In answer to the video "Allah is NOT Forgiving, Merciful or Loving"
The only context where blood sacrifice is an obligation is when the Temple of Jerusalem is built and the people living close to it are allowed to bring their animals there. Without a Temple Jews are forbidden from bringing sacrifices. When the Temple is rebuilt in the messianic age, animal sacrifices will resume.
This by the way undermines the Christological notion of the human god/lamb's once and for all atoning sacrifice.
The concept that blood offering is a primordial requirement for sin atonement, isnt found in Jesus' sayings but in
Hebrews9:22"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission".
Nowhere in the Jewish Scriptures do you find the message that without blood there is no remission. Besides the HB being filled with prayers of forgiveness and admonishment to repent, with or without an offering, such a notion renders meaningless the Lord's prayer in the NT. Jesus would have been teaching his followers a useless prayer of forgiveness.
Lk11"Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us"
What is further striking is that throughout Acts, where the apostles give a number of speeches in order to convert others to the faith, the notion of Jesus' death as an atoning sacrifice is absent.
The Torah is very specific on what types of sacrifices are brought, and for what purpose (thanksgiving, celebration, gifts to God, atonement of very specific sins, guilt, etc.). There are various types of offerings and very few had anything to do with sin. All of this is explained in Leviticus. The offerings range from animals, money, flour, incense, etc. and of course never human beings, as in the Christian model, something the God of the HB abhors.
Even then, repentance is still required along with the offering for the expiation of the specific sin to be complete. But one always finds the overarching principle that sacrifice is nothing compared to the foremost thing: obedience
1Sam15:22"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?"
Of course God does not delight in something of lesser value than another, like a human would delight in sweets rather than more valuable wholesome foods. David says:
Ps69:30-31"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. [This] also shall please the LORD better than an ox [or] bullock that hath horns and hoofs"
see also Prov15:8,16:6,Isa58:3,5,Jer4:1-2,7:3,22-23,25:5,26:3-6,36:3,7,50:20.
The Abrahamic religions are religions of faith and deeds. The Abrahamic God did not entangle mankind in a system only His intervention can resolve, through the dramatic sending of His son/self to be beaten and murdered. He did not burden mankind with what they cannot bear, so as to purposefully condemn them.
Blood atones, but there are many other types of atonements for sins that were ordained long before the presence of a Temple, such as the time between the Exodus from Egypt and the arrival at Mount Sinai as alluded to by
Amos5“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?"These parallel ways for sin atonement, other than blood, also applied during and when the temple was destroyed
Deut4:27-31"Adonai will scatter you...But from that place you will seek out Adonai your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him out with all your heart and all your being...and you will start listening to His Voice, because Adonai your God is a compassionate God.."
What is damaging however from a Christological perspective is that the prophets of the HB did envision a time where such a thing would happen. None said a thing about believing in Jesus or any other messianic claimant, as an alternative way to be accepted by God. Instead, they were commanded by God Himself to turn to Him in prayer and repentance Hos3,14,1Kings8:46-50. This would have been the perfect occasion in scripture to integrate Jesus in the grand scheme of divine salvation. But it doesnt.
Here are some of these ways which the prophets prescribed for sin atonement, nothing about believing in Jesus or the messiah;
- repentance and confession 2Sam12:13-14,Jonah3:10,Lev26:40-42,Ezek18:21-32,33:11-16,Hosea6:6,Ps32:5,Prov21:3,Isa55:7. This way was preached by all prophets for the removal of sin because God is forgiving
Ps86:5,Numbers14:20"Then the LORD said, 'I do forgive, just as you have asked".
David was forgiven simply through repentance as referenced earlier in 2Sam12:13. Not only that, he is also told in Ps51:18-19 that in regards to this very sin, no blood was required of him. If David's sin could be forgiven without blood, what prevents the notion from applying to other sins, just as the HB teaches in countless places?
- truth, justice, love and charity Micah6:6-8,Prov16:6,Daniel4:27
- prayer whether sincerely made by Jews or non-Jews Hos14:2-3,1Kings8:46-52,Daniel9:19,2Chron7:13-14,6:24-40,Prov15:8,Jonah3:5-10. Numerous passages, including Hosea 14, say how prayers have taken the place of sacrifices. This is reflected in
Ps51:17"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and a broken and contrite heart"and
Hos6:6"I desire kindness and not sacrifices, the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings".In Ps40:6 we learn that while God does place an importance on blood sacrifice, He puts more importance on penitence and the resolve to do better.
- righteousness Gen18:32,Jer5:1,2Kings13:23,20:6,Ps106:23,30,Dan4:27
- God awareness Ecc11:9-10
- fasting Jonah3:5-10,4:10
- love and faithfulness Prov16:6
- removal of idolatry Isa27:9
- suffering as a means of refinement Deut8:16,Isa48:10,Ps105:19
- death Isa22:14
- flour offerings to be placed on top of the fire offering, not necessarily on top of the blood Lev5:11-13. This could be done by placing this particular flour offering on top of other flour offerings Lev6:11 the same way as one blood offering is placed on top of another Lev4:35. This type of offering was brought by the poor, who could by definition, not afford sacrificing an animal. Flour is not mixed with the previous offering of another person, nothing indicates it was. Blood is usually sprinkled on the side of the alter, the rest drained at its base. Flour is placed on top. Nowhere do we see that the blood is placed where sin offerings are placed. The pieces of the animal offering placed on top have had their life blood drained long ago. Lev1:9 even insists these parts be washed first. At no point is there any requirement for the meal offering (flour here) be mixed with blood on top of the altar. How will it even burn if it is soaked with blood?
- money Ex30:15
- jewelry Num31:50
- incense Num17:11-12
In fact we even read that even while the Temple is standing, it is no guarantee that blood sacrifice will expiate for sins Lev26:31. Obedience is the primary requirement for a sacrifice to be accepted, as stated earlier. Blood does not "automatically" atone
Prov15:8,21:27"the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination before the Lord".Even while the Temple is standing, a penitent heart is what makes the blood expiate the sins. That is why in the absence of a Temple and the impossibility to bring a sacrifice, atonement for sins is still achieveable.
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