Love Quote by Scott Cowdell
““And with this, there is something that I have not formulated clearly enough up to now: Christ is our scapegoat, but—and here I am in complete agreement with you—the positive effect doesn’t come any more from the fact that once more we have found a scapegoat; the positive effect only comes from the fact that Christ transforms violence and hatred and falsehood into love, and that he sends us the Spirit of Truth and Love. The sacrificial mechanism, as such, no longer has any positive effect! But the overcoming of sacrifice does not begin outside of the sacred. For a start, Christ completely accepts [Le Christ accepte d’abord totalement] “the old game,” in an acceptance that is not merely a game, but very real. The death of Christ has a salvific effect only in the sense that it transforms and reverses the sacrificial mechanism, but by entering totally into this mechanism, or by allowing himself to be captured by the mechanism!””
About This Quote
Source The: Theology of Christ, 2020, academic journal
Christ transforms negative forces into love, moving beyond sacrificial scapegoats to a deeper spiritual truth
In simple terms: Christ turns hatred into love, ending the need for sacrifice
Key Takeaway
Seek transformation over ritual sacrifice
Themes
theology
spiritual transformation
ethics
Mood
contemplative
hopeful
Type
theological
inspirational
When to use this quote
- prayer
- ethical decision making
- conflict mediation
- personal spiritual practice
Key Concepts
Christian doctrine
philosophy of religion
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you embody Christ’s transformative love today?
- What practices replace ritual sacrifice in your life?
A Different Perspective
Relying solely on symbolic sacrifice may overlook active love and truth
![“Christ transforms the meaning and value of suffering from something to be feared or at best endured into something redemptive [and transformative].” quote by Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/38a/peter-kreeft-820_christ_christ-transforms-the-meaning-and-value_1817522.jpg)
![“Even if Christ is our scapegoat, he is not that of the Father, and [so] the sacrificial understanding is always relative, while the absolute is that which is beyond all sacrifice. Tell me what you think. Is it that the definition of perfect love between the Father and the Son, or the identity of…” quote by Scott Cowdell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bb6/scott-cowdell-38548_learning_even-if-christ-is-our-scapegoat-he-is-no_2543991.jpg)
![“A text structured by the scapegoat effect cannot make a theme of this; [and in turn] a text that makes a theme of the scapegoat cannot be structured by this effect. In the gospels, Christ is so obviously the scapegoat of everyone [in the text] that he can no longer be the scapegoat of the text…” quote by Scott Cowdell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2ee/scott-cowdell-38548_scapegoat_a-text-structured-by-the-scapegoat-effec_2664727.jpg)
