Rick Talbott teaches Religion at the University of California at Los Angeles and California State University, Northridge.
Sacred Sacrifice is a much needed contribution to the discussion of
ritual. Ritual behavior is a relatively novel subject in
religio-historical and anthropological discussion. What makes the
present book so important is that it does not get bogged down in
external, theoretical jargon, but presents vividly what is actually
expressed in the ritual acts performed. Many a reader will say:
'This is a curious book!' It is indeed curious in the sense of it
being remarkably different from uncritically accepted fashions. It
is at odds with current, indeed 'politically correct' fads in the
Social Sciences and in the Churches. As a result, it touches in a
refreshing new way on central issues of Hinduism and Christianity
at the same time. Can Jesus Christ be compared to other mediators?
Can God become man if we don't know what man is? Can we understand
anything of human life without knowing about any sort of
meditation? The reader confronts all those issues thanks to
Professor Talbott's careful reading of the texts. And after all
this, are we all going to agree? Of course not! But we cannot
ignore this very new stimulus.
Kees W. Bolle
Read College
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