sacrifice

In religion, the act of sanctifying or dedicating an object to a god, as a religious act of self-denial. Through it the giver seeks to enter into communion with a supernatural being. In some religions, and especially in earlier times, an animal or a human being may be killed as a sacrifice (see human sacrifice). Many faiths today encourage believers to give up something they value as a sacrifice, or to give offerings of food.

The Hebrew Bible gives instructions for a number of different sacrifices in different circumstances, and also records Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac when God asked it of him (at the last moment God provided a ram to take Isaac's place). A similar story is found in Islam, with Ishmael as the intended victim. For Christians, the supreme sacrifice (compared with the sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament) was that of Jesus Christ giving himself to be killed on the cross.