The Jesus figure used to be.......a Goat!

[Santa_Claus]

Judaism went through several incarnations - and one of those involved putting all the Tribe's sins onto a Goat .......and then either sacrificing it (or sending it out into the desert - where no doubt a hungry shepherd was hiding )........it's where the term "Scape Goat" came from.

Christianity (being descended? from Judaism) simply kept the concept of being able to dump sins on someone / something else by using the figure of Jesus......I guess as the world moved forward into the dark ages that a Goat just looked silly

Which does kinda explain how the Satan figure came to be represented by a Goat - it's simply discrediting the old religion. and giving an excuse to kill the practioners.

And I didn't even make all that up - someone beat me to it

[charlou]

Kinda explains why my children have cloven hooves .. far greater ethics in the end.

[Feck]

Blood for the Blood God !

[Mysturji]

Lamb Goat of God.
Doesn't sound as tasty.
Unless there's cheese?

[Hermit]

Judaism went through several incarnations - and one of those involved putting all the Tribe's sins onto a Goat .......and then either sacrificing it (or sending it out into the desert - where no doubt a hungry shepherd was hiding )........it's where the term "Scape Goat" came from.

Apparently, the first extant record of the ritual stems from a Syrian text written approximately 2400BC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapegoating It may not precede Judaism, but that does not mean it has not been adopted from there.

[Santa_Claus]

Judaism went through several incarnations - and one of those involved putting all the Tribe's sins onto a Goat .......and then either sacrificing it (or sending it out into the desert - where no doubt a hungry shepherd was hiding )........it's where the term "Scape Goat" came from.

Apparently, the first extant record of the ritual stems from a Syrian text written approximately 2400BC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scapegoating It may not precede Judaism, but that does not mean it has not been adopted from there.

Are you disputing the word of Santa?

That's naughty.....