October 23, 2009
WWGHA (Chapter 14)
You can read Chapter Fourteen here.
In this chapter the author touches upon both animal sacrifice in the Old Testament and human sacrifice (Jesus on the cross) in the New Testament. The first thing to note is that Christianity does not advocate human sacrifice in the way that term is traditionally used. It is not a regular practice to be done continually; only one man had to die. It was not forced upon an unwilling victim, nor was it the dominant belief of the day; Jesus was willing and was the only one who understood why this needed to happen. This was not the sacrifice of a virgin in order to buy the loyalties of a deity; the Jews believed they were killing a blasphemer and the Romans, by all accounts, were just trying to keep the peace. Finally, this sacrifice was not simply the death of a man, it was also (in some way) the death of God. So, at the start we have to separate the death of Jesus from the vast majority of human sacrifice in other religions; whatever this was, it was a different thing (more will be said about this in my response to Chapter 21).
The most important thing we need to understand is why Jesus had to die. We need to understand what was going on. Only then can we decide if this was the irrational requirement of an insane God for his own pleasure or if it was the ultimate act of self-sacrifice for our sake. Toward this end I will describe, as best as I understand it, what is going on with Jesus’ death. This will be a fairly long process, and I’ll provide as much evidence as I can. From there, you’ll have to decide if this sounds like the plan of a belligerent, insane deity or of a loving God.
So, why did God create humans? Logically speaking it could not have been out of any need or lack, because a perfect God doesn’t lack anything. On the other hand He couldn’t have created us arbitrarily, because a perfect, rational God doesn’t act arbitrarily. All the Bible says is that we were created for Him (Colossians 1:16) and that He has a plan for us (Genesis 1:26-28).
What does it mean that we were created in His image? Here you’ll get a lot of different answers, but most agree that it at least means: rationality, creativity, limitless potential, ability to appreciate beauty, freedom, ability to love, social nature, ability to organize ourselves and our world, authority over parts of creation, ability to communicate, conscience, self-consciousness, will, morality, personality, responsibility, inherent value. Humans are existing with all these things and getting to meet with God face-to-face as He provides everything they need (Genesis 2).
So now we move on to the Fall (Genesis 3), and I won’t get too caught up in how exactly things went down (i.e. what parts are literal and what parts are metaphorical). The point seems to be that mankind began to doubt that what God says was true and began to worry that perhaps He was holding them back from greater knowledge (they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) that would make them like Him. So, rather than continuing to be dependent on Him, they decided they would choose independence (though they certainly didn’t understand the magnitude of their decision).
So why did this choice lead to the destruction, pain and suffering that Christians say it did? Here we need to bring in a little St. Augustine. Augustine argued that everything that has being, everything that exists, is good. This makes sense given that God is the creator of everything. How then do we explain evil? Augustine says that evil is the privation, or absence, of goodness. That is, something is evil when it ceases to be good; evil is not a force in and of itself. So, to rebel against God (as Adam and Eve did) is to choose death and destruction; it is to literally choose to cease existing since only those things which are good, which are in line with the will of God, exist. So, in this choice, they rejected all of the ways in which they were created in the image of God, damaging severely all of the beautiful things God has given them (listed above). This is why we see the promise of death following Adam and Eve’s rebellion (Genesis 2:17). And, because they had been given authority over the rest of creation, their actions had effects on it as well (Romans 8:20-21).
This story immediately leads to two questions: 1) Why did Adam and Eve continue to live? and 2) Why is there a devil and demons if evil doesn’t, strictly speaking, exist? I’ll answer question 1) as it pertains directly to Jesus’ death. I’ll leave 2) alone, but if you’d like an answer let me know.
What we see is that Adam and Eve started a process that, if not stopped, would ultimately lead to the complete annihilation of all of creation (I really don’t mean for this to sound as melodramatic as it does, but there’s no other way to communicate it). This means that, instead of being immortal, they are now alive but dying. They have chosen death, and it is slowly taking them. The beautiful thing (and a witness to the fact that they have not completely destroyed the image of God within themselves) is that they recognize this and want to side with God. And God provides a way.
We see God kill animals to provide garments for them so they wouldn’t have to feel shame (Genesis 3:21). Why garments of skin and not wool, for instance? Here is where I will venture into speculation. I can’t cite a verse to prove this, but I see it as the only way of making the whole story consistent. God killed animals because, if Adam and Eve were to survive death, they must be clothed in life. In this case, what might have been a literal covering of the body is also operating at a deeper level; their lives are being “covered”, protected. It is from this point of view that I will talk about animal sacrifice in the Old Testament.
Leviticus 17:11 (NIV) says,
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
We can begin to see that animal sacrifice is not for the mere pleasure of a murderous deity. Rather, it is because life is the only thing that can stave off death. This helps us understand various passages in Scripture that cannot be made sense of by the author’s understanding of animal sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22 and Psalm 40:6 are two examples).
Thus, animal sacrifice was not the arbitrary requirement of God for His pleasure. Rather, it was the only way for humans not to die as they waited for the effects of their actions to be undone. Sacrifice is for us, not for God. And He takes no delight in it.
So, why don’t Christians sacrifice animals? The short answer is they don’t need to. For a longer answer I’m going to post the text of the beginning of Hebrews 10. Please read it, as I believe it supports what I have already said and provides the necessary bridge to the death of Jesus.
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.’ “ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
So it is only the sacrifice of Jesus that can fully and finally put an end to death, undo the damage we did to ourselves and restore right relationship between God and man. Why? Because He is fully man and fully God.
Remember, mankind was made in the image of God and given authority over creation. And we messed it up . . . really badly. But because God gave mankind this authority and can’t take it back, it had to be one of us who, by living rightly and dying, undid things. And it is only by being infinite God that He could fully conquer death and, uniting humanity with divinity, restore what was lost between God and man.
I know that I moved through the story really quickly, and didn’t spell out everything fully or demonstrate all the logical connections. My goal was just to give the underlying story behind sacrifice in a way that helped make sense of it (no other religion has a detailed explanation that I’m aware of). Please ask as many questions as you want; I’ll do my best to answer them. From there it’s up to you to decide whether you can rationally accept it.
