“რატომ არ უნდა ღმერთს, რომ საკურთხეველზე რძე დაუსხურონ - ყოფიერების ნამდვილი წვენი, - წვენი, რომელიც მიწის ერთი ბინადრიდან მეორეში გადაიღვრება; ანდა რატომ არ შეიძლება, საკურთხეველზე, როგორც ხნულში, მოუბნიო პეშვით ხორბალი, რისგანაც მერე არსობის პური გამოცხვება?” Sacrificeმსხვერპლშეწირვა Author:José Saramago
“This is neither the time nor the place, however, to ponder how often the soul, in order to be able to boast of a clean body, has burdened itself with sadness, envy, and impurity.” SacrificePurityHypocrisy Author:José Saramago
“By the altar, which is made of massive slabs of stone untouched by tools since hewn from the quarry and set up in this vast edifice, a barefooted priest wearing a linen tunic waits for the Levite to hand over the turtledoves. He takes the first one, carries it to a comer of the altar, and with a single blow knocks the head from its body. [...] Joseph has nothing more to accomplish here, he must withdraw, collect his wife and child, and return home. Mary is pure once more, not in the strict sense of the word, because purity is something to which most human beings, and above all women, can scarcely hope to aspire.” WomenSacrifice Book:The Gospel According to Jesus Christ Source: The Gospel According to Jesus Christ
“…the worshipers here are not likely to kill one another, they all offer the same sacrifice, and how the fat spits and the carcasses sizzle as God in the sublime heavens inhales the odors of all this carnage with satisfaction. Jesus pressed his lamb to his breast, unable to fathom why God could not be appeased with a cup of milk poured over His altar, that sap of life which passes from one being to another, or with a handful of wheat, the basic substance of immortal bread. Soon he will have to part with the old man’s generous gift, his for such a short time, the poor little lamb will not live to see the sun set this day, it is time to mount the stairs of the Temple, to deliver it to the knife and sacrificial fire, as if it were no longer worthy of existence or being punished…” Sacrifice Book:The Gospel According to Jesus Christ Source: The Gospel According to Jesus Christ