Q: “I understand that you reject the idea that God needs violence (bloodshed) in order to forgive. If that is true, what do we do with all of the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament, including even in the Garden of Eden?” – Mark G., Kentucky
A: Hi Mark, thanks for the great question.
I’ll concede that a surface-level reading of the Old Testament does give the impression that God requires blood in order to forgive. The idea literally begins in Eden, as you noted, where the text says God clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals. (Genesis 3:22)
Then God accepted Abel’s animal sacrifice while not accepting Cain’s offering of the fruit of the earth.
Then, of course, the Mosaic law is filled with literal instructions on how to make atonement with God through ritualized blood sacrifices made through priests.
Leviticus 17:11 seems to sum up it well:
“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 souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’”
If we just stopped right there, I think the conclusion that God requires blood to forgive is completely obvious if we read the text literally (as opposed to allegorically).
But we can’t stop in Leviticus or anywhere the Torah because the Scripture does not end there.
Regarding the animal skins given to Adam and Eve in Eden, the text never says God killed an animal or demanded blood. It simply says God clothed the humans in coats of skin. What is explicit is that God cares for creation. That God is demanding sacrifice is assumed, not stated explicitly by the text.
The story of Cain and Abel is often treated the same way. Yet the New Testament tells us how to read it:
“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.”
(Hebrews 11:4)
So the issue is faith, not blood sacrifice.
While blood sacrifice is heavily regulated under the Mosaic law, this hardly means that God required, let alone desired, blood sacrifice. Regulation is not the same as desire. If it is, then we must also believe that God desires the heinous practice of chattel slavery simply because it is regulated (and thereby, condoned) under the Mosaic Law. (For example, see Leviticus 25:44-46.)
Jesus later explains that Moses permitted divorce in the law due to the hardness of human hearts. (See Matthew 19)
“Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” (Matthew 19:8)
Interestingly, many Christian apologists appeal to this same verse when attempting to defend against the charge that the Bible condones chattel slavery.
If apologists can extend Matthew 19:8 beyond its exclusive focus on divorce in order to excuse regulations about chattel slavery in the law, why not also extend it to the topic of blood sacrifice?
Then, we come to the prophets who made it abundantly clear that God, from the beginning, did not desire or require ritualized blood sacrifice.
I submit that the Bible is a self-correcting book. Those correctives came by the prophets. And they do not speak softly.
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire.”
(Psalm 40:6)
“You do not delight in sacrifice… The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.”
(Psalm 51:16–17)
At one point, the prophet Jeremiah reveals something that directly challenges how many people read the law of Moses.
“For I (God) did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.” (Jeremiah 7:22)
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
(Hosea 6:6)
“I have had enough of burnt offerings… I do not delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”
(Isaiah 1:11)
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”
(Micah 6:8)
The prophets utterly reject the idea that God requires blood sacrifice.
Jesus stands firmly in this prophetic tradition and twice He quotes Hosea’s words:
“Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
(Matthew 9:13; 12:7)
Before laying down His own life, Jesus freely forgave sins without sacrifice or violence.
“Your sins are forgiven.”
(Luke 7:48)
Let’s be honest. If God required blood in order to forgive, Jesus’ ministry would make no sense.
A God who needs blood to forgive looks nothing like Jesus. And Jesus is the final word.
And what about the cross?
I’ve have taught on this topic here, but suffice it to say that I do not believe that God’s wrath was satisfied through Jesus’ death on the cross. Instead, I believe the cross reveals a God that stepped into what we believed He wanted and brought it to an end.
The book of Hebrews is also helpful here.
“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
Notice that it was under the law that blood sacrifice was required for forgiveness.
Nevertheless, it goes on to reveal that the animal sacrifices never forgave sins!
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4)
I believe the book of Hebrews is unambiguous:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire.”
(Hebrews 10:5)
I also agree with the apostle Peter when he explains the violence of the cross was done by wicked human hands, not by God.
“You, with the help of wicked men, put him to death.”
(Acts 2:23)
Notice that Peter doesn’t say “you, with the help of God’s ordained plan, put him to death.” Instead, Peter identifies the murder of Jesus as evil. Fortunately, our unchanging God always returns evil with good. (That’s why Jesus instructs us to also return evil with good so that we may glorify the Father.)
Jesus does not save us from the Father. He reveals the Father.
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
(John 14:9)
The Father wasn’t complicit in the wicked murder of Jesus. Rather, on the cross, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, by not counting their sins against them. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
I could go on, and probably should, but I think the trajectory is clear enough. The Bible’s message on blood sacrifice evolved as man’s understanding of God evolved. Ritualized blood sacrifices are superstitious and perfectly reflect human fear. Mercy, not blood sacrifice, reflects God’s heart.
God freely forgives just as I can choose to freely forgive someone. I am not better than God. But I can reflect God’s character by freely forgiving others. No violence is required. Just a heart of love and mercy.
This has always been God’s way.
But the Bible makes it clear that it has not always been man’s way.
I can understand why it is often easier to believe God needed blood than to believe He has always been this merciful.
But to me, the real scandal is not that God forgives freely. The scandal is how long we insisted He could not.
Thanks again for the great question. I hope my answer makes some sense.
Blessings,
Jerry Robinson
(TrueRichesAcademy.com)
