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War and Ritual Ecstasy

The Emerald

NOTE

The origin of human violence in the story of Cain and Abel

The story of Cain and Abel from the Bible illustrates that God favored Abel over Cain because Abel tended animals and offered regular animal sacrifices, bringing him closer to nature. Cain, being an agriculturalist, could only offer grass and seeds, which God did not favor as much. This story suggests that human-to-human violence stems from the removal of humans from the predator-prey cycle, as the agriculturalist, removed from the daily enactment of ritual sacrifice and closer to nature, becomes the perpetrator of violence. When humans no longer have prey, they 'prey on each other,' as indicated in the Jane's Addiction song 'Three Days.'

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