It is for the Biblical “STORY”, “THE NARRATIVE”, “THE PLAY”, and REALITY, etc…that “ATONEMENT” created the ***SENSE***.by which atonement was necessary— and actually agreed with neighboring Middle Eastern cultures concerning “sacrifice”. Atonement creates the language of boundaries” and places colors on a canvass which would otherwise be white – reflecting all color. When there’s no painting, no Story, no color, etc— it just Is. This is the distinction of eternity and eternal meaning set to print in time.
Atonement wasn’t just relegated to the Biblical Story. In James Frazier’s “Golden Bough”, Mr. Frazier shows us that the entire world understood the importance of Atonement. From primitive gods to group collective volitions, designating who or what should take on their sea of troubles was a community participation and in-figured reality. Sacrifice was necessary when community troubles grew to a boiling point without remedy. Therefore, “Pagan-Non Pagan-Hedonistic-Capitalistic, etc…” atonement was/is/ will be necessary on a base-line level for all cultures.
The *Judicial* Murder by God-Father of Son-God was both (in their immediacy) (1) The Most Heinous Act ever committed and (2) The Salvation of the World —-where ‘That which was/is perfect’ can be shared *****by identity***** as ‘Broken Shards of Glass’. Christ, now, can be viewed reflectively “back to the Whole” and *valued* by HIS LOSS and then again, the GAIN by which we receive and what HE receives”
I will be interviewing for the 4th time the leading J.R.R. Tollkien Scholar and Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland and Oxford adjunct, Dr. Verlyn Flieger, next month concerning her book, “Pig’s Tale”. This book, through fiction, treats the topics of Sacrifice and Scapegoat to be entirely different from one another. It covers the primitive collective social sense for atonement.
I conclude my thoughts here with Rene’ Girard’s “atonement theory” that Christ was the ONLY Myth that became real, dwelt amongst us and fulfilled all pagan aspirations of atonement. For those who don’t know me, “Pagan” is used by me in the *a-moral* sense: “those on the ‘other side of the peg’; ‘on the other *page*”
I’m still working on analogue/ and association of ‘what it takes to be a meaningful sacrifice and also — scapegoat).