Blood Sacrifice ~

The practice of shedding blood for the appeasement of a god or gods is part of our communal history since long before any human is capable of remembering. We do not have records that go back that far. I watched Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ, and the intensity was shocking, and has had me thinking for quite a while about the idea of Y’shua taking on my sins in such a fashion. It broke my heart. I cannot feel that it is just in any way for someone else to suffer for anything I have done. The very violence of the beating, the blood spatter, the pain. I cannot feel that I would allow that, if I must suffer, then I must suffer, but not an innocent. No!

Then I found out that Hashem would not have allowed it anyway. That it was indeed not possible for Hashem to take another’s blood for my shortcomings.

The Bible is clear, and it is consistent. One person cannot die for the sins of another. This means that the guilt from the sins committed by one person cannot be wiped out by the punishment given to another person. First, in Exodus 32:30-35, Moses asks God to punish him for the sin of the Golden Calf, committed by the people. God tells Moses that the person who committed the sin is the person who must receive the punishment. Then, in Deuteronomy 24:16, God simply states this as a basic principle, “Every man shall be put to death for his own sins.” This concept is repeated in the Prophets, in Ezekiel 18 “The soul that sinneth, it shall die… the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”

In fact, in further investigating that sight, I was reminded that one is allowed to bring a half ephah of flour if one is unable to afford even a pigeon for the absolution of one’s sins. It is the act of contrition then, that satisfies Hashem, not the act of spilling the blood of one who is not guilty.I must admit to having been greatly relieved that Hashem is more appalled than I at the idea of Y’shua’s having been a sacrifice for my imperfections. Please go to the website above, and investigate further, for if you feel as I do, that no one should have to take on your burdens in such a way, you will be relieved that the just God of the Ivrit does not do this, and it is not part of even the “thinking” of that G-d. In fact you will find that, if you simply stop doing that which is bad in the sight of G-d, and start doing that which G-d considers good, you will be doing all that is required by Hashem. I am most grateful.

Sacrifice ~

There are some occasional hints that Creator considers prayer and praise offerings as significant as any other offering. (See Leviticus 7:12 & 19:24), perhaps even more so. This is something many churches have learned to practice, singing praise songs for a good twenty minutes before anything else begins. But, I want to look at why these should or would be considered a sacrifice to Creator. Throughout the Holy Writs, from Bangkok to Cairo, there is much said about the release and renouncing of the Egoself.

It is, in fact, a difficult thing, dealing with the egoself, that part of us which is the pride of life. When we believe that we have accomplished all that we have done with no help from other humans or Spirit, we become rather unbearable in our dealings with others. We become “prickly” and “proud”, making no attempt to be diplomatic when speaking or acting out our plans. This is part of human nature, part of the programming in the human brain, taking pride in accomplishment so that we can survive in a tough world. However, it is a bit of programming that needs to be placed in a subordinate roll if we are to function as creatures within a structured society.

Our Creator knows full well how we are made, and I believe this is why there is recognition in the holy writings that we must sacrifice this tendency to pat ourselves on the back and learn to praise, pray and give thanks for all that comes into our lives, and even the opportunity to learn. When we learn to do this, we begin to deal with life through our own spirit, rather than through our own ego. It can be a wonderful experience, as much of the learning that comes through our spirit is intuitive and flows more cleanly between the heart and the head, allowing us to deal in compassion with our fellow travelers.

Sacrificing the ego is not an easy thing, it is the practice of humility, of knowing when to be silent and when to speak. It means working always with an eye toward the needs of others so that they may function and contribute to the “cause” as well as possible. One other thing. Sacrificing our egoself may be more difficult than laying down our physical lives, as that is a once for all sort of move, but sacrificing the self-praise “machine” is an action that must be repeated hour by hour, day by day.

“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It’s very important to be aware of them every time they come up.” Deepok Chopra

As Dr. Chopra points out, be careful, you might end up truly happy if you learn to sacrifice the egoself.

Blood ~

According to the OT the life of an animal is in the blood. Since this is also a physical truth, there are few who would argue this point. It would seem, then, that this is the basis for the blood sacrifices in many religions, and indeed, in Judaism before the destruction of the temple and the dispersion.

Yet, according to the prophet (I Sam 15:22), Hashem prefers obedience to sacrifice. So it behooves us to examine what that obedience is, and, if possible begin to attempt to live that way. There are 613 Mitzvot, or commandments on how to conduct one’s life if one is living under Hashem’s covenant with Moshe, or Moses. An examination of these commandments confirms Y’shua’s teaching that all of them, with few exceptions, are about living in peace and compassion with one’s fellow man. It would seem then, that obedience would mean to have compassion, at all times and in all places, for one’s fellow creatures.

So, how is it that in Christian teaching it is more important that you accept that Y’shua made of his own body a blood sacrifice for your sins, yet you do not have to live in obedience to his one commandment to love? This is the basis of why I walked away from the church as I knew it. (I have come since then to realize that not all Christian churches teach this, there are those that teach that both are necessary.)

Yet, if the prophet was correct, Hashem did not require the blood sacrifice of a g-d-man, Hashem only required we listen to the rabbi’s teachings to love. So, if indeed Y’shua’s sacrifice was for us, it was from our perspective, not the perspective of The Ancient of Days. The Holy One wants only that we learn to be compassionate with one another, for the rabbi said that the most important command was to love G-d and love your fellow man.

Yes, I know I am a broken record on this point, but it is the point. There is no other point. According to the Dalai Lama, the real point of religion is to fill our hearts with compassion for one another. I have to agree wholeheartedly, it is because of this man’s teachings, and the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, that I consider myself a Buddhist Christian. I, in fact, have come to glean those teachings of Y’shua’s about compassion and love as the only ones I count as true to his mission. I suspect the rest were added by very human individuals with agendas that were not G-d’s!

It is not Hashem who needs all the ceremony, it is humans. I suspect that the most spiritual among us may be the child that reaches out to another creature, any creature. It is here we see genuine joy and interaction that heals. Forget the blood sacrifices, go let your inner child out to play, perhaps then you will know true spirituality. (Luke 18:15-17)