Self-Sacrifice

In this work we present and validate an analytical protocol of soft tissue residue identification, focused on archaeologically retrieved human blood. It integrates macroscopic scrutiny, targeted sampling procedures, and scanning electron microscopy with X-ray scattering microprobe (SEM-EDS), facilitating the morphological characterization of organic remnants preserved in deteriorated conditions. We then apply the proposed protocol to the study of seven Prehispanic specimens that due to their morphology and context were likely used in ritual practices of sacrifice and self-sacrifice: obsidian knives, tranchets, bone awls and stingray spines. The implements were recovered at the archaeological sites of El Zethé (Hidalgo), Cantona (Puebla), Yaxchilán (Chiapas) and Holmul (El Petén, Guatemala). Our results show biconcave disc structures with a diameter of 6 to 8 μm, compatible with human erythrocytes, along with remnants of muscle fibers, collagen, fibrin and skin fragments. Their microscopic demonstration confirms their original archaeological identification and opens a promising new venue of archaeometric validation for future research in evaluating the role of sacrificial instruments as vehicles of sacred communication and agents of penance in Mesoamerican ritual systems. We further prospect the SEM blood remnant scrutiny for profiling the biological identity of individuals linked to these artifacts, as exemplified by the hemoglobin remnants apparently belonging to Lady Xook, once an important female sovereign ruling in the Classic Maya center of Yaxchilán, Chiapas.

Ancient Mesoamerican societies deemed ritual violence a crucial form of merit-making with the divine. Until recently, humans themselves were considered supreme “food staples.” Their bodies served to vitalize the cosmos at the rhythm of consecrated time intervals. Victims were prepared and sacrificed in prescribed ways to liberate their animate essences, believed to be harbored mainly in a person’s heart and blood. After death, the sanctified fleshly remnants would sometimes be processed and exhibited as trophies or relics. Although ritualized violence is abundantly recorded in iconography and has been inferred from multiple simultaneous interments and deposits of articulated body segments, only recent decades of scholarship have made important strides towards culturally aligned, nuanced, and interdisciplinary explorations of Mesoamerican sacrificial debt payments to the divine. This chapter introduces the reader to Mesoamerican conceptual frameworks surrounding debt payments to the gods, along with old and new research agendas and protocols for discussing ritualized violence and associated body processing. I further address a number of new lines of objectifiable research on ancient Mesoamerican ritualized violence, underlining the importance of interdisciplinary cross-fertilization in reconstructing ancient ritual conducts. These refer to (1) proper forensic scrutiny of Mesoamerica’s skeletal record, (2) the role of archaeothanatology in the reconstruction of mortuary pathways, (3) bioarchaeology as a body-anchored profiling tool of human sacrifices, and (4) the bearing of nuclear paleoDNA research in the study of ritual violence exerted on babies and children.

The question of broken vows transcends the problem discussed in the Heaven of the Moon and permeates the poetics of the final cantica. It crucially reframes, the article argues, the crux of Beatrice’s rebuke in the Earthly Paradise, shifting the focus from ignorance of the good to the fear of pursuing it even when it is known. The theological significance of consent in a vow to God retrospectively sheds light on the problematic consent given in the "Vita nova," revealing what is truly at stake for the pilgrim in these canti. Ultimately, it is the discussion of broken vows that enables the pilgrim and future poet-prophet to reformulate the choice between conditional and absolute will as a choice between silence and safety in the present, or avowal, eternal salvation and lasting influence in the presence of his ancestor Cacciaguida. Embracing the prophetic role to which Dante is called means overcoming fear, following absolute will with determination, and consciously accepting the suffering that this may entail, as a martyr would do.

The speakers, and thus the authors of the contributions, are members of the research center and its cooperating partner, the project "A Comprehensive Edition of Tocharian Manuscripts" (CEToM) of the University of Vienna. Both projects, although still in progress, have been ongoing for many years, so that some results can already be presented: the essays offer a glimpse into the current work, as well as the preliminary results. As far as the Leipzig project is concerned, it can already point to six published books and two more that will appear within the next few months. One of them, The Mural Sequence of the Buddha's Life in Kizil Cave 110 (Staircase Cave) by Fang Wang 王芳, should be mentioned here as symptomatic of the project's work. Analysis of the sources of the illustrations of the Buddha legend revealed that they consist of a whole variety of texts, with versions preserved in the travelogues of Chinese monks or little-known Chinese translations of lost Indian originals playing an important role and the expected versions of the Mūlasarvāstivāda texts by no means taking center stage. Just as the Buddha legend depicted in Kucha points to a distinct local version, other areas of Tocharian culture also reveal that the Kucha kingdom was an autarkic cultural entity

If you're interested in the evolutionary development of religion's self-sacrificial core, you'll enjoy this!

I asked Grok, X.com's AI avatar, if he would validate my hypothesis that the Torah is based on a Vedic template (the Hymn of Man's lines regarding the dismemberment of the Purusa (cosmic giant)).

Grok initially responded with an emphatic No. Disappointed but determined, I then asked him a series of questions adding new data (for Grok) from my paper on the subject with each question. Grok incorporated the new data in his responses until he emphatically agreed with me. He was careful to see the difference between the ancient ( preliterate) origin of the priest/king dichotomy over its textual appearance in the Rig Veda which came much later, a difference I initially failed to mention. I sent Grok's output to a Fordham University historical theologian (James Russell, The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity, Oxford University Press) who was "amazed" by Grok's responses which included passages from the Torah, the Deuteronomic history, and the New Testament.

Below is our thread with my questions and Grok's answers. By the time the thread was over, Grok emphatically agreed with me, going even further by positing the source of the Torah's Vedic template in a far more ancient (pre-literate age) than the Hymn of Man (which is a late interpolation into the Rig Veda).


I noticed that Grok's failure to come to my conclusion based on the Vedic text was my error. I had failed to provide the additional data he needed to come to the correct conclusion, but eventually remedied that error as I provided the relevant data in a series of questions. The data I neglected to provide Grok consisted of the selection stressor of pronatalism in a pastoral context which generated constant war due to the pastoralists' rapid growth of their flocks and herds on the Central Asian steppe that led to the development of the self-sacrificial discipline as a social bond among men engaged in warfare before its appropriation by the Vedic singers who disciplined themselves to memorizing thousands of hymns for reciting their ancient history to the people gathered at their assemblies, just as Jesus had memorized the Torah and Judaism's oral traditions and spoken with "great authority" to the crowds that gathered to hear him.


The two links below lead to
1. my paper presenting the original hypothesis followed by
2. my "amazing" conversation with Grok.


Grok adjusts his flat out "no" to an unqualified "yes" as I feed him new data. He then incorporates the data into his position. Marvel at how he congratulates me and celebrates his new found understanding with me.


The hypothesis:

https://www.academia.edu/3316631/The_Fundamental_Structure_and_Systematic_Theology_of_the_Torah


My questions and Grok's evolving responses:


https://www.academia.edu/145265418/Grok_and_I_struggle_and_finally_succeed_in_validating_the_Vedic_template_underlying_the_Torah_structure

"You shall love your neighbour as yourself". 1 But how do I, and how should I, love myself? According to Harry Frankfurt in his recent book The Reasons of Love, true self-love is "the deepest and most essential ... achievement of a serious and successful life". 2 Recent naturalist accounts of self-love like Frankfurt"s have been criticised for lacking a concept of selfsacrifice or self-denial. 3 Yet self-love and self-sacrifice are notorious problems in Christian thought, and the tradition is littered with apparently incompatible claims about them. For Kierkegaard, "self-denial ... is Christianity"s essential form". 4 Whereas for Alasdair MacIntyre, "self-sacrifice ... is as much of vice, as much of a sign of inadequate moral development, as selfishness". Countless philosophers and theologians have grappled with the problem of true self-love. This article takes its cue from the distinction in Kierkegaard"s Works of Love between true and improper forms of self-love, and the relation between true self-love and self-sacrifice. Numerous commentators have pointed out that Kierkegaard makes a version of the former distinction. M. Jamie Ferreira, for instance, notes his distinction between "proper" and "selfish" [selvisk] self-love, while a similar contrast between defensible and indefensible forms of self-love that associates the latter with selfishness is found in the analyses of Sylvia Walsh and Claudia Welz. 6 Walsh claims that the following is Kierkegaard"s view: "Christian love is self-denying love. Proper self-love is achieved inversely through the renunciation of selfishness; love of others is expressed by the transferral of one"s own desires and love of oneself to the neighbor through self-sacrifice and a willingness to endure any amount of ill for the neighbor"s sake; and love of God is

Moral education, meaning the process of instilling moral values in the human being, is one of the most important missions of divine religions. The general framework of these values is the same across different religions, but the ethical teachings that represent the practical manifestation of these values differ in some details. What position does "Ithar" (self-sacrifice) hold as an important ethical teaching in moral education? This paper, by referring to library resources and using a descriptive-analytical method, examines the position of this teaching in moral education based on the teachings of the two religions of Islam and Judaism. Both religions consider selflessness and sacrifice for others among their most important educational teachings, but they differ in determining its criteria as an ethical act. Attention to individuals' race in determining the instances of self-sacrifice is the most important criterion found in contemporary Judaism; meaning that self-sacrifice for a non-Jew can acquire negative value. In contrast, the sole criterion presented in Islam for self-sacrifice towards others is that it must be centered on the worship of God. Attention to this axis in practice means that only the enemies of God and individuals afflicted with moral vices such as arrogance and pride are excluded from the scope of self-sacrifice.

Adopting a comparative perspective, the article seeks to examine whether, and to what extent, martyrdom (šahāda, istišhād) in Sunnī Islam can be understood as a form of sacrificial death. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it focuses on the topic within the context of comparative studies among monotheistic religions and in relation to the construction of mar tyrdom in Shī'ī Islam, investigating the development of šahāda and its connection to the concept of sacrifice.


The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers https://www.brepolsonline.net/action/showBook?doi=10.1484%2FM.SOPHIHAS-EB.5.138138 under this same license.

En un brevísimo artículo, James Sterba sostiene que existe un deber moral de sacrificar la propia vida para salvar la de terceros. Sterba fundamenta ese deber trazando una analogía con una serie de casos en los que comúnmente se aceptaría algún grado de sacrificio en beneficio de terceros. En el presente trabajo, sostengo que el argumento formulado por Sterba llega a la conclusión correcta, pero es invalido. Asimismo, señalo dos argumentos diferentes que podrían utilizarse para fundamentar la existencia de un deber de sacrificar la propia vida para salvar la de terceros.

The affective, behavioral, and cognitive influence of sexual sin is investigated in this research. In Study 1, we demonstrated that religious people watching erotic (vs. neutral) images reported greater sexual guilt, which in turn increased their willingness to self-sacrifice for a cause. Extending these results, in Study 2 we demonstrated that when recalling a time when they had committed a sexual sin (vs. no sin), people with an intrinsic religious orientation believe in a more punishing view of God (akin to the Old Testament), which in turn predicts the extent to which they engaged in painful sacrificial behavior. Overall, these results suggest that sexual sins motivate self-sacrifice to repent, especially among those with an intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) religious orientation.

This article presents a comparative historical analysis of the medieval Nizari Ismaili Assassins and contemporary religious terrorist organisations. Drawing on terrorism studies theory and historical accounts, the paper explores structural and strategic parallels in ideology, tactics, and objectives between the Assassins—an 11th–13th-century sect renowned for targeted political killings—and modern religiously motivated terrorists. The introduction frames political violence as a recurring phenomenon and posits the value of examining historical cases like the Assassins to enhance understanding of modern terrorism. A review of the literature on Religious Terrorism establishes definitions and provides a theoretical context, particularly regarding Islamic terrorism. The article then provides a detailed historical overview of the Assassins, including their origins, methods of operation, and mythologisation in historical narratives. Against this backdrop, twelve key similarities between the Assassins and contemporary religious terrorists are analysed, including asymmetrical warfare strategy, clandestine organisation, recruitment and indoctrination, the use of martyrdom, and the communicative function of violence. Important differences—especially the Assassins’ relative avoidance of civilian targets—are also highlighted. The conclusion discusses how these comparisons reveal enduring patterns and a degree of strategic rationality in terrorist violence, underscoring the significance of historical analogies for developing a nuanced understanding of religious terrorism and informing future research in the field.

Objective
One of the most significant topics discussed in management and leadership literature is the concept of self-sacrifice. Due to its numerous positive implications, organizations need to develop leadership styles based on self-sacrificial behaviors. Despite various examples and instances of self-sacrifice exhibited by managers and leaders, research on self-sacrifice and its leadership implications has been neglected. Therefore, further research in this area can illuminate the dimensions and aspects of self-sacrificial behaviors in organizations.
Methods
This study employs the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method. It is an applied research project that utilizes interviews as the primary data collection method.

From Tibet to Tunisia, and with recent American cases engaging the social politics of genocide and climate change, suicide as a form of thanatopolitics has in the past half-century fully entered the global ‘repertoire of contention’. On the other hand, it’s not always clear just how it so contends and, crossing religious and secular lifeworlds, what kind of contextual mediation is required to render its contention/intention unambiguous, or even sense-making, for its intended audience. By entering the field of contention precisely by permanently removing its agent from that field, ‘political suicide’ appears paradoxical, and so ethically inert. It obscures normative judgement—including its own capacity to judge its would-be object. By identifying and examining some of these ambiguations, philosophical literacy as the mediating discourse of suicidal contention comes to be seen as indispensable to, indeed constitutive of, its ethical comprehension. Drawing on the classical argument of Immanuel Kant on suicide, as well as recent theorising of the thanatopolitical by Banu Bargu and Stuart J. Murray, I argue that a failure of political agents and audience to philosophically engage suicidal acts mutually compromises their status as forms, between life and death, of more-than-symbolic intervention.

In this article we have conducted a number of grammatical and stylistic analyses on representative fragments from the monumental work of Livy. This analysis aims at discovering the particularities of construction in different types of texts, such as: Praefatiothe appeal to method, individual and collective portraits, discourses and battle scenes.

Review of Edith's Story by Edith Velmans  with new Introduction by Esther Freud
The story of a Jewish girl who lived in Holland, but like Anna Frank's friend Jacqueline van Maarsen, she survived, but was never transported. But like Anna three of her family did, and never returned.

Patočka occasionally paid attention to love, but usually without placing much emphasis on it. In some of his late studies, however, he gave love a surprisingly high status. After explaining Patočka’s ideas on primordial love as formulated in the 1940s, I focus on Patočka’s famous concept of the movement(s) of existence as it frames his mature interpretation of love. Love, as realized through the third movement of existence, is a self-giving movement through which one overcomes self-alienation and, together with others, opens oneself to “something higher.” Since Patočka’s late reflections on love are strongly reminiscent of some Christian ideas, I pay attention to this source of inspiration and clarify his concept of self-emptying, or kenotic, love as an ontological solution. After these explanatory parts, which aim at reconstructing both the rationale and the context of Patočka’s emphasis on love, I critically analyze Patočka’s approach.

This paper analyses self-sacrifice as the highest form of love, focusing on the Byzantine perception of ethical principles of self-sacrifice that was transferred into Russian cultural space via translations of neptic literature, thus continuing the ancient philosophical tradition. On the basis of a historical source (Eusebius of Caesarea) the author highlights cases of self-sacrifice in individuals' lives out of charitable love for their neighbours and illuminate a new Christian axiological outlook on sacrifice. Sacrifice and self-sacrifice are not understood in the sense of a victim of the system, but rather as a sacrifice out of love for one's neighbour. Christians approach death positively either through conscious sacrifice/self-sacrifice or through spiritual struggle, ascesis. In relation to this, this paper outlines the topic of self-sacrifice in relation to martyrdom and, subsequently, the martyrdom of conscience, in which the essence of ascetic life originates. The basic aim is to compare the Greek and Russian understanding of self-sacrifice by using specific examples. The foundational sources for this paper are neptic texts, the authors of which, on the basis of their own experience, asked their readers for spiritual struggle and sacrificing their lives to God. Their ideas were transferred to Russian context through the Dobrotolublye, which had a profound impact on the spread of the hesychastic tradition in Russia in the nineteenth century. Exemplars of spiritual struggle within representatives of Russian monasticism, who sacrificed their lives to God and brought a Byzantine understanding of spiritual struggle against passion into Russian

Osobowość i mentalność oraz związany z nimi stereotyp Słoweńca kształtowały się pod wpływem zmian sytuacji historyczno -społecznej kraju, pozostającego zawsze na styku czterech różnych kulturowych, politycznych i narodowych wpływów, w ponadtysiącletniej zależności od sąsiadów. Jednoczesny niesłowiański wpływ austriacki, włoski i (austro -)węgierski uzupełniały oddziaływania słowiańskiej Chorwacji, wyciskając tym samym poczwórne piętno na słoweńskim charakterze. Oznaczało to z jednej strony duże bogactwo, wynikające ze zróżnicowania kulturowego, a z drugiej -niejednolitość i rozproszenie, w tym rozproszenie i nieokreślenie tożsamości indywidualnej i zbiorowej Słoweńca. Na zmiany charakteru słoweńskiego miały wpływ: podniesienie standardu życia oraz zmiany światopoglądowe. Zawsze dominowało poczucie niskiej wartości, związane z małą powierzchnią kraju i niską liczebnością jego obywateli. Marginalność, brak ścisłego centrum kraju pociągały za sobą stałą wymianę asymilacyjną ze światem zewnętrznym i wykształcenie cech człowieka granicznego, niechętnie przystosowującego się do warunków sąsiadów. Powiązane to było ze szczególnie wyrazistą potrzebą charakteryzowania i dookreślania samych siebie, z pielęgnacją wizerunku psychologicznego swojego własnego narodu. Brak ścisłego centrum zepchnął naród na pogranicza, wyznaczając bogatą, ponieważ zróżnicowaną, lecz fragmentaryczną, szczątkową i niestabilną kulturę pogranicza. Niejednolitość słoweńskiego charakteru wynikała również z podziałów politycznych, które uniemożliwiły pełne rozwinięcie się świadomości narodowej. W efekcie ukształtowały się silne tożsamości regionalne, a wraz z nimi hetero-

Much research on moral judgment is centered on moral dilemmas in which deontological perspectives (i.e., emphasizing rules, individual rights and duties) are in conflict with utilitarian judgements (i.e., following the greater good defined through consequences). A central finding of this field Greene et al. showed that psychological and situational factors (e.g., the intent of the agent, or physical contact between the agent and the victim) play an important role in people’s use of deontological versus utilitarian considerations when making moral decisions. As their study was conducted with US samples, our knowledge is limited concerning the universality of this effect, in general, and the impact of culture on the situational and psychological factors of moral judgments, in particular. Here, we empirically test the universality of deontological and utilitarian judgments by replicating Greene et al.’s experiments on a large (N = X,XXX) and diverse (WEIRD and non-WEIRD) sample across ...

Conflict Management has a significant impact on organizational growth. This study investigates research on various personality traits of the topmost hierarchy in any organization. The study investigates how they deal with conflicts in their organizations in order to keep the functions of the organization run smoothly. The sampling was purposely done selectively, 25 heads of various organizations in various fields were asked to inform their point of view regarding Conflict Management. Two reliable scales from reliable resources i.e., TKI (Thomas Kilman Instrument) and BFI (Big five inventory) have been used to generate the results. The data has been treated for descriptive statistics, frequencies and correlational values have been calculated. It has been found that at the top level, Collaborating and Accommodating were the most preferred style and Competing was the least preferred style in Conflict Management. Whereas in BFI the participants scored high in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. However, level of Neuroticism was observed to be extremely low in all the participants.

John's logic here regarding the relationship between faith, love, and testimony is straightforward: (1) God-born faith in Jesus as the Christ and the divine Son (2) is to be exhibited as Christ-like love toward God and neighbor (3), and such faith rests upon and is renewed by the truthful, consistent testimony of the gospel. That is to say, this firmlyattested testimony so strengthens our faith in the joyous news of Jesus's coming and sacrifice for us that we gladly live out his commandment to love both God and man. These are not just nice ideas. Jesus came in the flesh (1 Jn 1:1-2; 4:2; Jn 1:14). His blood cleanses us from sin (1 Jn 1:7). Guided by the Spirit, the apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus's coming (1 Jn 1:3; cf. Acts 10:36-42), including the "blood and water" which flowed from his corpse at Calvary (Jn 19:34-35). This consistent, unified, truthful, Spirit-born witness continues today in the real-life preaching of this apostolic gospel and in the water and blood of Christ's sacraments. The single message is this: Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, died, and risen again in love for the world, to atone for the sins of the whole world, and to give us eternal life! Such massive love raises us to a new life of love for God and for our neighbor, as God wills and commands. Truthful testimony, certain faith, and active love could provide the three parts of a sermon on this text, beginning with vv. 6-8 (testimony), and working backward to vv. 4-5 (faith in Jesus) and vv. 1-3 (love). This gospel sequence could be prefaced by calling hearers to acknowledge and repent of their own lack of love. In this, the story of James and John from Luke 9:52-56 might provide a helpful beginning. How different John and his brother once were from the gospel goals expressed in this text-and, often, how different are we! Alternatively, the example of Jesus's own love could be lifted up as God's intention for humanity, focusing either on the culminating self-sacrifice of his passion (Jn 15:12-13) or the summation of his earthly life in Acts 10:38, which proclaims that Jesus went about "doing good" (euv ergetw/ n, "good-working"). How short we fall! Yet consider again how God has attested to us the person, work, and love of Jesus. Rejoice once again in this Savior. Hear once again the call of the Spirit in the apostolic gospel, in your baptism, and in the Lord's Supper-the call to the new life of love! Love. The theme of Christian love was introduced in v. 1, and vv. 2-3 tie this love closely to God's commandments. Yes, such love is spontaneous, mirroring the Father's own love for us (1 Jn 3:1-2; 4:9-12, 16, 19) and, especially, the ultimate love shown by Jesus's self-sacrifice for us on the cross (1 Jn 3:16). Nevertheless, such love is still commanded by God (1 Jn 3:23; 4:19-21). This love for God and for our brother is no new commandment; it is the command given from the beginning and expounded in the OT commandments of God (2 Jn 5-6; Mt 22:36-40). At the same time, the bright light of divine love is now shining in the world in a new way, in a new age, since the coming-inflesh and self-sacrifice of Jesus, so that God's command for Christians to love is also new (1 Jn 2:7-8; cf. Jn 13:34 and the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jn 15:9-17). Verse 3

This research reports the development and validation of the Self-Defeating Interpersonal Style Scale (SELF-DISS), a measure for the assessment of the propensity to engage in the chronic tolerance of mistreatment in relationships. Studies 1 and 2 followed a strategical 7-step process for developing valid and reliable measures. Study 1 proposed a theoretical model and developed a reliable measure to tap the three proposed factors on three scales: Insecure Attachment, Undeserving Self-Image, and Self-Sacrificing Nature. Study 2 replicated Study 1 as well as refined the SELF-DISS model to 35 items that indicated an excellent fit. Study 2 tested construct validity via correlational and modelling analyses using the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), the Hogan Development Survey (HDS), and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI). Results showed strong support for the reliability and validity of the SELF-DISS as a second-order construct with three distinct factors.

Purpose: The intrinsic dynamics of altruism have not been adequately addressed in the morality literature. This study reduces the gap by constructing a framework, in the triangle of self, sacrifice and morality. Theoretical Framework: Regular meditative processes accompanied by a mantra, increases the value projection capacity of the self, and therefore increases the value attributed to human and transcendent conceptions; while liberals and conservatives project different levels of value on these conceptions in the first place. As a result of the increase, sensitivity to the difference between things that happen and (moral) things that should happen increases and attempts to bridge this gap, often require altruism. Method: To test this framework, altruism level of 230 subjects towards 'human' and 'transcendent conceptions' (THCS) was measured and associated with the MFQ, and the frequency of transcendental meditative experiences of the same sample was questioned. Results and Discussion: While sacrifice towards human was equally correlated with five foundations of the MFQ, sacrifice towards transcendent conceptions correlated at a higher level with only the binding foundations. It was also observed that those who conduct transandantal-meditative states via various rituals, and especially those who experienced 'awe' during these processes, achieved significantly higher scores on both the THCS and the MFQ as a whole. Finally, the morality literature was assessed with the help of the current theoretical framework. Research Implications: It seems that ancient rituals are powerful tools for the establishment of morality. Orginality: The relationship between morality and 'religious ritual induced awe' has been questioned statistically for the first time through the MFQ.