The Leviticus Discord
By James Donahue
If you want to believe that the entire Bible contains the inspired Word of God, and that true believers must obey the laws as written in that book, then you are going to have a problem with the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
Not only is some of the information written in Leviticus biologically incorrect, but the laws, as allegedly written by Moses as instructed by God during a private encounter on a mountain, don’t make any sense in today’s world. They may have been wrong for the Hebrew people who first received them some 3,000 years ago.
The book provides a long list of creatures that are an abomination to be eaten, and a list of animals, birds and fish that are allowed for food. And within the lists we find some problems. For example, in Leviticus 11:5-6, we are told that rabbits are among the animals that chew their cud so they are unclean to eat. Unless that has been some dramatic evolution among the rabbit kingdom since these words were written, rabbits do not chew their cud.
And how about these verses in Leviticus 11:19-23:
“And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”
Study the above verses for a moment and then tell me if you see anything wrong with them.
In case you didn’t notice, the bat is listed among the birds. Bats are mammals even though they do fly. And I have never heard of anyone, except perhaps Ozzie Ozwald, who has ever eaten a bat. Ozwald, a rock band performer, bit the head off a bat as a stage prank. I don’t think he swallowed.
Some cultures eat insects but most of us wouldn't think of it unless we were really hungry.
Also the verses speak of birds and flying creatures that have four legs. This writer has been a bird watcher for years and to date, we have never seen a bird with more than two legs. And the “creeping” things on Earth usually have many legs. Snakes creep but they have no legs.
Notice that Leviticus allows people to feed on locusts, beetles and grasshoppers, but not rabbits and pigs or any beast with cloven hoofs.
Just reading through the Leviticus laws it is easy to see that humanity appears to be living such an “abominable” life style that nearly everything we do is looked upon by God as an “abomination.”
For example we can’t touch the skin of a pig, so the game of football is a sinful act. Eating shrimp or lobster or a lot of other popular seafoods lacking scales or fins is very bad in the eyes of God.
Women are prohibited from wearing men’s pants. Everybody is banned from wearing clothes made with more than one fabric. And couples are prohibited from having sexual intercourse during a woman’s menstrual period. Yup! It’s all abominable.
Of course homosexuality is an abomination. This book is where a lot of these restrictive laws had their origin. But it seems that if we can enjoy a game of football on Sunday afternoon, we don’t have much of an argument about homosexual behavior. One is just as bad as the other, if we want to stick to the Law of God.
By James Donahue
If you want to believe that the entire Bible contains the inspired Word of God, and that true believers must obey the laws as written in that book, then you are going to have a problem with the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
Not only is some of the information written in Leviticus biologically incorrect, but the laws, as allegedly written by Moses as instructed by God during a private encounter on a mountain, don’t make any sense in today’s world. They may have been wrong for the Hebrew people who first received them some 3,000 years ago.
The book provides a long list of creatures that are an abomination to be eaten, and a list of animals, birds and fish that are allowed for food. And within the lists we find some problems. For example, in Leviticus 11:5-6, we are told that rabbits are among the animals that chew their cud so they are unclean to eat. Unless that has been some dramatic evolution among the rabbit kingdom since these words were written, rabbits do not chew their cud.
And how about these verses in Leviticus 11:19-23:
“And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”
Study the above verses for a moment and then tell me if you see anything wrong with them.
In case you didn’t notice, the bat is listed among the birds. Bats are mammals even though they do fly. And I have never heard of anyone, except perhaps Ozzie Ozwald, who has ever eaten a bat. Ozwald, a rock band performer, bit the head off a bat as a stage prank. I don’t think he swallowed.
Some cultures eat insects but most of us wouldn't think of it unless we were really hungry.
Also the verses speak of birds and flying creatures that have four legs. This writer has been a bird watcher for years and to date, we have never seen a bird with more than two legs. And the “creeping” things on Earth usually have many legs. Snakes creep but they have no legs.
Notice that Leviticus allows people to feed on locusts, beetles and grasshoppers, but not rabbits and pigs or any beast with cloven hoofs.
Just reading through the Leviticus laws it is easy to see that humanity appears to be living such an “abominable” life style that nearly everything we do is looked upon by God as an “abomination.”
For example we can’t touch the skin of a pig, so the game of football is a sinful act. Eating shrimp or lobster or a lot of other popular seafoods lacking scales or fins is very bad in the eyes of God.
Women are prohibited from wearing men’s pants. Everybody is banned from wearing clothes made with more than one fabric. And couples are prohibited from having sexual intercourse during a woman’s menstrual period. Yup! It’s all abominable.
Of course homosexuality is an abomination. This book is where a lot of these restrictive laws had their origin. But it seems that if we can enjoy a game of football on Sunday afternoon, we don’t have much of an argument about homosexual behavior. One is just as bad as the other, if we want to stick to the Law of God.