Why do religious texts compare people to sheep a lot Veeky Forums?

why do religious texts compare people to sheep a lot Veeky Forums?

As a Christian, we are called sheep and Jesus the shepherd. If you're around sheep, they're not that bright, not that formidable, they tend to wander and require a lot of attention. About the only thing they do well is hold their ground.

Societies used to have a VASTLY higher ratio of agricultural workers/farmers/etc to city people.

Sheep are popular domesticated agricultural animals.

Farmers are more "conservative" and more likely to be intensely religious. Your livelihood depends on the luck of seasons and weather. You NEED the providence and luck of god.

Priests interact with farmers and also have experience with animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice is a way to tie agents to a social structure. You not only signal belief but you're willing to sacrifice something valuable.

Think about hazing. You sacrifice dignity and comfort to gain the approval of a tribe. A club or fraternity with no barriers attracts total shitbags who have no loyalty to the group. A barrier at least shows the willingness of the initiate to sacrifice something for the group.

but when I think of sheep, I think of animals that are quickly raised for product

Jesus said once he was sending us out as sheep to the slaughter.

And his best friend described him as looking like the lamb that had been slain.

There's a lot of sheep stuff in the bible, now that I think of it.

Pastoralism was very important to the Israelites before they became a wholly agricultural society. Remember that David was a shepherd.

The sheep needs the shepherd to guide them lest they fall prey to wolves. Being a sheep/flock is admitting the importance of a guiding religious figure.

the job of sheep is to eat dirt and make wool

same as people in a society

why?

but look at how humans treat domesticated animals, cruely, some much more than others

>Thus saith the Lord God, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver my flock from their mouth, so that thy will not be food for them." Ezekiel 34:10

We read in this verse that there are two shepherds. The sheep are delivered from one shepherd, because this shepherd plans to eat the sheep. The sheep are fed by these shepherds with words, but so they can eat them.

>"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd. John 10:16

We know that Christ is the Shepherd and we are the sheep. There are two shepherds for those who are skeptical of being "sheep", because Jesus does not want us to be mind-controlled sheep, but He wants to free us from the shepherds who want to "eat" us.

nah, there is a special guiding relationship that forms between a shepard and his flock(or other animals. lots of rural people around say the family pig becomes a weird pet year around, even if he's bacon for Christmas).
Also, vast majority of cruelty in animal raising is tied to industrial farming.