From Bondage to Liberty in Religion: A Spiritual Autobiography

by George T. Ashley

I quote again from Omar Khayyam:

"Oh, Thou who didst with pitfall and with gin
Beset the road I was to wander in,
Thou wilt not with predestined evil round
Enmesh, and then impute my fall to sin.
... "Ne'er a peevish boy
Would break the bowl from which he drank in joy;
And he that with his hand the vessel made
Will not in after wrath destroy."

REDEMPTION AND ATONEMENT

It is hardly necessary to the purpose of this work, to say anything at all on these subjects. If man was never lost, kidnapped or stolen from God, he needed no redeemer, to buy him back with a price. If man never "fell" from the favor of God by disobedience, and thereby incurred his anger, illwill and wrath that sought vengeance on his life, he needed no one to mediate, propitiate or atone for him by shedding his own blood as a substitute. The whole doctrine of redemption and atonement falls flat when the doctrine of the fall of man is removed from under it. But as this is the very crux of the whole orthodox Christian system, the reader may be interested to know what conclusions I reached concerning it, after some years of study, as to both its origin and meaning. These conclusions I reached, not only from the study of the Bible, but from the study of history generally; and especially the history of religion, in other races as well as the Jews. It must be remembered that this doctrine of atonement by the shedding of blood, is—or rather was,—in one form or another, common to many ancient religions and nations. It was by no means exclusively Jewish or Christian. It probably had a common origin and purpose in all.

I have already intimated that all religious doctrine and practice had their origin in man's attempt to solve the problem of evil, sin, suffering and death; and to remedy it. I will treat this more fully when I come to consider the subject of religion specifically.

The general solution of this problem, if not the almost universal one, was, that men had offended the gods and incurred their anger and illwill; and for this reason the gods continually afflicted them thru life and ultimately destroyed them. Thus death was the final penalty for sin. The gods could be finally satisfied only with the life,—the blood,—of the transgressor. "For the blood is the life." This doctrine is not confined to Genesis and the Jews. In fact, the best Biblical scholars of today are of the opinion that this story of Eden and the fall were not originally Jewish at all; but that the tradition was learned during the exile in Babylonia and Persia, where, it has been learned from recent excavations, the tradition existed centuries before the time of the captivity. It is believed that this tradition so fitted into the Jewish history and gave them such a satisfactory solution of their own sufferings and misery that it was brought back by them, and, with some adaptations, incorporated into their own sacred literature as a part of their own history. Thus, Genesis is now believed by the best scholars and most competent critics, not to be the first book of the Bible written, but in its present form, one of the last written of the Old Testament. But this is a digression.

Quite early, however, tho the time and the exact reason why are both unknown, it is evident that man conceived the idea that, tho he could not escape ultimate death, yet, he might in some way appease the wrath of the gods, and thus at least mitigate his afflictions in this life, by offering them the life—the blood—of a substitute. Thus originated the practice of offering burnt offerings to the gods, so common among so many ancient tribes and nations besides Israel. It was believed that the gods would be satisfied, at least for the time being, with the blood of an innocent victim, especially if it was the best, or the most precious the offerer had. And from this grew the offering of human sacrifices, especially one's own children, as Abraham offering Isaac, Jephtha his daughter, and the practice in Israel so severely condemned by some of the earlier prophets, of making "their children pass the fire unto Moloch."

Other offerings in the course of time grew up, such as fruits, vegetables, incense, etc.; but no offering was acceptable as an atonement for sin, except the offering of blood. Thus Cain brought an offering "of the fruit of the ground" and Jehovah rejected it. But Abel came with "the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and unto his offering."

The later Levitical ritual with its organized priesthood, tabernacle, temple, etc., was by no means the beginning of this idea of appeasing the wrath of Jehovah by blood atonement; but was only the more perfect and systematic organization and administration of it. Blood was considered so precious, because it was the life, that the children of Israel were forbidden to eat it on penalty of death. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your sins: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life." Lev. xvii, 11.

I shall assume here that the reader is already sufficiently familiar with the practices of the Jews, as recorded thruout the Old Testament, concerning this matter of blood atonement, to render it unnecessary to go into further details. If he is not already familiar with it, he can easily become so.