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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Yom Kippur

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  • From: "Patrina" <patrina AT bestmail.us>
  • To: "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>, "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Yom Kippur
  • Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 19:25:18 +0930


On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 23:14:47 -0600, "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>
said:
"....Historic Christian understanding of events such as Yom Kippur is
that they were prefigurements, looking forward to the coming and the
sacrifice of Christ, which events fulfilled these foreshadowings.
>From that POV, the forgiveness given at Yom Kippur was based, not on
the Day of Atonement itself, but on the coming One who would pay the
ultimate penalty that brought about forgiveness of sins."

The problem with that view of course is that YHWH does NOT accept human
sacrifice and forbids it, no matter how willing the victim. The idea
of an innocent substitute being sacrificed to remove guilt was common
in the ANE. It wasn't always an animal but was often a firstborn child!
However, in Jeremiah YHWH states that human sacrifice never even entered
his mind (Jer 7:31). In Torah terms a human sacrifice for atonement is
simply not valid, and was a practice that was bitterly opposed by
Jeremiah, since it was still being practised at the Tophets. The very
idea of YHWH yielding his innocent "firstborn son" like worshippers
of Baal Hamon - who brought their innocent firstborn sons to the Tophet
as
whole burnt offerings - is totally absurd, and to be honest, as a former
Christian I never thought deeply enough on this issue.

Patrina Nuske Small
Adelaide, South Australia

--
Patrina
patrina AT bestmail.us





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