Sacrifice is a paradox. A compelling paradox. In his new book, Sacrifice: Religion and the Revitalization of Christian Life, Clemens Cavallin dives headfirst into the historical, theological, and salvific nature of sacrifice throughout the human and divine story, calling his readers to a renewed embrace of the true nature of God’s redemptive plan.
This compelling book is a reflection on the reality of sacrifice, both secular and religious, and its lamentable absence from modernity. Cavallin examines the modern world’s attempt to eliminate sacrifice, and the consequent attempt by some within the Church to reconstruct Christianity without sacrifice. This endeavor, Cavallin argues, must ultimately prove futile because there is a fundamental human need for sacrifice, and hence for a priestly office and mediation with the supernatural.
Cavallin contends that our non-sacrificial, modern civilization has shaped the Christian churches themselves, weakening their understanding of sacrifice as a fundamental reality. Modern culture fosters the illusion that peace is possible without a serious reckoning with evil. When catastrophic violence erupts, many modern Christians are therefore left bewildered.
The secular narrative assumes that history should keep moving steadily upward: materially, socially, and psychologically. Yet when that promise fails – when suffering, violence, and disorder persist
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