I’m guessing many of society’s problems with violence can be traced to the lack of clarity with the English word “sacrifice.” Unfortunately, it comes packaged with ambiguity. In classical Greek there are a couple of words, that can be translated in English as “sacrifice.” Neither word appears in the Koine Greek of the New Testament, but the words give some potential insight into how the sacrifice word can be confusing.
thýō – to kill as a sacrifice and offer on an altar; as a spiritual sacrifice. (Strongs’ Concordance 2380)
askēsis - the root word for asceticism, meaning “the procedure of demonstrating self-control and determination of action and purpose.” (freedictionary.com)
In one way, sacrifice can be seen as something done to someone (Ex: the girl is thrown into the volcano). In another way, it can be seen as something one chooses to do (Ex: the girl jumps down into the volcano voluntarily to save someone).
I hope you are connecting the dots…
Thýō gods make thýō followers. Askēsis gods make askēsis followers.
If we had got that one thing right in the beginning maybe we wouldn’t have left a trail of violence (trail of tears?) behind us. Or maybe we wouldn’t still be pursuing violence in our politics, political, or policing systems now. Share the news far and wide: Jesus didn’t have to be a victim and therefore neither does anyone else.
-Richard Cocks has some interesting stuff to say along all these lines.