Sacrifice

Topic

Selected Reading

Quick Quotes

Jesus went through the baptism of blood in His crucifixion. Following Him, the Church suffered martyrdom and death. This testifies to surrender in total sacrifice, like that of a burnt offering upon the altar fire.

- Eberhard Arnold

Because we ignore the sacrifices that lead to peace, we know nothing of God’s will to unite or of his well-considered thoughts of unity. Peace blooms on the soil of genuine truthfulness that is shown only in a life sacrificed to the utmost and spent in unarmed but all-out combat against any opposition to unity and constructive peace. The heart that makes the perfect sacrifice – the mightiest power of all worlds – is the only strength that can bring peace.

- Eberhard Arnold

Every experience of God is an undeserved gift. Through the unreserved disclosure of our incapacity and our antagonism to God, we have allowed ourselves to be recognized by God. In the utterly undeserved love of His Son’s sacrifice we have recognized Him. We have experienced Jesus as the healing Savior of a life that was going completely to ruin. Through His death we have experienced forgiveness and redemption from the heaviest burden. Each renewed experience of God leads us more and more deeply to the awareness of the deathly bondage of all men in guilt and to thanksgiving for unmerited grace.

- Eberhard Arnold

Additional Reading for Sacrifice

The Early Christians
What did Christianity look like before it became an institution? This collection of firsthand accounts of the early church includes excerpts from Origen, Tertullian, Polycarp, Clement of Alexandria, Justin, Irenaeus, and others — and equally revealing material from their critics, detractors and persecutors.
Eberhard Arnold: Writings Selected
Whether you’ve never read Eberhard Arnold before, or have already been profoundly affected by one of his books, this introductory selection from many of his important works will surprise and challenge you.
Inner Land: The Inner Life
A trusted guide into the inner realm where our spirits find strength to master life and live for God.
Why We Live in Community
With two interpretive talks by Thomas Merton, this little book describes the great adventure of faith shared by those who are willing to trade isolation for companionship, and will further inspire those already traveling the road to community.