Book Cover
E-book
Author McClymond, Kathryn, 1960-

Title Beyond sacred violence : a comparative study of sacrifice / Kathryn McClymond
Published Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008

Copies

Description 1 online resource (x, 216 pages)
Contents Re-imagining sacrifice -- Reevaluating the role of killing in sacrifice -- Vegetal offerings as sacrifice -- Liquid sacrificial offerings -- The apportionment of sacrificial offerings
Summary For many Westerners, the term sacrifice is associated with ancient, often primitive ritual practices. It suggests the death--frequently violent, often bloody--of an animal victim, usually with the aim of atoning for human guilt. Sacrifice is a serious ritual, culminating in a dramatic event. The reality of religious sacrificial acts across the globe and throughout history is, however, more expansive and inclusive. In Beyond Sacred Violence, Kathryn McClymond argues that the modern Western world's reductive understanding of sacrifice simplifies an enormously broad and dynamic cluster of religious activities. Drawing on a comparative study of Vedic and Jewish sacrificial practices, she demonstrates not only that sacrifice has no single, essential, identifying characteristic but also that the elements most frequently attributed to such acts--death and violence--are not universal. McClymond reveals that the world of religious sacrifice varies greatly, including grain-based offerings, precious liquids, and complex interdependent activities. -- Publisher's description
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-205) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Sacrifice.
Violence -- Religious aspects.
RELIGION -- Reference.
Sacrifice
Violence -- Religious aspects
Offer.
Geweld.
Jodendom.
Vedisme.
Genre/Form Electronic books
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780801896293
0801896290