In reply to message #0
Last edited by Paul Younan on Jan-21-2002 at 01:53 PM (CT) Shlama Akhi Javier, I was waiting for someone to have questions about this and I am frankly surprised that it took this long for someone to ask.  Akhi - I am going to measure my response by what I have interpreted, from the wording of your question, is a misunderstanding of the basic types of sacrifices commanded in the O.T. This is a crucial point - because without it, you will indeed find the concept of sacrifice repugnant. Some background on this topic - throughout the Semitic world, without exception, Jews, Christians and Muslims (and even heathens like the devil-worshipping Yezidees) all practice some sort of animal sacrifice. This is recorded throughout our history - of course most notably in our religious texts. Many people in the Christian West, in particular, don't have a basic understanding of this topic - especially in reference to the O.T. or Semitic practice in general. Firstly, it's very important to understand that not all sacrifices have to do with making a payment for a sin. 99.9% of Christians don't know this. In fact, the vast majority of sacrifices in the O.T. times had nothing to do with making amends with God (i.e., 'payment of sins.') They were to thank Him. These are called the 'offers of thanksgiving' or 'thanksgiving sacrifices.' There were many types of offerings (Qur-ba-ne) that were, and still are, practiced by Semites of all creeds. These include Peace offerings, Free-will offerings, etc. (c.f. - Leviticus 7:11-34, 22:29, Psalm 50:14, Psalm 50:23, Pslam 116:17, etc., etc.) The most important point I want to make here is this - be careful to not limit the meaning of the word 'sacrifice' to be only a sin-offering. To do so would greatly limit your understanding of this topic. Christ, of course, is our final Sacrifice - the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world. And no Eastern believer thinks that their sacrifices have anything to do with that concept. The need for a priest to sprinkle blood on an altar to absolve our sins is gone. We have an Eternal Priest who offers up his own blood forever as the final payment. Now back to our original topic - the multitudes of sacrifices that our people have practiced since time began have nothing to do with sin payment. They were (and are) to thank God for his good graces, for an answered prayer, to answer a prayer - or simply to glorify Him. These types of sacrifices were by no means ended by the Sin Offering of Christ. We find in Luqa that the Virgin even offered a Qurbana after the birth - "A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS" (Luke 2:21-24) And beloved Akha - if these things are now forbidden by our new Faith, as the West claims, then how is it that even Paul offered Qurbana for the Aramean believers (Acts 21:26, as the law directs in Numbers 6:13-20 when he proposed to pay the charges of it, or at least part of it. ) ??? How is it that Mshikha Himself commanded the Leper who was healed - "but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them." (Luqa 5:14, Mattai 8:4 - c.f. Leviticus 14:1-14, 57) Now, neither Paul nor the cleansed Leper, nor even the Virgin, were offering Qurbana for the forgiveness of sins. And neither do I. That's the critical point here to remember. I vividly remember the first time I, as a young boy, witnessed this ancient ritual in practice. My father wanted to offer a lamb to God as a thanksgiving Qurbana for answering his prayer and healing my grandmother of an illness. We drove from Chicago to a farm in Wisconsin and purchased two lambs (both without blemish) from a farmer we knew and drove them all the way back to Chicago (of all places) where he slaughtered them in the back of the house near a sewer sink-hole - being very quick to limit the pain - and also careful to drain all of the blood according to our custom. Then the meat was cooked over several days and we passed it out in portions to the membership at the door of the church and also distributed large portions to the poor. As many of you already know - my mother has been critically ill in the hospital for over 6 months now and recently my brother and sisters and I asked her if she'd like for us to offer a lamb as a request for her recovery. She nodded yes. As it's nearly impossible to do this here in the states anymore (unless you live on a farm), we asked a local Muslim butcher to do it for us, and so we distributed the meat afterwards in the normal fashion at the door of the church. Not quite the same - but better than being arrested for cruelty to animals. I guess it was easier to do it back home where you owned your own flock of sheep. Anyway - I hope this answers your concerns (or, at least, gives you a better understanding of our customs.) Fk^rwbw 0ml4
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