Christ a human sacrifice to appease the god?

Question

I previously asked a question about the barbaric nature of the Christian concept of "the blood of Christ" The answers I received conveyed the message that Christ died for our sins. So, in essence, I am hearing that he was a human sacrifice. one answer even compared him to a sacrificial lamb. I thought human sacrifice was barbaric and pagan, yet I am reading that it is the basis for the Christian religion. How can that be?

Bakunin, your answer is filled with love. I appreciate that. But why would God need the human experience if he sees all and knows all? Makes no sense. There has to be another reason. If his human life was sacrificed for our sins, this leads me back to my same question. Can someone supply me with some irrefutalble answers?

Well, you guys convinced me of one thing, there are loving Christians who take the time to explain - not to preach. Thank you .

But from a purely secular and academic POV, although I observe a great deal of kindness in your responses, I still see the link to barbarianism.

But from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Well, you guys convinced me of one thing, there are loving Christians who take the time to explain - not to preach. Thank you .

But from a purely secular and academic POV, although I observe a great deal of kindness in your responses, I still see the link to barbarianism.

But from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Answer 1

basically, yea, human sacrifice

Answer 2

Here is the true answer.

Early on in Genesis, God mentioned that "The Life is in the Blood." Also, he said in several places that he was a jealous and perfect God, who demanded perfection in all. To sin is to fall short of perfection, and the penalty from sin was death. (Yes, this does sound a whole lot like preaching, but it just so happens that this is theologically significant, and also misused by hellfire preacher's to frighten people into salvation.) So if death was the only atonement for sin, something had to die. It is not barbaric, it is cause and effect.

For some time, animal's were killed to shed the required blood. But there was one possible alternative: Christ's blood. (Note: As a Lutheren, I believe the Christ always was fully human and fully God, and always will be.) Because Christ was perfect, his blood, his life were sufficiant to cover any and all sin.

So you see that it is not barbaric, nor is it human sacrifice, so to say. It is really simple. Cause and effect: Adam sinned, and imperfect cannot yield perfect, so all of his offspring were imperfect. Need and remedy: We needed atonement for sin, and there was only one source of perfect blood which could be a true and lasting remedy, which was the blood of Christ.

Hope I helped.

Answer 3

Since christians believe Christ was God,that would be God sacrificing himself to God.

Maybe a closer parallel to understand the nature of the story would be the story of how Odin acquired Knowledge,and some say,the Runes.

Trance Gemni is incorrect.The Pharisees did not crucify.This was a Roman execution,conducted by Romans at the request of the Temple Officials.Hebrew law only provides for death by stoning for religious offenses.

Answer 4

It can be because some sorts of ritual are programmed into us. Human sacrifice, cannibalism (Come, Let eat the feast!), sympathetic magic (O lord, we beseech thee) and all that stuff are indeed barbaric, but they are only pagan when they are not Christian.
Christians rationalize what they do, but what they do is as bloody as the rites of any tribe of headhunters in the rainforest.
This is not to blame, but to acknowledge that humans somehow NEED that sort of rite. Perhaps there are Monsters from the Id?

Answer 5

You are looking for a world that has never existed and never will. As the bible tells it it was not a sacrifice in any respect. Jesus gave his live willingly knowing what was going to happen to him. He had the opportunity to leave and not be put to death. He chose to be put to death.....You speak of sacrifice as something that never happens these days. there are still those that kill goats and sheep in Lou of a human as sacrifice in several religions around the world. Christians do not. Thees animals are to take the place of humans so in effect it still is a human being killed. Not the Christians. ...We as humans are animals.

Answer 6

You misunderstood the lesson. It replaced into the Aztecs that did the ritual killings. They sacrificed and burned people alive to assuage their Gods. The Spanish killed them over abomination. They spoke of of their prejudices that it replaced into homicide, therefore they ought to die. Granted it replaced into slender minded. How does genocide ensue? Uneducated people kind their own conclusions and the act on misconceptions and assumptions. only as you probably did not verify your data first and also you printed blasphemy with out 2d theory. Jesus did diverse problematical artwork and committed His existence to humanity and willingly gave His existence so as that His may be the most suitable sacrifice. God did this to attempt to placed an and to the violence. It replaced into guy who made the moral experience determination to homicide a race. no longer God who commanded it.

Answer 7

He was a scrafice by God who is all powerful. we are not allowed to take a human life but God can. He sent His son to die for the greater good and relieve us of original sin.
it was also done as a symbol to show us just how much we are loved by God that he would do such a thing to save us. it may seem a barbaric thing to do but think about it, one life for all the life on earth. it's the lesser of two.

Answer 8

Try thinking of Jesus death not as a sacrifice, in the ancient sense of human sacrifice to gods.
Try instead to think of Jesus death as God, sharing in human experience. Fully experiencing all aspects of humanity, so that God's love for humanity can be complete and empathetic.

Answer 9

That is why Jews do not believe in any of it. It is un-biblical. Read the story of Issac and also read in Leviticus about sacrifices. It is very clear that Christianity is not based on anything from the Torah.

Answer 10

Jesus took our sins on the cross, and yes it was barbaric, because we made it so. The Pharisees were the ones who crucified him and in a way they were considered pagan, so they crucified him in their way. He took all our sins when he went on the cross, he took our death away from us, no matter what, he deserves our respect.

Answer 11

Let me state a rhetorical question here. If your own child were standing on a railroad tracks with a speeding train approaching, would you jump onto the tracks to push him/her off, even if it meant that you were killed in the process? I would! In Christianity, we are all children of God. God loves us so much that He made the conscious choice to appear on this earth in the flesh in the form of mortal man.....a man who bleeds like the rest of us, feels pain like the rest of us, subject to temptation like the rest of us, yet without sin. Christ was here on earth as an example for us to follow, much like a parent should set an example for his or her children. Please understand that the beauty of allowing us to have free will in our doings gives us the choice to do either good or evil. But we are called to be Christlike in always trying to emulate Him by doing the right thing, in other words not succumbing to choices that separate us from the will and mind of God. That being said, after the fall in Eden, a rift between heaven and earth was set. But instead of resorting to the ways of nature in a fallen world, God gave us an escape hatch to return to full grace and communion with Him. Jesus' dying on the cross was just like Him jumping in front of a train to save us from the impact. In other words, our natures our sinful because we don't always use free will wisely. Yet by Him saving us from that train, in essence saving us from our own sinful behavior that harm ourselves and others, we are forgiven. That is what being covered with the blood of Jesus is all about. You are also missing and not understanding the rest of the equation. Angels are divine beings who also have free will. Lucifer, the angel of light, became too prideful and turned away from his Creator. As a fallen angel, as Satan, he was given temporary dominion over this shattered world. When Christ pushed us off those railroad tracks to safety, He also forgave his persecutors. Can you likewise forgive those who show hate towards you? Satan thought he had triumphed over God. God in the flesh was dead. But something miraculous happened. Jesus rose from the dead with a new, immortal and perfect body. Satan's fate is secured. He will be destroyed in the end, so we as Christians are kind of on "clean up duty" right now. The disciples at first did not recognize Him after he rose because of his new, perfect, immortal body. Remember Gandalf after his triumph over the Balrog in Lord of the Rings? The hobbits didn't recognize him at first. Yet Jesus then lived with His disciples, ate with them, preached with them for the next 40 days, and commanded them to go into the world to bring God in Christ to all people. He then ascended directly into heaven, witnessed and documented in the Gospels. I hope this helps. What is barbaric about sacrificing yourself to save others? Absolutely nothing. I pray that you turn to Jesus in your own life. This is the only way to redemption and forgiveness, to bring you into God's will and to give you eternal life after this earthly one. God bless you!