Now to start, I think it is important to know that I had been looking forward to reading the full context of this book for quite a while. The reason for that is simple, many people who believe that homosexuality is biblically wrong point to two verses in this book as a defense for that point of view. And when you take the verses at face value, they are rough to say the least. Leviticus 20:13New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. Leviticus 18:22New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination These verses come out strongly against male on male sex acts, and I really can’t make a case saying that it doesn’t. I could point out of course that it does not forbid women from sleeping with other women. I could also point out that it does not forbid the love of a people of the same sex. But these holes aside, I believe the biggest issue with taking these verses at their face value is the context in which they are written. So what is the purpose of this book? Why was it written? Leviticus was originally known as “the Priest’s Manual” and lays out God’s law to the people of Israel regarding purity, and specifically purity within the sanctuary. These laws include all kinds of things: some pretty familiar to us while others seem to be out of a strange cult movie. Many of the laws of Leviticus involve the burning of offerings for God. Often times, these offerings are animals without defect who were slaughtered on the alter and burned to create a pleasing aroma to the lord. Here’s a taste from a ritual involving skin diseases: 23 “On the eighth day they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the LORD. 24 The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. 25 He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 26The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the LORD. Now I don’t bring this up to dismiss the book entirely, or to make fun. It’s just really important to understand the context of the book we are reading, how different the world was, and the things that were required of God’s people at the time. At this time, God required many things from the Israelites that are no longer required laws for us today. Specific animals that are good or bad to eat (shellfish comes to mind immediately), the forbidding of tattoos, and the forbidding of mixing cloth (I will attach a link below that shows a much more complete list). So what to I see in this? What’s my takeaway? To this point, I have been entirely disappointed in the way the bible deals with sex issues as a whole. Perhaps my biggest complaint is the lack of mutual decision making to this point. Sex seems to be a male dominant issue to this point, and the rules imply to me that a man is the sole decision maker as to who he has sex with and when, which shows the differences in society at that time. And all of that leads to my real point: societal differences are the main focus of this book for me. I found myself reading it as I would a textbook about a far-off culture, not as the history of my own faith. The culture and world of the Israelites is so vastly different than our own, and it is important to make that distinction before taking verses at their face value. I believe that the bible was written by holy people, who were inspired by God acting in the world and in their lives. They wrote about their society, their history (literal and traditional), and did their best to explain how God lead them in their lives. These laws are to separate and differentiate a people from the rest of a wild and changing world. And as people, they wrote through a societal lens that none of us can escape from. These verses do not deal with love. They do not deal with a Christ centered, monogamous relationship. They hardly deal with a sliver of what it means to be homosexual. It deals with taboos of a culture that came before us trying to make sense of the way God acts in the world. What that means for us today is that we must find the similarities between ourselves and those Israelites. There are times that I feel like an outsider in a strange land, and I truly believe that we must differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world. We have a unique faith with a unique history. It is important to read this history and understand why Christ’s sacrifice was essential for the people of the world. It is because of him, that we are able to differentiate ourselves, not by burning the carcasses of dead animals, but by the love and compassion we are called to put into the world. Banned things in Leviticus http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2012/06/13/76-things-banned-in-leviticus-and-their-penalties.html Types of offerings and their significance https://www.waynestiles.com/offerings-in-leviticus-what-they-were-and-why-they-mattered/
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God's Law Concerning Slaves.... Wait What?I came across another very trying piece of scripture while reading this week. Ironically, these particular verses came directly after the revealing of the 10 commandments, perhaps the most famous scripture of all time. These commandments outline what is expected of God's people, and some would even go as far as to say that these scriptures form the basis of natural law and the separation of good and evil. These are pretty straightforward, fairly easy to understand, and a clear view into the basics of a Christian lifestyle.
But if I thought that this would be a turning point in the bible; that somehow the expectations of God would become clear from this point on, then I was sorely mistaken. Instead, the bible throws us right back into the fire and gives the reader the specific outline of how God would like for us to deal with our slaves.... you know, God's children who are forced into labor for one reason or another. So here are the verses and I will give you my thoughts. Exodus 21 The Law concerning Slaves21 These are the ordinances that you shall set before them: 2 When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave declares, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,” 6 then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life. 7 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out without debt, without payment of money. So first for some context. If you are following along, at this point in the narrative, God has delivered the Israelites from slavery in spectacular fashion. God actively interfered with Pharaoh's decision making in order to avenge the years of torment the Israelite people insured as slaves to the Egyptians. God makes it so that Pharaoh is physically unable to decide to allow his slaves to go free, which allows God to invoke vengeance on the Egyptians, culminating in a plague that kills all of the first born sons and animals in the land. After all of this, Pharoah sets the Israelites free, chases them to the red sea, and his entire army is drowned after God parts the red sea for Pharaoh's slaves, and closes it for Pharaoh. With his new nation, god delivers rules on how this nation should run. This set of rules (as well as the 10 commandments and several others) are part of this forging of a new nation. I have been aware of slavery in the bible for a long while. It is a fact I hear often in arguments against the faith made by many of my atheist and agnostic friends. And for some reason, I always just assumed that it was just part of the story. It is well known that the practice has been around for a long time, and it made sense to me that the writers of the bible would include it as a matter of fact. I reasoned that God took a hard anti-slavery stance in Exodus and I figured that would kind of be the end of it. The idea of a human being owning another human being, is disgusting to me. I view people as God's creation, uniquely and wonderfully made in God's image with the potential to accomplish amazing things in this life. So imagine my surprise and shock when I read these laws, ironically immediately following the exodus story and the 10 commandments. These are not plot devices or character descriptions. These were laws from the lips of God, explaining how to deal with slaves when members of the community would inevitably take them. They describe horrible things like passing on ownership of slaves children, selling daughters (often as concubines), and the breaking up of families. Things that I do not associate with the God of love, or with being a moral person of any kind in this life. What makes this even more troubling is that God is extremely active in this world. The stories in Exodus are filled with acts of wonder performed by God. God parts seas, creates plagues, and talks directly with people in ways that seem marvelous to us today. And more importantly, he is given the ability to essentially rewrite the moral code of these people. He gives them laws for everything from morality to violence and property. And not only does he fail to shoot down this practice, but instead chooses to address the issue and allow it. All of this is troubling to myself as a Christian, and as a human being. The only way I can think to reconcile this is because of the way I view the Bible. First and foremost, I believe that the Bible was written by human beings who were inspired by the way they saw God acting in their lives. Imperfect bound by culture, they viewed their world through a certain lens and this can be seen in verses like this. That is not to discredit the Bible, or to negate any of the truths held within. It simply suggests that not every law in the Bible is applicable to us today. And so begins my decent down the slippery slope. This idea and viewpoint is not without its issues. I am now a human being trying to interpret the word of God. I have taken it upon myself to decide what is eternal, and what is cultural; a practice which is admittedly subjective and influenced by the way I see the world. But this is how I can come to gain any understanding of a God and of a people who continuously do things that I can not comprehend or believe. Did God have to kill all of Egypt's first-borns and Military to prove a point? Did God have to kill the whole world with a flood? Why did God not destroy slavery in a world in which he was so involved? I do not have answers to these questions, and my view is the only one that makes sense to me. It is my hope that I will gain clarity through reading and prayer. And additionally, I will remember that I am called to treat people the way I would like to be treated, love others as myself, and forgive as God forgives throughout the rest of my life. The Craziness of the Old Testament: |
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