O'Darby III
Active member
It's standard orthodoxy that Jesus had to be sinless and perfect in order to be an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of humanity. If he wasn't born of a virgin or ever looked at a woman with lust, God's entire plan goes poof. We're told that the OT system of animal sacrifice was a prefiguring of the ultimate sacrifice of God's own son.
Ever think about this? Ever think about the absolutely obscene OT system of sacrifice?
"Some passages in the [OT] depict priests wading up to their knees in blood, and others describe 1.2 million animals being slaughtered on one day. And the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also describes an enormous slaughtering operation." https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain...powered-ancient-jerusalems-economy-8c11073738.
1 Kings 8:62-63 tells us that Solomon slaughtered 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats at the dedication of the Temple.
Josephus records that in 4 BC over 250,000 lambs were sacrificed for the Passover. Joachim Jeremias, in Jerusalem in the Times of Jesus, calculates that the three courses of priests on duty during the two-hour period for sacrifice during Passover could slay "only" 18,000 lambs, meaning the other 232,000 were likely slain by individuals in their own homes. See https://www.bibletools.org/index.cf.../RTD/cgg/ID/19883/Passover-Kept-at-Temple.htm.
As the first article describes, archaeological findings confirm that the animal slaughter was on a truly massive scale. It was the very heart of the entire economy of Jerusalem. Pilgrims came from far and wide, bringing animals to be sacrificed or purchasing them locally.
I'm guessing that you, like me, have never really tried to picture what this obscene system would have looked like, day after day. Suffice it to say, I would've moved to Detroit.
Does this really strike you as something believably associated with the creator of the universe? Or is it more in the vein of every other system of pagan sacrifice to some imaginary deity, from Jupiter to Moloch to Quetzalcoatl? It is arguably (but only just barely) more civilized in that children and virgins at least weren't sacrificed, but I find it impossible to associate this obscene system with any notion of a creator of the universe.
Ergo, I reject the entire "sacrificial" understanding of Jesus' death. It's simply too absurd to be believed. Jesus himself, of course, didn't use the term sacrifice. He said his death was a "ransom for many," Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45. (Ransom is an equally problematical term, and those who focus on it have always struggled with the issue of to whom this ransom would have been paid – Satan being the likely candidate, but this is hardly a satisfying answer. Most discussions simply gloss over the massive difference between a ransom and a sacrifice and pretend ransom really means sacrifice.)
I personally have been seeking some minimalist understanding of Jesus and his mission that isn't completely at odds with my innate, intuitive idea of what a creator of the universe could possibly be like. The sacrificial system of the OT, and Jesus' death as the ultimate fulfillment of that system, ain't it.
(My problem with attempting to avoid forums is that I persistently wake up with ideas such as these seemingly planted in my mind and something like a compulsion to express them for those who may have ears to hear. In Christian wacko terms, I'm beginning to think I may actually be - wait for it - inspired!)
Ever think about this? Ever think about the absolutely obscene OT system of sacrifice?
"Some passages in the [OT] depict priests wading up to their knees in blood, and others describe 1.2 million animals being slaughtered on one day. And the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also describes an enormous slaughtering operation." https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain...powered-ancient-jerusalems-economy-8c11073738.
1 Kings 8:62-63 tells us that Solomon slaughtered 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats at the dedication of the Temple.
Josephus records that in 4 BC over 250,000 lambs were sacrificed for the Passover. Joachim Jeremias, in Jerusalem in the Times of Jesus, calculates that the three courses of priests on duty during the two-hour period for sacrifice during Passover could slay "only" 18,000 lambs, meaning the other 232,000 were likely slain by individuals in their own homes. See https://www.bibletools.org/index.cf.../RTD/cgg/ID/19883/Passover-Kept-at-Temple.htm.
As the first article describes, archaeological findings confirm that the animal slaughter was on a truly massive scale. It was the very heart of the entire economy of Jerusalem. Pilgrims came from far and wide, bringing animals to be sacrificed or purchasing them locally.
I'm guessing that you, like me, have never really tried to picture what this obscene system would have looked like, day after day. Suffice it to say, I would've moved to Detroit.
Does this really strike you as something believably associated with the creator of the universe? Or is it more in the vein of every other system of pagan sacrifice to some imaginary deity, from Jupiter to Moloch to Quetzalcoatl? It is arguably (but only just barely) more civilized in that children and virgins at least weren't sacrificed, but I find it impossible to associate this obscene system with any notion of a creator of the universe.
Ergo, I reject the entire "sacrificial" understanding of Jesus' death. It's simply too absurd to be believed. Jesus himself, of course, didn't use the term sacrifice. He said his death was a "ransom for many," Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45. (Ransom is an equally problematical term, and those who focus on it have always struggled with the issue of to whom this ransom would have been paid – Satan being the likely candidate, but this is hardly a satisfying answer. Most discussions simply gloss over the massive difference between a ransom and a sacrifice and pretend ransom really means sacrifice.)
I personally have been seeking some minimalist understanding of Jesus and his mission that isn't completely at odds with my innate, intuitive idea of what a creator of the universe could possibly be like. The sacrificial system of the OT, and Jesus' death as the ultimate fulfillment of that system, ain't it.
(My problem with attempting to avoid forums is that I persistently wake up with ideas such as these seemingly planted in my mind and something like a compulsion to express them for those who may have ears to hear. In Christian wacko terms, I'm beginning to think I may actually be - wait for it - inspired!)