The binding of Isaac: religious paradoxes, permutations, and problems.(child sacrifice)

From: Midstream | Date: November 1, 2001| Author: | Copyright information

I believe it can be shown that the deep structure of the impulse and act of child sacrifice has had a continuing and destructive impact on human religious activity from its inception to the present day. Further, I will argue that only a rethinking of the concept can have any hope of reversing that destructive impact.

The original story in monotheistic religious texts embodying the ideal of child sacrifice is, of course, the Binding of Isaac (in Hebrew, the Akedah or Akedat Yitzchak), in which Abraham is commanded by God, as a test of Abraham's faith, to "raise up" Isaac, his ...

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