Mountains, Animals, and Sacrifices

When reading Genesis 22, I was pleasantly surprised that Mircea Eliade’s concept on sacred time and space gave the biblical passage a new meaning. As someone who has been active in church for a number of years, I am familiar with the story of Abraham sacrificing his son.

Although the passage condones the murder of a child, when interpreted metaphorically, it introduces the idea of ultimate sacrifice. In the Christian ethic, you must be willing to sacrifice what is most important to you for God. I accepted this interpretation and I never challenged myself to look further into Genesis 22. However, the concept of sacred space that Mircea Eliade discusses, coexists perfectly with the passage. Eliade argues that when people are creating a sacred space, they seek symbols, sacrifice animals, and travel to high places in an attempt to be close to God (Eliade).

The purpose of seeking symbols is to feel assured that someone is  settling in the correct space (Eliade). Eliade uses an example of people who set an animal free, then search for the animal. After the search, where the animal is found is where the people will settle (Eliade). This would be considered a symbol from God because animals have no consciousness and can, therefore, only be guided by the hand of God. While Abraham is not seeking out a place to settle, when he sees the ram, he interprets it as a symbol from God. The symbol confirms that he is not supposed to sacrifice his son, but the ram instead. After-all, the ram does not have consciousness and could not have wandered up the mountain without God guiding it.

Referring back to the animal that is set loose, once found, the animal is sacrificed and that is where an alter to God will be made (Eliade). The altar is built in the spot of the sacrifice because it is the location that God led the people to and therefore, where they can be close to God (Eliade). Sacrificing animals symbolizes a person's attempt to be close to God. When Abraham agrees to sacrifice his son he does so to maximize his relationship with God.

I did not pay attention to the importance of the setting in which Abraham performs the sacrifice until now. Eliade discusses the importance of mountains to the religious man. He theorizes that mountains are important to religious men because their high standing is perceived as being the closest to Heaven (Eliade). When Abraham hikes a mountain to sacrifice Isaac he does so to be as close to Heaven as possible.

Through the story of Abraham's sacrifice I am more willing to see the religious backbone of Jerusalem. It is not only an important city to those who live there, it is also a landmark of religious significance. Just as Abraham traveled up a mountain to be close to God, so too do modern people travel to Jerusalem.