PDF The End of Sacrifice: Religious Transformations in Late Antiquity by Guy G. Stroumsa in History

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The religious transformations that marked late antiquity represent an enigma that has challenged some of the West’s greatest thinkers. But; according to Guy Stroumsa; the oppositions between paganism and Christianity that characterize prevailing theories have endured for too long. Instead of describing this epochal change as an evolution within the Greco-Roman world from polytheism to monotheism; he argues that the cause for this shift can be found not so much around the Mediterranean as in the Near East.The End of Sacrifice points to the role of Judaism; particularly its inventions of new religious life following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The end of animal sacrifice gave rise to new forms of worship; with a concern for personal salvation; scriptural study; rituals like praying and fasting; and the rise of religious communities and monasticism. It is what Christianity learned from Judaism about texts; death; and; above all; sacrifice that allowed it to supersede Greco-Roman religions and; Stroumsa argues; transform religion itself.A concise and original approach to a much-studied moment in religious history; The End of Sacrifice will be heralded by all scholars of late antiquity.