Sacrifice
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Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship.[1][2] Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly existed before that. Evidence of ritual human sacrifice can also be found back to at least pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica as well as in European civilizations. Varieties of ritual non-human sacrifices are practiced by numerous religions today.
Sacrifice (particularly blood sacrifice) is an exclusively male rite almost worldwide[3] that serves to bond men: "it establishes a kinship which goes above and beyond the 'natural' bloodshed of childbirth."[4] Among other points, Korte draws a connection between sacrificial blood and fertility-related blood.[3]
Terminology
The
The term usually implies "doing without something" or "giving something up" (see also self-sacrifice). But the word sacrifice also occurs in metaphorical use to describe doing good for others or taking a short-term loss in return for a greater power gain, such as in a game of chess.[6][7][8]
Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practiced by adherents of many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature. It also served a social or economic function in those cultures where the edible portions of the animal were distributed among those attending the sacrifice for consumption. Animal sacrifice has turned up in almost all cultures, from the
Animal sacrifice is still practiced today by the followers of
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice was practiced by many ancient cultures. People would be ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease a god or spirit.
Some occasions for human sacrifice found in multiple cultures on multiple continents include:[citation needed]
- Human sacrifice to accompany the dedication of a new temple or bridge.
- Sacrifice of people upon the death of a king, high priest or great leader; the sacrificed were supposed to serve or accompany the deceased leader in the next life.
- Human sacrifice in times of natural disaster. Droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc. were seen as a sign of anger or displeasure by deities, and sacrifices were supposed to lessen the divine ire.
There is evidence to suggest Pre-Hellenic
The
Human sacrifice was practiced by various
In
In the Aeneid by Virgil, the character Sinon claims (falsely) that he was going to be a human sacrifice to Poseidon to calm the seas.
Human sacrifice is no longer officially condoned in any country,[citation needed] and any cases which may take place are regarded as murder.
By religion
Ancient China and Confucianism
During the Shang and Zhou dynasty, the ruling class had a complicated and hierarchical sacrificial system. Sacrificing to ancestors was an important duty of nobles, and an emperor could hold hunts, start wars, and convene royal family members in order to get the resources to hold sacrifices, [13] serving to unify states in a common goal and demonstrate the strength of the emperor's rule.
Confucius supported the restoration of the Zhou sacrificial system, which excluded human sacrifice, with the goal of maintaining social order and enlightening people. Mohism considered any kind of sacrifice to be too extravagant for society.
Chinese folk religion
Members of Chinese folk religions often use pork, chicken, duck, fish, squid, or shrimp in sacrificial offerings. For those who believe the high deities to be vegetarian, some altars are two-tiered: The high one offers vegetarian food, and the low one holds animal sacrifices for the high deities' soldiers. Some ceremonies of supernatural spirits and ghosts, like the Ghost Festival, use whole goats or pigs. There are competitions of raising the heaviest pig for sacrifice in Taiwan and Teochew. [14]
Christianity
In
In the
We also present ourselves as sacrifice in union with Christ (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5) to be used by God in the work of redemption, reconciliation, and justice. In the Great Thanksgiving, the church prays: "We offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us . . ." (UMH; page 10).[15]
A formal statement by the USCCB affirms that "Methodists and Catholics agree that the sacrificial language of the Eucharistic celebration refers to 'the sacrifice of Christ once-for-all,' to 'our pleading of that sacrifice here and now,' to 'our offering of the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,' and to 'our sacrifice of ourselves in union with Christ who offered himself to the Father.'"[17]
Roman Catholic theology speaks of the Eucharist not being a separate or additional sacrifice to that of Christ on the cross; it is rather exactly the same sacrifice, which transcends time and space ("the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" – Rev. 13:8), renewed and made present, the only distinction being that it is offered in an unbloody manner. The sacrifice is made present without Christ dying or being crucified again; it is a re-presentation of the "once and for all" sacrifice of Calvary by the now risen Christ, who continues to offer himself and what he has done on the cross as an oblation to the Father. The complete identification of the Mass with the sacrifice of the cross is found in Christ's words at the last supper over the bread and wine: "This is my body, which is given up for you," and "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed...unto the forgiveness of sins." The bread and wine, offered by
In Holy Communion, it is not only the body and blood of Christ, but also His sacrifice itself, that are truly present. However, this sacrifice has only been brought once and is not repeated in Holy Communion. Neither is Holy Communion merely a reminder of the sacrifice. Rather, during the celebration of Holy Communion, Jesus Christ is in the midst of the congregation as the crucified, risen, and returning Lord. Thus His once-brought sacrifice is also present in that its effect grants the individual access to salvation. In this way, the celebration of Holy Communion causes the partakers to repeatedly envision the sacrificial death of the Lord, which enables them to proclaim it with conviction (1 Corinthians 11: 26). —¶8.2.13, The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church[21]
The concept of self-sacrifice and martyrs are central to Christianity. Often found in Roman Catholicism is the idea of joining one's own life and sufferings to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Thus one can offer up involuntary suffering, such as illness, or purposefully embrace suffering in acts of penance. Some Protestants criticize this as a denial of the all-sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, but according to Roman Catholic interpretation it finds support in St. Paul: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24). Pope John Paul II explained in his Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris (11 February 1984):
In the Cross of Christ not only is the Redemption accomplished through suffering, but also human suffering itself has been redeemed. ...Every man has his own share in the Redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the Redemption was accomplished. ...In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ. ...The sufferings of Christ created the good of the world's redemption. This good in itself is inexhaustible and infinite. No man can add anything to it. But at the same time, in the mystery of the Church as his Body, Christ has in a sense opened his own redemptive suffering to all human suffering" (Salvifici Doloris 19; 24).
Some Christians reject the idea of the
The
Hinduism
The modern practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is mostly associated with
Islam
An animal sacrifice in Arabic is called ḏabiḥa (ذَبِيْحَة) or Qurban (قُرْبَان) . The term may have roots from the
On the occasion of Eid ul Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), affluent Muslims all over the world perform the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) by sacrificing a cow or sheep. The meat is then divided into three equal parts. One part is retained by the person who performs the sacrifice. The second is given to his relatives. The third part is distributed to the poor.
The Quran states that the sacrifice has nothing to do with the blood and gore (Quran 22:37: "It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches God. It is your piety that reaches Him..."). Rather, it is done to help the poor and in remembrance of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael at God's command.
The Urdu and Persian word "Qurbani" comes from the Arabic word 'Qurban'. It suggests that associate act performed to hunt distance to Almighty God and to hunt His sensible pleasure. Originally, the word 'Qurban' enclosed all acts of charity as a result of the aim of charity is nothing however to hunt Allah's pleasure. But, in precise non-secular nomenclature, the word was later confined to the sacrifice of associate animal slaughtered for the sake of Allah.[22]
A similar symbology, which is a reflection of Abraham and Ismael's dilemma, is the stoning of the Jamaraat which takes place during the pilgrimage.
Judaism
Ritual sacrifice was practiced in Ancient Israel, with the opening chapters of the book
After the destruction of the
- "But the custom which was in those days general among men, and the general mode of worship in which the Israelites were brought up consisted in sacrificing animals... It was in accordance with the wisdom and plan of God...that God did not command us to give up and to discontinue all these manners of service. For to obey such a commandment would have been contrary to the nature of man, who generally cleaves to that to which he is used; it would in those days have made the same impression as a prophet would make at present [the 12th Century] if he called us to the service of God and told us in His name, that we should not pray to God nor fast, nor seek His help in time of trouble; that we should serve Him in thought, and not by any action." (Book III, Chapter 32. Translated by M. Friedlander, 1904, The Guide for the Perplexed, Dover Publications, 1956 edition.)
In contrast, many others such as Nachmanides (in his Torah commentary on Leviticus 1:9) disagreed, contending that sacrifices are an ideal in Judaism, completely central.
The teachings of the
See also
References
- ^ "Sacrifice Definition & Meaning". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ISBN 9781623562557. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b Dresen 1993, p. 25-41.
- ^ Jay 1992.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "sacrifice". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Sacrifices Needed to Fix Auto Crisis - Economy - Javno". Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
- ^ "Governor signs into law legislation protecting rights of nursing mothers in the workplace". Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
- ^ Helm, Sarah (17 June 1997). "Amsterdam summit: Blair forced to sacrifice powers on immigration". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-19-953566-8.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Stager, Lawrence; Wolff, Samuel R. (1984). "Child sacrifice in Carthage: religious rite or population control?". Journal of Biblical Archeological Review. January: 31–46.
- .
- from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ Plutschow, Herbert (1996). "Archaic Chinese Sacrificial Practices in the Light of Generative Anthropology". Anthropoetics. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
Among the kings' most important functions were sacrificial ritual, and ritual-related war and hunting, understood, among others, as a state-unifying, ritual action in search of sacrificial supply.
- ^ "強迫灌食肥豬變八百公斤「神豬」 被批虐待動物" (in Chinese). BBC. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b This Holy Mystery, Study Guide: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion. The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. 2004. p. 9.
- ^ a b O'Malley, Timothy P. (7 July 2016). "Catholics, Lutherans and the Eucharist: There's a lot to share". America Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ Methodist-Catholic Dialogues. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and The General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns of The United Methodist Church. 2001. p. 20.
- ISBN 9780802805218.
In the Roman Catholic Church the official explanation of how Christ is present is called transubstantiation. This is simply an explanation of how, not a statement that, he is present. Anglicans and Orthodox do not attempt to define how, but simply accept the mystery of his presence.
- ISBN 9781490860077.
For Anglicans and Methodists the reality of the presence of Jesus as received through the sacramental elements is not in question. Real presence is simply accepted as being true, its mysterious nature being affirmed and even lauded in official statements like This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion.
- ^ Zupez, John (December 2019). "Is the Mass a Propitiatory or Expiatory Sacrifice?". Emmanuel. 125: 378–381. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "8.2.13 The real presence of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion". The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. New Apostolic Church. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Online Qurbani". 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
- ^ "sacrifice". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 17 (2 ed.). p. 641.
- ^ "THE SAMARITAN'S FESTIVALS". The Samaritans. Archived from the original on 4 March 2006.
- ^ Harton, George M. "The meaning of II Kings 3:27" (PDF). Biblical Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
Further reading
- Korte, Anne-Marie (1998). Bekkenkamp, Jonneke; de Haardt, Maaike (eds.). Significance Obscured: Rachel's Theft of the Teraphim Divinity and Corporeality in Gen.31 32 [Translation: Mischa F.C. Hoyinck]. Leuven: Peeters. pp. 157–182. Korte summarizes Jay at length and refers to Dresden.
- Dresen, Grietje (1993). "Heilig bloed, ontheiligend bloed: Over het ritueel van de kerkgang en het offer in de katholieke traditie". Tijdschrift voor Vrouwenstudies. 14: 25–41.
- Aldrete, Gregory S. (2014). "Hammers, Axes, Bulls, and Blood: Some Practical Aspects of Roman Animal Sacrifice." Journal of Roman Studies 104:28–50.
- Bataille, Georges. (1989). Theory of Religion. New York: Zone Books.
- Bloch, Maurice. (1992). Prey into Hunter: The Politics of Religious Experience. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
- Bubbio, Paolo Diego. (2014). Sacrifice in the Post-Kantian Tradition: Perspectivism, Intersubjectivity, and Recognition. SUNY Press.
- Burkert, Walter. (1983). Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth. Translated by P. Bing. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
- Burkert, Walter, Marcel Sigrist, Harco Willems, et al. (2007). "Sacrifice, Offerings, and Votives." In Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Edited by S. I. Johnston, 325–349. Cambridge, MA: Belknap.
- Carter, Jeffrey. (2003). Understanding Religious Sacrifice: A Reader. London: Continuum.
- Davies, Nigel. (1981). Human Sacrifice: In History and Today. London: Macmillan.
- Faraone, Christopher A., and F. S. Naiden, eds. (2012). Greek and Roman Animal Sacrifice: Ancient Victims, Modern Observers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
- Feeney, Denis. (2004). "Interpreting Sacrificial Ritual in Roman Poetry: Disciplines and their Models." In Rituals in Ink: A Conference on Religion and Literary Production in Ancient Rome Held at Stanford University in February 2002. Edited by Alessandro Barchiesi, Jörg Rüpke, and Susan Stephens, 1–21. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
- Heinsohn, Gunnar. (1992). "The Rise of Blood Sacrifice and Priest-Kingship in Mesopotamia: A 'cosmic decree'?" Religion 22 (2): 109.
- Hubert, Henri, and Marcel Mauss. (1964). Sacrifice: Its Nature and Function. Translated by W. Hall. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
- Jay, Nancy. (1992). Throughout All Your Generations Forever: Sacrifice, Religion, and Paternity. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
- Jensen, Adolf E. (1963). Myth and Cult Among Primitive Peoples. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
- Kunst, Jennifer W., and Zsuzsanna Várhelyi, eds. (2011). Ancient Mediterranean Sacrifice. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
- McClymond, Kathryn. (2008). Beyond Sacred Violence: A Comparative Study of Sacrifice. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
- Mylonopoulos, Joannis. (2013). "Gory Details? The Iconography of Human Sacrifice in Greek Art." In Sacrifices humains. Perspectives croissées et répresentations. Edited by Pierre Bonnechere and Gagné Renaud, 61–85. Liège, Belgium: Presses universitaires de Liège.
- Watson, Simon R. (2019). "God in Creation: A Consideration of Natural Selection as the Sacrificial Means of a Free Creation". Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses. 48 (2): 216–236. S2CID 202271434.
External links
- "In India, Case Links Mysticism, Murder" by John Lancaster
- Ancient texts on sacrifice Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database
- Sacrifice definition from the Bible Dictionary