freelight
Eclectic Theosophist
prayer and repentance is the way....always......
prayer and repentance is the way....always......
Already covered in our disucssions on 'blood-atonement'. Blood was not the only offering that made atonement in the OT,....there were other means, such as grain offerings, money, possessions, and just plain ole prayer followed by repentance. - that is what avails...the actual RETURNING to God. All else are but tokens, gestures, symbolic representations. What God looks for is true repentance, inner conversion which produces outward results, of life, conscience, conduct.
All this focus on 'blood, blood, blood'....is actually a bit morbid and primitive. You will find God eventually abhorred all the bloodshed of animal sacrifices made by the priests, because there was no true heart conversion, so those offerings were like stench in his nostrils,....he despised such sacrifices. What are the true sacrifices unto God?, but a humble heart and contrite spirit he will not turn away. He accepts the fruit of our lips (praise/thanksgiving) and our good works as true 'offerings' unto Him. We could go on discounting this 'idea/belief' that BLOOD ALONE can make an atonement for sin. This is not correct, by OT passages, logic, common sense and spiritual intelligence. Repentance is the doorway, then the doing of God's will, the completion.
pj
prayer and repentance is the way....always......
You forgot to mention that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin.
Already covered in our disucssions on 'blood-atonement'. Blood was not the only offering that made atonement in the OT,....there were other means, such as grain offerings, money, possessions, and just plain ole prayer followed by repentance. - that is what avails...the actual RETURNING to God. All else are but tokens, gestures, symbolic representations. What God looks for is true repentance, inner conversion which produces outward results, of life, conscience, conduct.
All this focus on 'blood, blood, blood'....is actually a bit morbid and primitive. You will find God eventually abhorred all the bloodshed of animal sacrifices made by the priests, because there was no true heart conversion, so those offerings were like stench in his nostrils,....he despised such sacrifices. What are the true sacrifices unto God?, but a humble heart and contrite spirit he will not turn away. He accepts the fruit of our lips (praise/thanksgiving) and our good works as true 'offerings' unto Him. We could go on discounting this 'idea/belief' that BLOOD ALONE can make an atonement for sin. This is not correct, by OT passages, logic, common sense and spiritual intelligence. Repentance is the doorway, then the doing of God's will, the completion.
pj