The whole notion of sacrifice is rooted in the idea that I am bad or deficient and I must pay a price for that. Millennia ago, the Holy Temple of Jerusalem was basically a ‘divine’ slaughterhouse where bulls, rams and a variety of other livestock had their throats cut as an expiation for the sins of humans. Today sin-excited Christians flagellate themselves on Good Friday while the less theatrical cleanse themselves via weekly acts of murmured penance.
When something terrible happens, ego demands that someone be punished. In simpler times, they used a proxy. Two kids were pulled from the goatherd. One had its throat slit, the other was driven into the desert, taking with it all the sins of the community.
Ah, those were the days!
If I am ready at a moment’s notice to blow your head off, I hate myself. Military veterans kill themselves twice as often as civilians. Doctors frequently cite PTSD. But this is misleading.
The notion of sacrifice is another one of those twisted and self-serving theologisms with which ‘advanced’ cultures are still infected. It’s the slaughter of an animal or person to appease some higher authority. It’s typically invoked when old men send young men to war.
Men's Work 