（利01）献祭的信仰宣告 (Lev 01) The Faith Declaration of Sacrifice
(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
Chinese people often burn paper money to worship their ancestors during the Qingming Festival, as if the dead still need money to use. This is quite absurd. The sacrifices in the Bible have different meanings. The sacrifices in the Bible often require killing, and it is the worshiper who kills the livestock. This naturally involves the question of who controls life and death in the biblical belief system.
1. The Creator Decrees Death and Gives Life
The Bible believes that the Creator controls life and death. This is difficult for atheists to accept. They see people around them dying from diseases, wars, disasters, and plagues, and they often question believers, saying: “Isn’t your God omnipotent? Why does He not prevent death?” Polytheism, on the other hand, often establishes a negative deity to manage death, such as the King of Hell in Chinese folklore. But the God of the Bible is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). The same God that gives life also takes life, and He does not need to apologize for this.The Bible teaches that after the first humans sinned, before the problem of sin is fundamentally solved, all people must die. This is the Creator’s decree (Genesis 2, 3).
Jewish tradition holds that the time and manner of each person’s death are also determined by the Creator.
(See: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/255977?lang=bi)
No death can occur without the Creator’s permission. Even Job’s children and Job himself were no exception (Job 1). Ultimately, the executioner, earthquake, or plague does not control life and death, but rather, the Creator who governs all these things. Besides allowing death to happen, the Creator personally struck down the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12).
(See: http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Exodus/12)
The Bible teaches that the Creator both decrees death and gives life.
(See: http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/search?key=使人死)
Jewish tradition believes that a person’s life and death are not under their own control but are entirely in the hands of the Creator, including the future resurrection of the dead and the judgment after resurrection.
(See: https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.4.22?lang=bi)
All of this explains why, in the biblical belief system, the only proper recipient of human sacrificial killing should be the Creator alone, because ultimately, only He controls life and death.
2. The Faith Declaration of Sacrifice
Sacrifice in the Bible is an expression of faith.
The people of the Creator can acknowledge the Creator’s sovereignty over their own lives by offering animal sacrifices.
Leviticus 1:4 requires the worshiper to lay hands on the sacrificial animal. I believe this teaches that the animal represents the worshiper himself. Leviticus 1:2 requires that the sacrificial animals must be livestock raised by humans. I believe this shows that the worshiper’s own life is given and sustained by the Creator, so the Creator has the right to take it. The sacrificial ceremony expresses: He lets the sacrifice die in my place so that I may live for Him.
(See Genesis 22, where Abraham substituted his son with a ram: http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Genesis/22)
In ancient China, before the faith was severely corrupted, there might be also sacrifices to commemorate the God who gives and preserves life (see “Sheng Min” from the Book of Songs). However, to fully realize the meaning of sacrifice requires the New Testament. The New Testament teaches that Christ is the eternally effective sacrifice (Hebrews 10).
Modern Christian sacrifice is through baptism—crucifying the “old self” and the “body of sin” with Christ—to live out the new life in the resurrected Christ.
(See Romans 6.)
Some related links:
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Leviticus/1
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Hebrews/10
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Romans/6
3. The Creator Does Not Depend on Human Sacrifices
Although worshipers can express their acknowledgment of the Creator’s right to decree death by killing animals, the Creator does not need to take lives for selfish reasons. Except for perhaps some symbolic descriptions, He does not need sacrifices for food (Psalm 50).
(See: http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Psalm/50)
This point was brought to my attention by Pastor He. See the record of his revision of one of my previous articles:
“The tenth paragraph in the teacher-student dialogue on “Passover” was significantly revised.
Your original text was:
10. Teacher: “That’s a great question. The shepherd and the lamb are opposed to each other. People usually think that a shepherd raises sheep for his own benefit—to shear their wool from time to time for profit, and when they grow fat, he slaughters them for their meat. The shepherd has absolute power over the sheep—breeding, nurturing, sheltering, feeding, and herding them—but also takes their wool for clothing and eats their meat. This is much like the relationship between the Creator and humanity. The Creator gives life and takes life. Human conception, birth, and daily food all come from Him, but when the time comes, it is also He who takes away life in some manner.”
It was revised to:
10. Teacher: “That’s a great question. The shepherd and the lamb are opposed to each other. People usually think that a shepherd raises sheep for his own benefit—to shear their wool from time to time for profit, and when they grow fat, he slaughters them for their meat. The shepherd has absolute power over the sheep—breeding, building shelters, feeding, and herding them. Shepherds raise and nurture their flocks, but also depend on them for a living.
However, the metaphor of God as the shepherd and us as the sheep of His pasture is just that—a metaphor. In real life, the shepherd and his flock have a close relationship, but the shepherd indeed depends on the flock for a living and benefits from them. But our great Shepherd (God) does not depend on His flock (us) for a living, nor does He benefit from us. Instead, we benefit from God—our great Shepherd. Therefore, when using metaphors, we must not rigidly apply them to every detail. Regarding the metaphor of the shepherd and the sheep, we can only use the positive aspects, such as the shepherd’s care and meticulous concern for the sheep.”
（利01）献祭的信仰宣告
中国人在清明节常常烧纸钱祭祖， 好像死人还需要钱用，这是很荒唐的。圣经里的献祭有不同的意义。圣经里的献祭常常需要杀生，是献祭人杀牲畜，这就自然而然牵涉到，在圣经信仰体系里是在谁掌管生死的问题。
1。造物主使人死使人活
圣经认为造物主掌管生死。这让无神论者难以接受，他们看到周围的人或死于疾病，或死于战争，灾难，瘟疫，常常质问信徒，你们的神不是万能的吗，为什么祂不阻止人的死亡？多神论则常常设立一个负面的神管理死亡，如中国人所说的地府里的阎王。但圣经的神是一（申6:4）。使人生的神也使人死，祂不需为此道歉。圣经教导，人类始祖犯罪以后，在罪的问题得到根本解决之前所有的人一定都会死，这是造物主的规定（创2，3）， 而犹太传统认为，每个人死亡的时间与方式也由造物主决定https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/255977?lang=bi。所有的死亡没有造物主的首肯都不可能发生。连约伯的儿子们和约伯自己都是如此（伯1）。最终掌管生死的不是刽子手，不是地震，不是瘟疫，而是掌管这一切的造物主。造物主除了允许死亡发生，还曾亲自击杀埃及的头生子（出12）http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Exodus/12
。圣经教导造物主使人死也使人活。
参见http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/search?key=使人死
犹太传统认为，人的生死不由自主，而是一切由造物主作主， 包括将来人要从死里复活，而且复活后要受审判。参见
https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.4.22?lang=bi
这一切都解释了为什么在圣经的信仰体系里，人类杀生献祭的正确对象应该只有造物主一位，因为最终只有祂掌管生死。
2。献祭的信仰宣告
圣经里的献祭是信心的表达。
圣经里造物主的子民可以通过杀牲畜的献祭承认造物主对自己生命拥有主权。
利未记1:4规定献祭人要按手在所献的牲畜身上， 我觉得这在教导牲畜代表献祭人自己，利未记1:2规定献祭人所杀的牲畜要用人类养活的家畜，我觉得这表示献祭人自己的生命是造物主说所赐予和保全的，所以造物主有权收取自己的生命。献祭的仪式表示：祂让祭物代我死，让我为祂活，参见（创22）亚伯拉罕献子时以公羊代替的故事http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Genesis/22
。中国古代在信仰尚未被严重污染之前，可能也有使用献祭记念赐予生命和保全生命的上帝（参见诗经-生民https://baike.baidu.com/item/大雅·生民/1923538）。但实现献祭彻底的意义，需要新约。新约认为基督是那永远有效的祭物（希10）。现代基督徒的献祭就是通过洗礼把“旧人”的“罪身”与基督“同钉十字架”，以活出在复活的基督里重生的新生命（参见罗马书6）。
有关链接：
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Leviticus/1
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Hebrews/10
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Romans/6
3。造物主不需依赖人类的祭物
虽然献祭人可以通过杀牲表达自己承认造物主有使人死的权利，但造物主不需要为了自私的原因杀生，（除了也许有象征性的描述以外）祂不需用祭物充饥（诗50）。参见
http://www.chinesebibleonline.com/book/Psalm/50
这一点，是贺牧师让我注意到的，参见以前贺牧师修改我一篇文章的记录：
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“在师生对话“逾越节”中的第十段改动较多。
你原來的部分内容如下：
10. 老师：你的问题很好。牧人和羊羔是对立的。一般人想，牧人养羊，养的再好，也是为了自己的利益，不时要剪剪羊毛剥削一下，养肥了还要宰杀吃它的肉。牧人拥有羊群的生杀大权，为它们配种，养育，搭棚，觅食，放牧，但也剪它们的羊毛做衣服，也吃它们的肉。这很像造物主与人类的关系，造物主让人生，也让人死，人类怀孕生育，每天的饮食，都来自祂，但时间到了，又是祂通过某种方式取走人的性命。
現在被改爲：
10. 老師：你的問題很好。牧人和羊羔是對立的。一般人認爲，牧人養羊，養得再好，也是為了自己的利益，要剪剪羊毛剝削一下；把羊養肥了，還要宰殺它們，吃它們的肉。牧人擁有對羊群的生殺大權，為它們配種、搭棚、覓食；他們放牧，養育羊群，但是也靠羊謀生。
可是神是牧者，以及我們是他草場上的羊，只是一個比喻。從實際生活來看，牧者和羊群不僅有親密的關係，而且牧者確實以羊群爲生，從羊群得好處。但是我們的大牧者（神），並不以羊群（我們）爲生，也不從羊群得好處，反而我們從神—-我們的大牧者那裡得好處。所以在使用比喻時，我們不能將比喻面面俱到、事無巨細地一一對應現實情況。關於牧者和羊群的比喻，我們只能用牧者對羊的看顧，對羊的無微不至關懷等有積極意義的方面。”
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