
it's just a medium,
if you'll pardon the pun,
00:08:40.08\00:08:42.75
a medium through which a
news anchor can talk to you.
00:08:42.75\00:08:47.02
The sun would be that medium
of communication for a deity
00:08:47.02\00:08:50.49
who lived out there
somewhere in the spirit world.
00:08:50.49\00:08:53.70
And all those stories,
00:08:53.70\00:08:55.10
the mythology of
the Greeks, the Romans,
00:08:55.10\00:08:57.27
the Norse, the
Celts, the Babylonians,
00:08:57.27\00:09:00.04
the Egyptians, the Incas,
00:09:00.04\00:09:02.47
well, they didn't really believe
00:09:02.47\00:09:03.84
that these were
literal historical accounts.
00:09:03.84\00:09:06.47
They were metaphors meant
to teach important lessons
00:09:06.47\00:09:09.51
about how they thought
the universe was structured
00:09:09.51\00:09:12.21
and how human beings
should relate to each other
00:09:12.21\00:09:14.98
and what might
constitute a good life.
00:09:14.98\00:09:17.99
Now all over the world,
00:09:18.92\00:09:20.32
we have different mythologies
with different names,
00:09:20.32\00:09:23.16
but it's absolutely
remarkable how similar
00:09:23.16\00:09:26.16
all the stories are.
00:09:26.16\00:09:28.56
It's almost as if
the whole human race
00:09:28.56\00:09:30.37
shares a common
set of information,
00:09:30.37\00:09:32.53
as if at some point
in the very distant past
00:09:32.53\00:09:35.70
we were all
telling the same story.
00:09:35.70\00:09:38.84
Then over time as we
went our separate ways
00:09:38.84\00:09:40.81
and spread across
the face of the planet
00:09:40.81\00:09:42.81
those stories
changed just a little bit
00:09:42.81\00:09:46.35
and it created the
natural diversification
00:09:46.35\00:09:48.82
that comes with
time and distance.
00:09:48.82\00:09:51.09
That's kind of the way
it is with human languages.
00:09:51.09\00:09:53.15
Once upon a time, for example,
00:09:53.15\00:09:54.69
Dutch and English were very,
00:09:54.69\00:09:56.09
very close,
almost indistinguishable
00:09:56.09\00:09:58.23
because both were Germanic
languages in their origin.
00:09:58.23\00:10:02.46
But then with time and distance
00:10:02.46\00:10:03.83
they went their separate ways
00:10:03.83\00:10:05.33
and today they sound to
us like separate languages.
00:10:05.33\00:10:08.67
Look at them closely, though,
00:10:08.67\00:10:09.94
and you can see
they share a common root.
00:10:09.94\00:10:13.58
The same appears to be
true of the world's mythology.
00:10:13.58\00:10:16.95
The various gods seemed
to line up with each other
00:10:16.95\00:10:19.38
across any number of cultures
00:10:19.38\00:10:21.52
and the stories
appear to suggest
00:10:21.52\00:10:23.39
that we all share a common past.
00:10:23.39\00:10:26.49
Now I've got to
take a super quick break,
00:10:26.49\00:10:28.16
but in a moment, I want
to show you something else
00:10:28.16\00:10:30.13
that all these ancient
cultures had in common.
00:10:30.13\00:10:32.03
And I promise this is gonna
give you a lot to think about.
00:10:32.03\00:10:35.33
[upbeat music]
00:10:37.57\00:10:39.07
- [Male Narrator] Are
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like where is
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Can I find real happiness?
00:10:44.14\00:10:45.94
Or is there any hope
for our chaotic world?
00:10:45.94\00:10:49.08
The DISCOVER Bible
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00:11:30.99\00:11:33.46
- It's a pretty common theory
00:11:38.43\00:11:39.66
that most of the
world's ancient cultures
00:11:39.66\00:11:41.43
moved away from polytheism,
the worship of many gods,
00:11:41.43\00:11:45.23
to monotheism, the
worship of one God.
00:11:45.23\00:11:48.60
And it's a pretty good
theory in a lot of ways.
00:11:48.60\00:11:52.37
For example, the
Greek philosopher Xenophanes
00:11:52.37\00:11:55.01
who lived some 500
years before Christ,
00:11:55.01\00:11:58.28
well, he became
embarrassed by the behavior
00:11:58.28\00:12:00.62
of his Greek gods.
00:12:00.62\00:12:02.08
We don't have a
lot of his writings
00:12:02.08\00:12:03.65
but the few fragments we do have
00:12:03.65\00:12:05.92
tell an interesting story.
00:12:05.92\00:12:07.89
This comes from fragment B11,
00:12:07.89\00:12:09.72
just in case you're ever
motivated to go and look it up.
00:12:09.72\00:12:11.79
He says, "Homer and Hesiod
had have attributed to the gods
00:12:11.79\00:12:16.03
all sorts of things
that are matters of reproach
00:12:16.03\00:12:18.77
and censure among men,
00:12:18.77\00:12:20.40
theft, adultery,
and mutual deception."
00:12:20.40\00:12:24.51
So in other words, Xenophanes
is challenging the idea
00:12:24.51\00:12:28.28
that God should be exhibiting
such horrible behavior.
00:12:28.28\00:12:32.38
And he suggests
that maybe the Greeks
00:12:32.38\00:12:34.28
and other cultures have
been actually inventing gods
00:12:34.28\00:12:37.52
in their own image,
00:12:37.52\00:12:38.62
that maybe
these gods are nothing
00:12:38.62\00:12:40.69
but the creation of
the human imagination.
00:12:40.69\00:12:43.19
And then he suggests
that worshiping one god
00:12:43.19\00:12:47.00
makes a lot more sense.
00:12:47.00\00:12:48.86
So historically
there is this slow movement
00:12:50.10\00:12:52.50
away from many gods to one God
00:12:52.50\00:12:55.57
and the religious
historians often give Abraham
00:12:55.57\00:12:58.24
and the Hebrews
credit for being the first.
00:12:58.24\00:13:01.78
But what I find
interesting is the fact
00:13:01.78\00:13:03.98
that most ancient cultures,
00:13:03.98\00:13:05.25
no matter how many
gods they worshiped,
00:13:05.25\00:13:07.95
still appear to have the
idea that there must be one
00:13:07.95\00:13:11.59
supreme being who
reigns above all other gods.
00:13:11.59\00:13:15.56
The rest of the
pantheon was simply a collection
00:13:15.56\00:13:18.26
of emanations coming
from this one supreme being
00:13:18.26\00:13:21.13
or lesser gods who
somehow answer to this one,
00:13:21.13\00:13:24.30
true supreme being.
00:13:24.30\00:13:26.47
Now, if that's the case,
00:13:26.47\00:13:27.97
it's possible that
the worship of many gods
00:13:27.97\00:13:30.81
was actually a deterioration,
00:13:30.81\00:13:33.24
an ancient move away
from a more ancient religion
00:13:33.24\00:13:37.68
that had a one true creator.
00:13:37.68\00:13:40.22
What happened is
that the ancient cultures
00:13:40.22\00:13:42.58
as they studied the heaven,
00:13:42.58\00:13:43.85
started to associate the sun,
00:13:43.85\00:13:45.65
moon and planets
with lesser deities.
00:13:45.65\00:13:48.59
And then in time they
abandoned the one true God.
00:13:48.59\00:13:52.39
Personally, I believe
that we didn't all come
00:13:52.39\00:13:55.30
from different starting points.
00:13:55.30\00:13:57.03
We all branched out
from the same starting point.
00:13:57.03\00:14:01.10
So now let's get
back to the Incas
00:14:02.27\00:14:04.34
because Machu
Picchu isn't the only place
00:14:04.34\00:14:07.28
the Incas acknowledged
the winter solstice.
00:14:07.28\00:14:10.01
The capital of
Pachacuti's empire was Cusco,
00:14:10.01\00:14:12.71
a city that sits up in the
mountains above 11,000 feet.
00:14:12.71\00:14:16.89
Today the city looks
like a Spanish colony,
00:14:16.89\00:14:19.22
but if you look at the
bottoms of some of the buildings
00:14:19.22\00:14:22.26
you'll notice the foundations
look different from the tops.
00:14:22.26\00:14:26.03
That's because the Spanish
actually put their buildings
00:14:26.03\00:14:28.50
on Inca foundations.
00:14:28.50\00:14:30.13
But the original design
of the city was not Spanish,
00:14:30.13\00:14:34.14
it was Inca.
00:14:34.14\00:14:35.74
This was the place
where Pachacuti ruled
00:14:35.74\00:14:38.27
his incredible empire,
made up of four provinces
00:14:38.27\00:14:41.64
spread across the
backbone of South America.
00:14:41.64\00:14:44.91
And to this day
in the month of June
00:14:44.91\00:14:48.18
you can witness the
celebration of something
00:14:48.18\00:14:50.32
called Inti Rayami,
00:14:50.32\00:14:51.82
if I'm pronouncing it correctly.
00:14:51.82\00:14:53.89
It's this ancient
festival connected
00:14:53.89\00:14:56.19
with the winter solstice.
00:14:56.19\00:14:57.93
And at one point
in the festivities,
00:14:57.93\00:15:00.33
the crowd makes its
way to the ancient fortress
00:15:00.33\00:15:02.80
of Sacsayhuaman,
just outside of town.
00:15:02.80\00:15:05.93
And one of the things
they do when they get there
00:15:05.93\00:15:08.70
is sacrifice a llama.
00:15:08.70\00:15:11.27
Now, today they don't actually
kill an animal, not anymore.
00:15:11.27\00:15:13.98
They just go
through the motions,
00:15:13.98\00:15:16.14
but in the past
they would cut the heart
00:15:16.14\00:15:18.95
out of the llama and
present it to the sun god.
00:15:18.95\00:15:22.25
And if all went well, the
sun would quit wandering north
00:15:22.25\00:15:25.89
and the days would
start getting longer.
00:15:25.89\00:15:29.19
And I guess I
find this fascinating
00:15:29.19\00:15:31.06
because this is also
something that I find
00:15:31.06\00:15:33.50
in almost every culture
on the face of the planet.
00:15:33.50\00:15:36.20
This idea of making peace
with the gods through sacrifice.
00:15:36.20\00:15:41.20
Where did that come from?
00:15:42.07\00:15:43.37
And why is it so
incredibly present
00:15:43.37\00:15:45.31
in the records of our
collective human past?
00:15:45.31\00:15:48.61
If you go back to the
Shang dynasty of ancient China
00:15:48.61\00:15:51.75
an era that started some
six or 700 years before Christ,
00:15:51.75\00:15:55.45
you find some of
these same elements.
00:15:55.45\00:15:58.19
They had one supreme
god by the name of Shangdi.
00:15:58.19\00:16:01.72
And once a year,
I could be wrong,
00:16:01.72\00:16:03.83
but I believe it was
at the winter solstice.
00:16:03.83\00:16:06.53
Once a year, the
emperor would sacrifice a bull
00:16:06.53\00:16:10.23
to the one supreme god
at the Temple of Heaven.
00:16:10.23\00:16:13.87
It was a ritual that persisted
right up to the 20th century.
00:16:13.87\00:16:18.01
And what's kind of
interesting is the fact
00:16:18.01\00:16:20.21
that archeologists do not
find any statues of this Shangdi
00:16:20.21\00:16:25.18
so we suspect that
nobody ever made any
00:16:25.18\00:16:28.75
and if they didn't,
00:16:28.75\00:16:30.25
that would be something they
had in common with the Hebrews
00:16:30.25\00:16:32.62
who actually
forbid the use of statues
00:16:32.62\00:16:35.42
to represent their god.
00:16:35.42\00:16:37.56
And the Hebrews also sacrificed
a bull to the one, true God
00:16:37.56\00:16:41.30
as well as goats and lambs.
00:16:41.30\00:16:43.77
And from what I can tell,
00:16:43.77\00:16:45.20
the worshipers of
Shangdi also offered sheep.
00:16:45.20\00:16:48.37
So we have the
same sacrificial animals
00:16:48.37\00:16:50.77
being used to
worship a supreme god
00:16:50.77\00:16:53.07
in two different cultures,
in two different places.
00:16:53.07\00:16:58.08
Maybe that's a coincidence.
00:16:58.08\00:16:59.88
I mean, it could be, but
the more you look at this
00:16:59.88\00:17:03.79
the less a
coincidence seems likely.
00:17:03.79\00:17:06.82
Among the Greeks and the Romans
00:17:06.82\00:17:08.32
there was something
known as the mystery schools,
00:17:08.32\00:17:10.99
byproducts of the
ancient system of dualism
00:17:10.99\00:17:13.66
that we mentioned
a few minutes ago.
00:17:13.66\00:17:16.13
The teachings of
these mystery schools
00:17:16.13\00:17:17.83
were a carefully guarded secret.
00:17:17.83\00:17:19.77
And you had to be an initiate,
00:17:19.77\00:17:21.57
a member of the
group to learn about them.
00:17:21.57\00:17:24.77
About the same time that
Christianity was starting
00:17:24.77\00:17:27.24
to take root in the Roman Empire
00:17:27.24\00:17:28.88
one of these
ancient mystery cults
00:17:28.88\00:17:30.65
practiced something
known as the Taurobolium.
00:17:30.65\00:17:33.35
If you listen, it's
got the word taurus in it,
00:17:34.88\00:17:36.79
which is Latin for bull.
00:17:36.79\00:17:38.55
And what happened
during the taurobolium is
00:17:38.55\00:17:40.56
a priest of the
Great Mother of the Gods
00:17:40.56\00:17:42.72
would climb down into a pit
00:17:42.72\00:17:44.93
and they would cover
the pit with a wooden grate.
00:17:44.93\00:17:47.50
Then they would lead a
bull on top of that grate
00:17:47.50\00:17:49.40
and slaughter it so that
the blood ran down into the pit
00:17:49.40\00:17:52.23
and covered the priest.
00:17:52.23\00:17:54.07
We actually still have a
description of this ritual
00:17:54.07\00:17:56.20
from a fourth century
Christian named Prudentius
00:17:56.20\00:17:58.54
who witnessed it.
00:17:58.54\00:17:59.87
He writes, the
high priest, you know,
00:17:59.87\00:18:02.24
goes down into a
trench, dug deep in the ground
00:18:02.24\00:18:04.88
to be made holy.
00:18:04.88\00:18:06.11
Above him they lay
planks to make a stage.
00:18:06.11\00:18:08.55
When the beast for sacrifice
has been stationed here,
00:18:08.55\00:18:11.22
they cut his breast open
with a consecrated hunting spear
00:18:11.22\00:18:14.56
and the great wound
disgorges a stream of hot blood,
00:18:14.56\00:18:17.99
pouring on the plank
bridge below a streaming river
00:18:17.99\00:18:20.86
which spreads billowing out.
00:18:20.86\00:18:23.06
Then through the many ways
afforded by the thousand chinks,
00:18:23.06\00:18:25.80
it passes in a
shower, dripping a foul rain,
00:18:25.80\00:18:29.40
and the priest in
the pit below catches it,
00:18:29.40\00:18:32.04
holding his filthy
head to meet every drop
00:18:32.04\00:18:34.98
and getting his
robe and his whole body
00:18:34.98\00:18:36.95
covered with corruption.
00:18:36.95\00:18:39.45
It was nasty and obviously
Prudentius didn't care for it.
00:18:39.45\00:18:44.45
But again, you have
the idea of sacrifice,
00:18:45.62\00:18:47.26
that somehow an animal needs
to die to make things right.
00:18:47.26\00:18:51.86
So where in the
world did we get this idea
00:18:51.86\00:18:54.76
and why is it so
incredibly pervasive?
00:18:54.76\00:18:58.50
I'll be right back after this.
00:18:58.50\00:19:00.17
- [Male Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues.
00:19:02.07\00:19:06.34
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:19:06.34\00:19:10.91
If you've ever read
Daniel, the Revelation
00:19:10.91\00:19:13.11
and come away
scratching your head,
00:19:13.11\00:19:14.85
you're not alone.
00:19:14.85\00:19:16.28
Our free focus on
prophecy guides are designed
00:19:16.28\00:19:19.09
to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:19:19.09\00:19:21.32
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:19:21.32\00:19:23.79
for you and our world.
00:19:23.79\00:19:25.43
Study online, or
request them by mail
00:19:25.43\00:19:27.83
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:19:27.83\00:19:31.17
- Here in the Western world,
00:19:31.17\00:19:32.70
the story of sacrifice that
most of us are familiar with
00:19:32.70\00:19:35.17
comes from the
pages of the Bible
00:19:35.17\00:19:37.44
and a significant
portion of the Old Testament
00:19:37.44\00:19:39.71
deals with that
specific phenomenon.
00:19:39.71\00:19:42.78
There's an
incredible level of detail
00:19:42.78\00:19:45.21
and this is well
worth your time reading.
00:19:45.21\00:19:47.82
But maybe today let's go
back to the root of the concept
00:19:47.82\00:19:50.22
and look at what the
Bible says is the reason
00:19:50.22\00:19:52.39
that sacrifice started.
00:19:52.39\00:19:54.69
Over in the Book of Genesis
00:19:54.69\00:19:56.02
we have The Story of the Fall,
00:19:56.02\00:19:57.89
the fatal moment
when human beings decided
00:19:57.89\00:20:00.10
to turn their
backs on the creator
00:20:00.10\00:20:02.00
and chart their own
course in this world.
00:20:02.00\00:20:04.83
And calling that a fatal
moment is very appropriate
00:20:04.83\00:20:07.87
because the end result
when you separate yourself
00:20:07.87\00:20:10.74
from the only source
of life in the universe,
00:20:10.74\00:20:13.31
well, that would be death.
00:20:13.31\00:20:14.94
Well, let's just read a
little bit of the story.
00:20:14.94\00:20:16.48
This comes from Genesis 2.
00:20:16.48\00:20:19.35
It says, "Then the
Lord God took the man
00:20:19.35\00:20:22.18
and put him in the garden
of Eden to tend and keep it.
00:20:22.18\00:20:24.92
And the Lord God
commanded the man saying,
00:20:24.92\00:20:27.09
'Of every tree of the garden,
00:20:27.09\00:20:28.59
you may freely eat,
00:20:28.59\00:20:30.29
but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil
00:20:30.29\00:20:32.13
you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat of it
00:20:32.13\00:20:35.60
you shall surely die.'"
00:20:35.60\00:20:38.77
Now the key message there is
00:20:38.77\00:20:41.30
that not all
knowledge is worth pursuing.
00:20:41.30\00:20:43.81
Some things in this
universe are dangerous
00:20:43.81\00:20:46.41
and the exercise of freewill
can get you into trouble.
00:20:46.41\00:20:50.31
Human beings were
free in the beginning
00:20:50.31\00:20:52.25
to make their own decisions,
right out of the gate.
00:20:52.25\00:20:54.98
But just in case,
God put a guard rail
00:20:54.98\00:20:57.59
around certain
experiences that would take us
00:20:57.59\00:20:59.72
in the wrong direction.
00:20:59.72\00:21:01.66
We were perfectly free to
climb over that guard rail
00:21:01.66\00:21:04.59
because God does not
force the human conscience
00:21:04.59\00:21:08.36
but at the same time he
warned that there would be
00:21:08.36\00:21:10.27
drastic penalties if we did it.
00:21:10.27\00:21:13.23
"If you separate
yourself from the living God,"
00:21:13.23\00:21:16.10
he said "the
consequence would be death."
00:21:16.10\00:21:20.31
So from the moment the human
race decided to go its own way
00:21:20.31\00:21:23.51
something fundamental
about our nature changed.
00:21:23.51\00:21:27.08
We began to operate
from the perspective of self
00:21:27.08\00:21:29.85
and the loving
character of God got harder
00:21:29.85\00:21:31.99
and harder to find just
by watching people live.
00:21:31.99\00:21:35.79
We were made in the image of God
00:21:35.79\00:21:37.56
which means that the
human race was intended
00:21:37.56\00:21:40.16
as a showcase of God's goodness.
00:21:40.16\00:21:42.30
But now after the fall,
00:21:42.30\00:21:43.83
we exhibited
something else, a selfish nature
00:21:43.83\00:21:47.47
and our lives became
a lie about the nature
00:21:47.47\00:21:50.94
of the one who made us.
00:21:50.94\00:21:52.74
You and I today
are essentially selfish
00:21:52.74\00:21:54.94
and our lives do not suggest
we were made by a God of love.
00:21:54.94\00:21:59.11
The image of the
creator is barely discernible
00:21:59.11\00:22:01.82
in the human race.
00:22:01.82\00:22:03.35
And the God of love
cannot just let pain
00:22:03.35\00:22:05.32
and suffering go on indefinitely
00:22:05.32\00:22:07.22
or it might suggest
that God is not love
00:22:07.22\00:22:09.49
and that the university
he made is a horrible place.
00:22:09.49\00:22:13.26
And I know we don't like
to think of a God who judges,
00:22:13.26\00:22:16.87
but if we're really honest
00:22:16.87\00:22:18.67
how many of us could
really pledge allegiance
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.57
to a God who didn't judge?
00:22:20.57\00:22:22.87
We absolutely want
them to judge the wickedness
00:22:22.87\00:22:25.41
of other people.
00:22:25.41\00:22:26.64
We just don't want
him to deal with us.
00:22:26.64\00:22:28.78
There's still a sense
in which we understand
00:22:29.98\00:22:32.28
that something is completely
out of whack with all of us.
00:22:32.28\00:22:36.18
Millions of
books have been written
00:22:36.18\00:22:38.09
trying to figure out
what's wrong with humanity.
00:22:38.09\00:22:40.16
Why are we so fatally flawed?
00:22:40.16\00:22:43.12
Why do we keep doing the
wrong thing over and over
00:22:43.12\00:22:46.70
and over,
generation after generation?
00:22:46.70\00:22:49.60
And why are we
so painfully aware
00:22:49.60\00:22:51.93
of our shortcomings?
00:22:51.93\00:22:53.57
By rights, a loving and just God
00:22:53.57\00:22:56.71
should just wipe
the human race out,
00:22:56.71\00:22:58.81
remove us from
his perfect universe.
00:22:58.81\00:23:01.28
And if we're really honest,
we would admit we deserve it.
00:23:01.28\00:23:05.95
And yet here we
are still existing
00:23:05.95\00:23:07.78
with the specter of
death hanging ominously
00:23:07.78\00:23:10.29
over every one of our lives.
00:23:10.29\00:23:12.25
And it's at this
juncture that we find
00:23:13.49\00:23:15.12
the notion of sacrifice showing
up for the very first time.
00:23:15.12\00:23:18.53
Let's go to Genesis 3:21.
00:23:18.53\00:23:20.96
It says, "Also
for Adam and his wife,
00:23:22.30\00:23:25.43
the Lord God made tunics
of skin and clothed them."
00:23:25.43\00:23:30.44
After the fall, we were no
longer a perfect representation
00:23:31.81\00:23:33.34
of God's character
00:23:33.34\00:23:34.38
and this horrible imperfection
00:23:34.38\00:23:36.31
was something
that had to be covered,
00:23:36.31\00:23:38.85
either that or we
had to be destroyed.
00:23:38.85\00:23:42.45
And here's what I
want you to notice.
00:23:42.45\00:23:43.99
The covering was made by God,
00:23:43.99\00:23:46.89
because there was
no way we could fix
00:23:46.89\00:23:48.72
this problem we created,
00:23:48.72\00:23:50.09
we were already fundamentally
flawed too far gone.
00:23:50.09\00:23:53.90
And the other thing
I want you to notice,
00:23:53.90\00:23:55.83
the coverings were made by skin
00:23:55.83\00:23:58.93
and that meant
something had to give its life.
00:23:58.93\00:24:03.27
Now in all the pagan
cultures of the world
00:24:03.27\00:24:06.14
this story got
twisted to make God look
00:24:06.14\00:24:08.38
like a blood thirsty tyrant
00:24:08.38\00:24:09.88
who demands blood in order
to turn off his hatred for us.
00:24:09.88\00:24:14.12
But that's not the way
it's taught in the Bible,
00:24:14.12\00:24:15.78
not even close.
00:24:15.78\00:24:17.25
What this book teaches is
00:24:17.25\00:24:19.22
that God made the
ultimate sacrifice
00:24:19.22\00:24:20.99
and all those
sacrificial animals
00:24:20.99\00:24:22.82
were merely symbols
that pointed forward
00:24:22.82\00:24:25.49
to a solution that
only God could come up with.
00:24:25.49\00:24:28.73
That solution
was the incarnation.
00:24:28.73\00:24:31.60
God became one of us and
he lived the perfect life,
00:24:31.60\00:24:34.17
the only life
that has ever perfectly
00:24:34.17\00:24:35.97
reflected the
real nature of God.
00:24:35.97\00:24:38.74
And then he took our
consequences on himself.
00:24:38.74\00:24:43.65
I'll be right back after this.
00:24:43.65\00:24:45.21
- [Female Narrator]
Life can throw a lot at us.
00:24:47.25\00:24:49.65
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers
00:24:49.65\00:24:52.15
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:24:53.29\00:24:55.46
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:24:55.46\00:24:58.56
You're at the Voice of Prophecy
00:24:58.56\00:25:00.16
we've created the
DISCOVER Bible guides
00:25:00.16\00:25:02.23
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:25:02.23\00:25:03.83
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use
00:25:03.83\00:25:06.33
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions
00:25:06.33\00:25:09.34
and they're absolutely free.
00:25:09.34\00:25:11.37
So jump online
now, or give us a call
00:25:11.37\00:25:13.68
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:25:13.68\00:25:15.94
- [Female Narrator] Here
at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:25:17.38\00:25:18.85
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:25:18.85\00:25:20.88
for the whole family.
00:25:20.88\00:25:22.32
Like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain."
00:25:22.32\00:25:25.52
Discovery Mountain
is a Bible-based program
00:25:25.52\00:25:27.99
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:25:27.99\00:25:30.33
Your family will enjoy
the faith-building stories
00:25:30.33\00:25:33.09
from this small
mountain summer camp and town.
00:25:33.09\00:25:35.93
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:25:35.93\00:25:38.43
and fresh content every week,
00:25:38.43\00:25:40.57
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:25:40.57\00:25:43.77
- Let me get the old bifocals on
00:25:47.34\00:25:48.98
because I wanna
read you something
00:25:48.98\00:25:50.18
out of the Book of Hebrews.
00:25:50.18\00:25:52.11
This is really interesting.
00:25:52.11\00:25:53.38
You need to pay attention to it.
00:25:53.38\00:25:54.62
It's pertinent
to this whole idea
00:25:54.62\00:25:55.92
of where sacrifice comes from.
00:25:55.92\00:25:57.99
You'll find this in Hebrews 10
00:25:57.99\00:26:01.09
where the Bible says,
"But in those sacrifices,"
00:26:01.09\00:26:04.23
we're talking
animal sacrifices here,
00:26:04.23\00:26:06.49
"But in those sacrifices,
00:26:06.49\00:26:08.16
there is a
reminder of sins every year.
00:26:08.16\00:26:11.43
For it is not possible that
the blood of bulls and goats
00:26:11.43\00:26:15.20
could take away sins."
00:26:15.20\00:26:17.87
Now, I hope you caught that
because this is really critical.
00:26:17.87\00:26:21.48
Not one sacrificial animal
ever actually paid for anything.
00:26:21.48\00:26:26.35
They didn't
solve the sin problem.
00:26:26.35\00:26:29.12
The real sacrifice in this
story is not being made by us,
00:26:29.12\00:26:33.05
that's all symbolic.
00:26:33.05\00:26:34.46
God makes the real sacrifice.
00:26:34.46\00:26:37.49
The animals were
just this painful reminder
00:26:37.49\00:26:40.33
of how serious our
situation is, how dire it is
00:26:40.33\00:26:44.50
and how much God is
willing to sacrifice to save us
00:26:44.50\00:26:48.50
from a fate that we
frankly brought on ourselves.
00:26:48.50\00:26:52.21
So why do we have this universal
concept of sin and guilt?
00:26:53.58\00:26:58.08
Why is it found in
all these cultures?
00:26:58.08\00:27:00.45
Why is the
phenomenon of sacrifice
00:27:00.45\00:27:02.98
found all over the planet?
00:27:02.98\00:27:06.25
Is it possible that it
all comes back to this,
00:27:06.25\00:27:09.96
that maybe we all
came from a common root
00:27:09.96\00:27:12.83
somewhere in the
very distant past?
00:27:12.83\00:27:14.60
Is this the real story
of what actually happened?
00:27:14.60\00:27:18.43
Is it possible that human beings
have distorted this account
00:27:18.43\00:27:23.30
and turned it into a
monstrosity over the centuries?
00:27:23.30\00:27:28.31
Here's what I wanna suggest.
00:27:29.18\00:27:30.45
I submit that maybe
it's time to just brush aside
00:27:30.45\00:27:34.08
all of the superstition
00:27:34.08\00:27:36.28
and maybe it's time
for all of us to go back
00:27:36.28\00:27:38.59
to the very beginning,
00:27:38.59\00:27:40.39
the account of
where this all started
00:27:40.39\00:27:42.46
and ask ourselves, what
do we all have in common?
00:27:42.46\00:27:45.86
Why do we all seem to
share a common history
00:27:45.86\00:27:49.26
a common root, a common story?
00:27:49.26\00:27:51.40
Why do we all seem to be
remembering the very same thing?
00:27:51.40\00:27:55.37
I think if you get to
the bottom of that question
00:27:55.37\00:27:58.34
you might be remarkably
surprised by what you find
00:27:58.34\00:28:02.08
and what you discover
about living an authentic life.
00:28:02.08\00:28:05.48
[upbeat music]
00:28:05.48\00:28:08.15