Something deep within you recognizes it – the instinct that sacrifice matters, that something must be offered, that violence and beauty are woven together in ways that mere reason cannot explain. You are not alone. Civilizations throughout history have felt it.
In Bloodshed and Blessing, Fr. Dwight Longenecker takes you on a gripping journey through ten ancient cultures, from the Aztecs to the Vikings, in which blood sacrifice was not the mark of barbarism but the beating heart of an entire worldview.
Fr. Dwight Longenecker was brought up in an Evangelical home in Pennsylvania and studied English and speech at Bob Jones University before being trained for ministry in the Church of England at Oxford. He served for fifteen years as an Anglican priest before he and his family were received into the Catholic Church. In 2006, Fr. Longenecker returned to the United States to be ordained a Catholic priest under the pastoral provision for married former Protestant ministers. He now serves as the pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Greenville, South Carolina, and is an oblate of Belmont Abbey. He is married to Alison, and they have four grown children.
Fr. Longenecker is the author of more than twenty books on Catholic Faith and culture. His blog, Still Standing on My Head, is one of the most widely read Catholic blogs. Fr. Longenecker also writes at Substack and contributes to a wide range of magazines, journals, websites, and podcasts. You can follow his writings, listen to his podcasts, browse his books, and be in touch at DwightLongenecker.com.
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