Prohibition of Meat and Animal Sacrifice in the Chinese <i>Book of the Messiah</i> and in the Pseudo-Clementines: Anti-Sacrificial Discourse as Boundary-Marking Strategy in Polytheistic Contexts

ABSTRACT This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Chinese Christian Book of the Messiah’s doctrinal framework, demonstrating how its author portrays the prohibition against meat consumption and animal sacrifice as an eternal divine commandment. It subsequently establishes parallels with the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies and Recognitions. The article argues that both works exemplify the strategic adaptation of early anti-sacrificial motifs as rhetorical tools for religious boundary-marking, contributing to our understanding of how Jesus-oriented groups deployed theological resources to distinguish themselves from surrounding polytheistic practices across diverse cultural settings.