St Paul

Victimization as a form of sacrificial ritual is discussed. It is understood as an inferior and archaic method of ego emancipation by which the transgressor's unconscious suffering is transferred to the victim. Transfer of sin and guilt occurs. As a consequence, original wholeness is disrupted. The blood sacrifice originates as a defense against the fear of an overwhelming unconscious. Power over life and death is imparted to the institutions of consciousness. Identification with collective consciousness is promoted, which serves to strengthen feeble individual consciousness. The regressive bond to the unconscious is temporarily disrupted, but the sacrifice must be renewed. It is the real impetus behind Freud's death drive and also the destructive narcissistic relationship.

Keywords: human sacrifice, rite of passage, self-mutilation, primal transgression, ego wholeness, flagellants, amputation disorder, sin transference, St Paul, Tezcatlipoca.

Our purpose in this thesis is to evaluate the form critical studies of Rom. 3:24-26; we also intend to compare these studies with some suggested alternative interpretations. Form analysis, as we shall see, offers some unique solutions ·to the problem. We do not expect that all of the questions will be answered; the suggestion that Paul in these verses is citing and correcting or commenting on an earlier formula, however, explains some of the puzzling features which have not been adequately explained before

Medieval conceptions of creaturality may be reduced to two distinct positions. The first, by far hegemonic within medieval history, can be tracked down to Paul (1 Cor, 13, 12) and especially Augustine. It states that creatures mantain a vestigium Dei, which must be actively researched – but this research eventually leads to discard creatures, which are seen as simple tools and not as something that can be sought in itself. Indeed, they are nothing in themselves, being pure outcomes of God’s will. The second position, essentially represented by Bonaventure, considers on the contrary creatures as essentially capable to be perfect theophanic places of God’s self-manifestation. Videre in speculo means to see God in creatures, which in turn leads to the admission of the possibility to reach the state of beatitudo already in this life – though it is a special privilege granted only to extremely selected chosen ones, such as Francis of Assisi.