'This fascinating book is the result of a conference that brought together, for the purpose of debate and dialogue, the authors of some of the most important, current theories about the origins and meaning of sacrifice � This is a high-powered look at the topic by the scholars generating the approaches being taken today.'

--Choice

Submitted by publisher, June, 2003

Burkert, Girard, and Smith hold important and contradictory theories about the nature and origin of ritual sacrifice, and the role violence plays in religion and culture. These papers and conversations derive from a conference that pursued the possibility and utility of a general theory of religion and culture, especially one based on violence. The special value of this volume is the conversations as such--the real record of working scholars engaged with one another's theories, as they make and meet challenges, and move and maneuver. Book jacket.