Blood Sacrifice

"Why did Yahweh require a blood sacrifice?" asked Robert, a young man skilled in herbal medicines.

"One understanding is that the people at that time, our ancestors, wanted to give Yahweh something that was a sacrifice to them, a meaningful gift, and their animals were more treasured than were beans, potatoes, and bread," said Story Teller.

"So Yahweh didn't require it, but the people set it up that way," said Robert.

"That is my understanding of the story," said Story Teller. "The conventional or orthodox understanding is that Yahweh insisted that animals be killed and offered to him, that blood sacrifices must be made."

"Yahweh sounds pretty bloodthirsty," said Robert.

"Yes," said Story Teller. "He requires that blood be spilled, that celery won't do. He wants something that is made in his image to die as a gift to him."

"This sounds offensive to me," said Robert.

"If you think about it, it is," said Story Teller. "For centuries, people were told not to think about it. It is Yahweh's will and that's that. All of conventional Christianity is based on this understanding of the story."

"I see," said Robert. "Yahweh eventually required the ultimate sacrifice, himself embodying as a human. And he sacrificed himself to himself."

"Yes," said Story Teller. "And more than that. He required a sacrifice for our sins. A goat or lamb or bull was not enough. So he gave himself as a sacrifice to meet his requirements."

"What are sins?" asked Robert.

"We will get into that," said Story Teller. "For now let us focus on a different understanding of the story. The conventional understanding is that Yahweh embodied as a human and died as a blood sacrifice for our sins. "

"What is the unconventional understanding?" asked Robert.

"That Yahweh was full of sorrow for his past angry, jealous, bloodthirsty behavior and did the only thing he could do to ask our forgiveness," said Story Teller.

"He came to Earth as a human and died the most cruel death possible, offered himself to us as a sacrifice for his behavior, not ours," said Robert.

"Yes, in doing so he asks us to forgive his earlier behavior. He embodied as a Person of great love and was killed.  He did not know what else to do to be forgiven."

"You are going to get into trouble with some of my relatives for this," said Robert.

"Every story is open to many interpretations," said Story Teller. "Mine is that God and I, the Source and us, are an interflow and we die and resurrect together."