Andrew Remington Rillera / Sacrifice and Atonement in the Bible
May 14, 2024
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Andrew Remington Rillera, Assistant professor of biblical studies, discusses sacrificial understandings of Jesus's death. Topics cover penal substitutionary atonement, rethinking sacrificial practices, and the significance of atonement in the Bible.
Sacrifices in the Hebrew Bible serve as sacred meals honoring God and commemorating life, emphasizing community and celebration.
Atoning sacrifices decontaminate sacred spaces, maintaining purity and holiness through rituals to address impurities and sin.
Leviticus highlights the symbolic significance of blood in cleansing impurities, challenging traditional views on substitutionary atonement with a focus on participatory and transformative elements.
Deep dives
Function of Sacrifices as Sacred Meals
The primary function of sacrifices in the Hebrew Bible is to serve as sacred meals, emphasizing a shared meal between the priest, the offerer, and God. Sacrifices are seen as gifts offered as food with celebratory and commemorative aspects to honor God.
Decontamination of the Sacred Space
Another key function of sacrifices is to decontaminate the sacred space, such as the temple or sanctuary, from impurities and ritual defilements. By performing atoning sacrifices, the priests maintain the purity and holiness of the sacred space, ensuring it remains a fitting place for sacred rituals.
Function of Toning Sacrifices vs. Ritual Purity
Atoning sacrifices play a crucial role in addressing ritual impurities and sin contaminations within the sacred space. Ritual impurities from aspects like birth, death, and certain bodily discharges require decontamination through atoning sacrifices. Certain sins, especially those linked to idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, also necessitate atoning sacrifices due to their defiling nature.
Sacrifice Not About Substitutionary Death or Suffering
Contrary to common misconceptions, sacrifices in the Hebrew Bible are not about substitutionary death or suffering. Instead, they primarily function as sacred meals to honor God and celebrate aspects of life. The focus on gift-giving and shared meals underscores the communal and celebratory nature of sacrifices in worship.
Interpreting Levitical Sacrifices and the Use of Blood
Leviticus portrays the intricate process of decontamination through sacrifices, distinguishing between ritual impurity and moral impurity. The podcast emphasizes the significance of blood in symbolizing life and its role in cleansing impurities. It is highlighted that the Levitical sacrifices are pivotal for understanding the concept of sacrifice, notably focusing on Leviticus 17 as a critical chapter addressing sacrifice and purity.
Revisiting Substitutionary Atonement and Christ's Sacrifice
The discussion challenges the traditional concept of substitutionary atonement regarding Christ's sacrifice and its theological implications. It argues against viewing Jesus' death as merely substitutionary and emphasizes the participatory aspect of atonement. The podcast dives into the idea of solidarity atonement where Jesus' resurrection marks the victory over sin and death, stressing the transformative nature of salvation and the distinction from substitutionary interpretations of Christ's sacrifice.
Andrew Remington Rillera is assistant professor of biblical studies and theology at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. He is the author of the new Cascade book, Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus’s Death.
***This will be our last episode before The Theology Mill goes on break for summer 2024. We will pick back up in the fall.***
*The Theology Mill and Wipf and Stock Publishers would like to thank Luca Di Alessandro for making their song “A Celestial Keyboard” available for use as the podcast’s transition music. Link to license: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/.
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