Five Books on Sacrifice: New Approaches in Sacrifice Studies

These books, each of which is grounded in familiarity with historical sources and at the same time alert to philosophical and theological questions, reveal that sacrificial studies are thriving. Grand theories have been enfeebled, but a rich repertory of hermeneutical strategies is being applied all the more freely to the vast material from many cultures. Bloodshed is no longer indisputably central, even in discussion of the classical and well‐documented traditions of I ndia, I srael, and G reece. Past attempts to rationalize sacrifice, through spiritualization for example, are confuted by the sturdy texture of ritual. Despite the opacity of archaic rituals and texts, the social function of sacrificial customs and their potential pathologies are better understood, and interconnect with sacrificial dynamics in our own culture. The sacrificial interpretation of C alvary and the Eucharist is better appreciated as a rich and powerful N ew T estament construct, despite attempts to whittle it away. Yet those such as R ené G irard who urge a change of theological paradigm now have impressive critical resources at their disposal.