Sacrifice: giving up what you love

Judaism

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.”

Genesis 22:13 · JPS 1917

In Temple times, korbanot (offerings) included the todah, the thanksgiving offering, brought after rescue from danger (Leviticus 7:12). The binding of Isaac, the Akedah (Genesis 22), is read on Rosh Hashanah, and the shofar recalls the ram that Abraham offered in his son's place. Jewish teaching stresses that God stopped the knife: the story turns away for ever from any idea of child sacrifice.

Christianity

“Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.”

Hebrews 13:15 · World English Bible (British Edition), public domain

Christians see in Abraham's offering of Isaac a picture of God giving His own Son. John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), and Christians believe his death on the cross was the one complete sacrifice. The Eucharist remembers it with thanks: at the Last Supper Jesus “gave thanks” over the bread and the cup. Paul asks Christians to offer their whole lives as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), and in Lent many give up something they enjoy.

Islam

“Their flesh and their food reach not Allah, but the devotion from you reacheth Him. Thus have We made them subject unto you that ye may magnify Allah that He hath guided you. And give good tidings (O Muhammad) to the good.”

Qur'an 22:37 · Pickthall (1930)

The Qur'an tells how Abraham dreamt that he was sacrificing his son, and how father and son both accepted God's will, until God ransomed the boy with “And when (his son) was old enough to walk with him, (Abraham) said: O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I must sacrifice thee.” (37:102–107, Pickthall). The Qur'an does not name the son. Most Muslim scholars hold that he was Ishmael; some early scholars said Isaac. At Eid al-Adha, Muslims who can afford it sacrifice a sheep or goat, or share in a larger animal, and give much of the meat away, especially to the poor.

Without religion

Most people understand sacrifice without religion: parents losing sleep for a baby, a carer giving up a career, a firefighter running towards danger. A non-religious view sees love shown by what we are willing to give up for others. Many would say that is the most human thing there is.

Sikhi

“What power have I to describe Thee? So powerless am I, that I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee. Whatever pleaseth Thee is good.”

Guru Granth Sahib, ang 3 (Japji, pauri 16) · Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion (1909), public domain

Sikhs do not practise ritual sacrifice. In Sikh teaching, sacrifice means giving yourself: seva, selfless service, and, in Sikh history, standing up for other people's freedom. Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi in 1675 after defending the right of Hindus to practise their own faith. In the Japji, Guru Nanak says that even offering his life would fall short of what God deserves.

Hindu traditions

“Who eat of food after their sacrifice / Are quit of fault, but they that spread a feast / All for themselves, eat sin and drink of sin. / By food the living live; food comes of rain, / And rain comes by the pious sacrifice”

Bhagavad Gita 3:13–14 · Edwin Arnold, The Song Celestial (1885), public domain

Yajna, sacrifice, is one of the oldest Hindu practices: offerings of ghee, grain and herbs poured into a sacred fire while verses are chanted. A havan, a fire offering, is still part of weddings and other important days. The Bhagavad Gita widens yajna to mean any action done as an offering, and places it in a great circle of gifts.

Beyond the Abrahamic faiths

The Buddha rejected animal sacrifice and taught that giving, kindness and self-control are the true offering. Many Buddhists offer flowers, light and incense instead. Jains, deeply committed to harming no living thing, reject it too.