11 Admonitions in Leviticus
that Fundamentalists
Conveniently Forget About
[“If a man also lie with mankind, as he
lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall
surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” —Leviticus 20:13.
This is one of the most commonly-cited Biblical references used to condemn lgbt
people. But how many fundamentalists adhere to all the other
laws mandated in the same pages? Here’s just a small sample—Ed.]
1.
Death penalty for using the Lord’s name in vain
“He who
blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death; all the congregation
shall stone him; the sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the
Name, shall be put to death.” (Lev.
24:16)
2.
Prohibition against eating pork
“And the
swine, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud,
is unclean to you. Of their flesh
you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to
you.” (Lev. 11:7–8)
3.
Mandating of animal sacrifices
“If anyone sins unwittingly in any of the things which commanded not to be done, and does any one of them, if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer the sin which he has committed a young bull without blemish to the Lord as a sin offering. He shall bring the bull to the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord, and lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before the Lord. … And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take from it, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver which he shall take away with the kidneys … and the priest shall burn them upon the altar…. (Lev. 4:1–10)
[NOTE: The first
several chapters of Leviticus are devoted to mandatory animal sacrifices, such
as the wringing of turtledoves’ necks, the cutting open of goats and bulls,
and the vivisection of female lambs, for various sins.]
4.
Death penalty for spiritualists
“A man or
woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned
with stones, their blood shall be upon them.” (Lev.
20:27)
5.
Human slavery sanctioned
“As for
your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female
slaves from among the nations that are round about you. You may also buy from
among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families that are with you,
who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may bequeath
them to your sons after you, to inherit as a Possession for ever.” (Lev.
25:44–46)
6.
Prohibition against eating fat
“It shall
be a perpetual statute throughout Your generations, in all your dwelling places,
that you eat neither fat nor blood.” (Lev.
3:17)
7.
Forbidding of hair and beard trimming
“You shall
not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.” (Lev.
19:27)
8.
Prohibition against eating crab, clams, oysters
“Everything
in the waters that has fins
and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in
the rivers that has not fins
and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures
that are in the waters, is an abomination to you. They shall remain an
abomination to you; of their flesh
you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall have in abomination. Everything
in the waters that has not fins
and scales is an abomination to you.” (Lev.
11:9–12)
9.
Death penalty for adultery
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” (Lev. 20:10)
[Leviticus
lists four other kinds of adultery for which the death penalty is also
mandatory.]
10.
The profanity of disabled individuals
“For no one
who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or who has a mutilated
face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or
a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a defect in his sights or an itching
disease or scabs or crushed testicles; no man of the descendants of Aaron the
priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer
the Lord’s offerings by fire;
since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer
the bread of his God…He shall not come near the veil or approach the altar,
because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries…” (Lev.
21:18–23)
11.
Other prohibitions
“Ye
shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse
kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment
mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.”
(Lev. 19:19)
Thank You Affirmations Editor