Leviticus 17:11 tells us:

> "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."

Skeptics claim that this verse is misinterpreted by Christians, arguing that prayer and a repentant mental attitude alone can provide a means for the atonement and forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood.

However, sin brings spiritual death; it must be put away, eliminated, and destroyed, for it is a corruption of God's good creation. Repentance alone does not conquer death -- humanity must still be healed and purified. The OT observance called Yom Kippur, the 'Day of Atonement', featured the offering of the two goats, one of which was sacrificed and whose blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat for purification; the other was ceremonially laden with the sins of the people and sent into the wilderness. This served the double duty of showing first that the corruption of sin was being purified through the offering of life, and second the sins of the people were removed from them. While the OT allowed the poor to substitute flour for blood if they could not afford it, this was an act of grace that still required the sacrifice to be offered on the altar; it was not a license for bloodless atonement outside the Temple service.