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scapegoat |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
scapegoatIn the Old Testament, a goat that was symbolically burdened with the sins of the people and then killed on Yom Kippur to rid Jerusalem of its iniquities. Similar rituals were held elsewhere in the ancient world to transfer guilt or blame. In ancient Greece, human scapegoats were beaten and driven out of cities to mitigate calamities. In early Roman law, an innocent person was allowed to assume the penalty of another; Christianity reflects this notion in its belief that Jesus died to atone for the sins of mankind. scapegoat Old Testament a goat used in the ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16); it was symbolically laden with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness to be destroyed scapegoat sent into wilderness bearing sins of Israelites. [O.T.: Leviticus 16:8–22] See : Penitence How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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And they shouldn't be scapegoated to fight off genuine reform. It claimed homosexuals are being scapegoated and that "tolerance for homosexual priests [is] not to blame for the pedophilia scandal" (September 19). The latter is "often scapegoated," said Al-Mirazi, even though it was American journalists who also broke the Abu-Ghraib scandal and exposed other incidents that engender "anti-American reactions. |
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