Journal

Crucifixion was the method the Romans used to execute Jesus Christ. This was the most painful and degrading form of capital punishment in the ancient world. When the victim was affixed to the cross, he was stripped naked and mocked. Extreme pain accompanied every breath. Death could take hours and sometimes up to a few days. The body was often left on the cross to decay and become food for scavengers. The cross was the most loathsome symbol of torture, shame, suffering and death.

The early Christians used the fish as their symbol of faith. Maybe it was too much a sacrilege to use the cross, an abominable symbol for such an enlightening faith. Christians only adopted the public use of the cross as a symbol at the time of Constantine (c. AD 280-337) when crucifixion was banned. It was a powerful reminder to the kind of life that a believer in Jesus Christ should live – ready to suffer and die like their Savior.

Today, the cross adorns buildings and people alike but largely emptied of its originally intended meaning. From that of the most dreaded torture and execution instrument in Jesus’ day, the cross has become an ornamentation of opulence and beauty. This is mainly due to the fact that the cross is not a current and relevant symbol in our society today. We need to recapture the meaning of the cross so that it can once again powerfully communicate the meaning of this symbol.

This essay seeks to address this issue by briefly looking at the meaning of the cross in the New Testament. Then we shall look in detail at the practice of sacrifice in a mission context to find keys of relating the symbol of the cross to our culture today.

Paul was the primary exponent of the meaning of the cross as the basis of our salvation (Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 3:1; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20; 2:14). He sees it as the central event in history, the one moment that demonstrated God's control of and involvement in human history.

The cross also forges a new unity between Jew and Gentile by breaking down "the dividing wall of hostility" and "made the two one" (Eph. 2:14-15). In addition the cross "disarms" the demonic "powers" and forges the final triumph over Satan and his hordes, forcing those spiritual forces to follow his train in a victory procession (Col. 2:15).

· "Redemption," stressing the "ransom payment" made by Jesus' blood in delivering us from sin (Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18);

· "Propitiation," which refers to Jesus' death as "removing" God's righteous wrath (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17); and

· "Justification," picturing the results of the cross, the "acquittal" ("declared righteous") of our guilt (Rom. 3:24; 4:25; Gal. 2:16-21; 3:24).

Through the cross, Christ becomes God's perfect gift prepared by God since eternity for humankind.[1] This substitutionary sacrifice is completely efficacious for the sin and sins of humankind for eternity. It nullifies all other offerings and perfectly fulfilled the law of God once-for-all and perfectly satisfied the original purpose of God for relationship with human in creation.[2] Christ is the perfect bridge to God and is all one needs to have one's sins forgiven and life reconciled to God.[3]

Jesus Himself establishes the primary figurative interpretation of the cross as a call to complete surrender to God, a true discipleship in terms of self-denial, taking up one's cross, and following Jesus (Mark 8:34; 10:38; Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23; 14:27).

Closely connected to this is Paul's symbol of the crucified life. Conversion means the ego "no longer lives" but is replaced by Christ and faith in Him (Gal. 2:20). Self-centred desires are nailed to the cross (Gal. 5:24), and worldly interests are dead (Gal. 6:14).

Also, for Paul the "word of the cross" (1 Cor. 1:18) is the heart of the gospel, and the preaching of the cross is the soul of the church's mission.

A Missionary context

The animistic Dusun live in a world of fear of evil spirits and taboos, misfortunes, malnutrition and sickness. The fear that saturates their lives is evidenced by their charms, taboos, rituals and sacrifices. They suffer physically, morally and spiritually.[5] Magic abounds as human seeks to control the unknown and uncertain forces.[6] Any disturbance of this satanic status quo is met with strong spiritual attacks.[7]

Fear pervades all areas of the Dusun life. Every object possesses unseen power that permeates the whole of their daily life. A human approaches the supernatural in an attitude of supplication and subordination to spiritual beings whose assistance is gained by means of worship, sacrifice, and prayer.[8]

The acquisition and exercise of supernatural power is of central concern. Problems of everyday life and misfortunes are seen to be the result of supernatural forces that can be manipulated. All natural happenings must have a spiritual explanation.[9]

The services of the mediums[10] are regularly called upon for healings, sacrifices, prayers, casting spells, averting evils, blessing of people or harvest, charms and a host of daily needs. Spiritual manifestations are normal and obvious and spiritual solutions are sought for everyday problems.

Dusun Sacrifices

Sacrifice is the most common solution for all physical and spiritual problems. They are offered for:

As in most cultures, the concept of blood as the sacred life-force is foundational to the Dusun. The shedding of blood in sacrifice is seen as life offered to the High Spirit. The Dusun's blood sacrifice of sugit ("to cool down") is the most common sacrifice for almost all occasions. It soothes the spirit’s wrath, and is seen as establishing a relationship between the realms of the sacred and the profane, thus offering gifts as bribes to secure favor and minimize hostility from the gods.[11] The chosen animal (pig or chicken) is ritually slaughtered and its blood poured or sprinkled appropriately so that the spirits, the ancestors, or the community is appeased. Sugit is appropriate for penance, appeasement, community peace, crime, protection, blessings, payment for violation of taboos, freedom from sickness, curse and fear so that people can continue to live safely on the land.

The substitutionary scapeboat sacrifice is conducted when there is a bad harvest, epidemic, or natural disaster. A chicken or pig is brought along with a miniature boat to the river. The medium offers food and drink to the spirit believed to be causing the problem, while muttering magical words. The chicken is then killed and its blood sprinkled on the shore of the river. The little boat is then set adrift - symbolically bearing away the troublesome spirit. This sacrifice has nothing to do with the bearing away of sins.[12]

Messenger ("Surmungup")

Human sacrifices (surmungup) are for occasional consequential cases that demand the highest sacrifice possible effecting the most potent and efficacious oblation. A starved and usually tortured human war captive is held in a cage till the appointed fateful day. Messages are sent to departed relatives through him with each poke of a spear. The poor victim dies of his wounds and carries the intentions of mortals to the otherworldly.

The Purposes of Dusun Sacrifices

The ultimate goal is to establish a beneficial relationship with the sacred for the preservation and prosperity of life. This is achieved through:

Expiation and Propitiation

By breaking the social rules or taboos human displeases the sacred order and upset the harmony of the community causing a breakdown in relationships that result in divine reproach. Removal of such punishment for moral fault by higher beings demands sugit to wipe out offences and restore relationships. More broadly, this sacrifice is used also for the preventing of every kind of evil, calamity and misfortune. In such cases the victim is mainly seen as a bribe to mainak.

Mortuary Sacrifices

The dead have always had a special place in Dusun culture and sacrifice. The souls of the dead are believed to journey to Mount Kinabalu ("Nabalu") where they stay for a time before going on to heaven or hell.[13] Weapons and instruments needed to make this journey are buried with the dead. At times, propitiatory offerings of blood are made to help the dead pass into heaven. As well as the dead benefiting, the living gain by being left alone, protected, or even blessed by the spirits.

Communion Sacrifices

Communion, in the sense of a bond between the worshipper and the sacred, is fundamental to all Dusun sacrifices. This communion is most commonly expressed in a meal in which the profane and sacred eat together.[14] This meal is also seen as a form of magic that triggers a release of the flow of magical force between human and god in the form of blessings.[15] Favors from the spirits are thus secured.

Thanksgiving

The Harvest Festival ("Pesta Kaamatan") is the annual festive votive sacrifice in gratitude for the rice harvest made possible through divine blessings and protection against natural disasters. The rice spirit is most important as rice is the staple food. Pleasing him takes the form of rituals, ceremonies, sugit, sacrifice and often tapai (tapioca wine) drinking orgies throughout the week-long festive period.[16]

Fertility

This sacrifice serves as a seasonal renewal and reactivation of the fertility potencies of the earth to produce more rice. Chicken blood is used to recharge the earth's potencies, shown by the planting of rice immediately after this sugit sacrifice. A life sacrificed is given as a repetition of the primordial act of creation, and thus generating renewal of life on the land.

Practical Implications Today

In each culture, there are beliefs and practices that parallel the Gospel. In the case of the Dusun, the cross of Christ is the best news they can hear. The cross has accomplished everything that their sacrifice is deficient in, and for which they strive towards - purification of sins, forgiveness, peace, the reconciliation of humankind to God, and true worship of God from the heart in joy and freedom. Christ's sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection has removed any further need for deficient animal sacrifice and has liberated them to love and serve Him in perfect freedom.[17] No longer do they need to make sacrifices to their spirits. Christ had made the one and only sacrifice needed for eternity for them on the cross.

Each culture then is to find its parallels to the Gospel. Having found it, we need to have a functional substitute[18] to replace the cultural practice so that the centrality and impact of the gospel through its symbol of the cross can be communicated across the cultural barriers. For the Dusuns, coming to the cross and claiming its efficacy by faith fulfils this function.

What is there in your culture that parallels the meaning of the cross in the New Testament? That shall be the key not only as a powerful evangelistic tool but also an effective Christian symbol that reminds you of the Lord Jesus Christ’s saving power.

[1] Eph.1:4-5.

[2] Jn. 3:16, 1 Cor. 15:3, Heb. 9:15, 1 Pet. 1:18f, 2:24, 3:18, 1 Jn. 2:2,3:5, Acts 4;12 set out the great doctrine of Atonement. Christ's death assures believers of salvation for all times (Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 26, 28; 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:18; 1 Jn. 3:11-13).

[3] In Christ, the consequences of sin are cancelled, the burden of guilt is released, peace is renewed, fellowship with God is restored, blessings are ensured, and the Holy Spirit is given (Jn. 1:12; 3:16; Rm. 3:25; 5:9-11; 10:6-13; 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 3:12, 1 Pet. 2:24).

[4] The Dusun are the main indigenous people of Sabah, Malaysia. While a substantial number of Dusun have become Christians in the past 30 years, few have forsaken their tribal religious sacrificial systems completely. The author ministered among them for 5 years

[5] Virginia Blakeslee, ‘Animism,’ Principalities and Powers, ed. J. W. Montgomery (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1973), p. 25.

[6] See Bronislaw Malinowski's excellent explanation in his book Magic, Science and Religion (London: Sovereign Press, 1974).

[7] Missionaries (Nightingale, Lee, Houliston, Peterson and Bray) working among related tribes in Borneo relate daily experiences of spiritual warfare with the evil one.

[8] E. B. Tylor is the first to investigate the deep-lying doctrine of spirit beings in the spiritualistic philosophy of primal people (Primitive Religion, Vol. 1 [London: John Murray, 1871], p.425).

[9] S. E. Ackerman, ‘The Language of Religious Innovation: Spirit possession and Exorcism in a Malaysian Catholic Pentecostal Movement,’ Journal of Anthropological Research 37 (1981): 92.

[10] Mediums or “Bobolian” are religious specialists for public and important, or private and basic sacrifices. They are the appointed intermediaries on behalf of the community (profane) to the gods (sacred). Sacrificing by unauthorized persons is usually expressly forbidden and may be severely punished.

[11] This concept is a combination of Henri Hubert & Marcel Mauss's views of sacrifice in their book Sacrifice - Its Nature and Function (1899) and E. B. Tylor's view in his book Primitive Culture, Vol. 2 (1871).

[12] James Ming Sabran, Menafsirkan Konsep Keselamatan Kristian dalam Konteks Orang-orang dalam Daerah Sabah Anglican Interior Mission (Unpublished B.Th. dissertation, Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Theological Seminary, 1990), pp. 35-36. There are great similarities between the Dusun scapeboat and the annual sacrifice held by the Dyaks of Southern Borneo and in Cambodia noted by Don Richardson in his book Eternity in Their Hearts (California: Regal Books, 1984), pp. 115-116.

[13] Nabalu is only a new world (corresponding to paradise) and does not represent heaven.

[14] In some cases (as in the Eucharist), the worshippers somehow consume the deity. This form of sacrifice greatly strengthens the bond between the worshipper and the deity - especially so when the latter is now seen to be indwelling the former. Alan M. Stibbs developed the theory of "the Eucharistic Sacrifice" very well in Sacrament, Sacrifice, and Eucharist (London: The Tyndale Press, 1961).

[15] View held by Gerardus Van Der Leeuw in his book Phenomenologie der Religion (1933).

[16] John Ferguson, Gods Many and Lords Many: A Study of Primal Religions (Surrey: Lutterworth, 1982), p. 50.

[17] Joseph Henninger, ‘Sacrifice,’ in The Encyclopaedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade (New York: McMillian Publishing Co., 1987), p. 550.

[18] ‘Functional substitute’ is a corrective mechanism. It covers up the possibility of the creation of cultural voids because of the discarding of forms and customs that cannot be accepted by the Christian faith. In the case of the Dusun, this is achieved by keeping the positive meaning and benefits of their sacrificial systems but changing its forms. Dusun Christians need to formulate a theology of sacrifice in terms of culturally founded Dusunic conceptual categories and imagery, by using culturally appropriate Dusun literary forms and genres. Alan Tippett, Verdict Theology in Missionary Theory (Lincoln: Lincoln Christian College Press, 1969), p.149.

THE CROSS AND SACRIFICES IN A MISSIONARY CONTEXT

By Rev Robert Vun

Introduction