As one of the principle inclinations of humanity, sacrifice has been in existence since the beginning of time, as concordant with natural history, ancient mythology, and the foundation of the Christian religion. However, though sacrifice is an extremely intimate idea to all living beings, a very limited amount of people are familiar with the system of which it is a product. This system, deeply embedded in the roots of humanity, is called the "single victim mechanism," which stems from the great mimetic contagion that defines human life. According to Reneì Girard, these principles are those that rule all human life.

According to Girard, in his modern, revolutionary book, I See Satan Fall Like Lightning, this process of mimesis is the absolute outline for human behavior, and it births all human emotions and reactions including, for instance, the act of sacrifice. Thus, before one can even begin to imagine...