Jews And Atonement: Absolution Through Repentance And Prayer

In ancient Jewish religion, people who had sinned could be absolved through priestly sacrifice of animal or vegetable offerings. After the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE, Jewish Christianity declined and Pauline Christianity predominated. Baptised Christians were believed to have been forgiven of all previous sins, but the question remained as to how sins committed after baptism could be absolved. While contemporary Judaism has abandoned formal sacrificial rituals of absolution, Jews still have the duty to seek forgiveness from those against whom they have sinned, both humans and God.

Ancient Jewish religion involved the priestly sacrifice of animal or vegetable offerings to absolve sins

However, the question of how to absolve sins committed after baptism remained. While some Christians, such as Paul of Tarsus, taught that certain sins should not be forgiven by the church but rather punished by expulsion or legal consequences, others developed a formal liturgy for believers to receive absolution from a priest for sins committed after baptism.

In Jewish tradition, the concept of forgiveness or pardon (in Hebrew, s-l-h) is central to the Yom Kippur liturgy, which is based on the story of the golden calf in the Book of Exodus. While contemporary Judaism has abandoned formal sacrificial rituals of absolution, Jews still have the duty to seek forgiveness from those they have sinned against, including God.

Early Christianity abandoned this practice, believing that Christ's death on the Cross was the ultimate sacrifice to absolve all believers of their sins

Ancient Jewish religion involved rites of priestly sacrifice of animal or vegetable offerings, by which a person who had sinned could receive absolution. Early Christianity abandoned this practice, believing that Christ, by his death on the Cross, had performed the ultimate sacrifice to absolve all believers of their sins.

In the New Testament, Jesus is shown to have baptised people and also verbally absolved them of their sins. He established a correlation between God's absolution of human sin and people absolving their fellows: "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

After Jesus' death, the first Christians were Jews who generally followed the Jewish law regarding absolution, adding to it Jesus' teachings. However, especially through the teaching of Paul of Tarsus, the crucifixion of Jesus soon came to be seen as an atoning sacrifice made "once for all". Baptised Christians were believed to have been forgiven of all previous sins. After baptism, one was a "new creature in Christ" and was supposed to live a holy life as a "saint".

Later church tradition developed a formal liturgy by which believers could receive absolution from a priest for sins committed after baptism, including the most serious "mortal sins". The Protestant Reformation downplayed the role of the priest in the process of absolution and evolved various traditions regarding the minister's role in the process, if any.

While contemporary Judaism has abandoned formal sacrificial rituals of absolution, Jews still have the duty to seek forgiveness from those against whom they have sinned, both humans and God. The word "forgiveness" or "pardon" appears for the first time in the story of the golden calf: "Pardon our iniquity and our sin".

Later church tradition developed a formal liturgy by which believers could receive absolution from a priest for sins committed after baptism

Ancient Jewish religion involved rites of priestly sacrifice of animal or vegetable offerings, by which a person who had sinned could receive absolution. Early Christianity abandoned this practice in favour of a belief that Christ, by his death on the Cross, had performed the ultimate sacrifice to absolve all believers of their sins through their repentance, faith, and baptism.

In the teaching of Jesus, he established a correlation between God's absolution of human sin and people absolving their fellows: "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15). After Jesus' death, the first Christians were Jews who generally followed the Jewish law regarding absolution, adding to it Jesus' teachings. However, especially through the teaching of Paul of Tarsus, the crucifixion of Jesus soon came to be seen as an atoning sacrifice made "once for all". Baptised Christians were believed to have been forgiven of all previous sins and were supposed to live a holy life as a "saint". Paul counselled that certain sins, especially the teaching of false doctrines and serious sexual sins, should not be forgiven by the church, but that those who committed them should be expelled or even turned in to the authorities for their crimes.

While contemporary Judaism has abandoned formal sacrificial rituals of absolution, Jews still have the duty to seek forgiveness from those against whom they have sinned, both humans and God. The word "forgiveness" or "pardon" in Hebrew appears for the first time in the story of the golden calf: "Pardon our iniquity and our sin" (Exod. 34:9). The story of the spies contains a similar idea: "Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to Your great kindness, as You have tolerated [carried] this people ever since Egypt" (Num. 13:5).

The Protestant Reformation downplayed the role of the priest in the process of absolution

In ancient Jewish religion, people who had sinned could receive absolution through priestly sacrifice of animal or vegetable offerings. After the death of Jesus, the first Christians were Jews who generally followed the Jewish law regarding absolution, adding to it Jesus' teachings. Jesus himself also verbally absolved people of their sins.

While contemporary Judaism has abandoned formal sacrificial rituals of absolution, Jews still have the duty to seek forgiveness from those against whom they have sinned, both humans and God. This is reflected in the story of the golden calf, in which the word "forgiveness" or "pardon" appears for the first time: "Pardon our iniquity and our sin" (Exod. 34:9).

Contemporary Judaism has abandoned formal sacrificial rituals of absolution, but Jews still have the duty to seek forgiveness from those against whom they have sinned

Contemporary Judaism has abandoned the ancient practice of priestly sacrifice as a means of absolution. In ancient Jewish religion, a person who had sinned could receive absolution through the sacrifice of animals or vegetables. However, this practice was abandoned by early Christianity, which held that Christ's death on the Cross was the ultimate sacrifice to absolve all believers of their sins through their repentance, faith, and baptism.

Later, the question arose of how sins committed after baptism could be absolved. While some Christian traditions, such as Pauline Christianity, held that certain sins should not be forgiven by the church but rather punished by expulsion or legal consequences, others developed formal liturgies by which believers could receive absolution from a priest for sins committed after baptism.

In contrast, contemporary Judaism does not involve formal sacrificial rituals of absolution. Instead, Jews are expected to seek forgiveness from those against whom they have sinned, as well as from God. This idea is reflected in the teachings of Jesus, who established a correlation between God's absolution of human sin and people absolving their fellows: "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

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