Looking at Leviticus deeper

Evee · Moderator Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 656

I thought we could really take a look at what Leviticus 18 is saying. For curiousity's sake, I had looked up Egyptian practices & Canaanite practices to see if there was any basis for the claim that this chapter is about pagan cult practices.

I believe the whole basis of the Bible is to show all of us that He is the only one true God & He loves us beyond words. I also believe that as Christians, we need to view the OT in the eyes of those early writers. Most Christians tend to view the whole Bible in a Christian eye - in other words - we look at it through the eyes of Jesus already having come. When the OT writers wrote these things down, they did not know about Jesus & if you look closely, you will see the theme of most of the books also talks about the wrath of God a lot. Especially in the beginning of the OT.

If we look at the beginning of Chapter 18, we see these words:

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the people of Israel & say to them: I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. My ordinances you shall observe & my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my statutes & my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the Lord."

What were the Egyptians & Canaanites doing? In order to answer that accurately, to make sure we're interpreting this passage properly, we have to do research on what the practices were of the Egyptians & Canaanites. For the ancient Jews, this would not have to be done. Since they came from Egypt, they knew the customs of the land. They also knew the Canaanites reputation as well I'm sure. Why was God so against Egypt & Canaan? I think the answer lies here:

http://www.theology.edu/canaan.htm

Everything the Egyptians & the Canaanites did was for the sake of their "gods". What God wanted to emphasize to the Israelites & eventually to the rest of the world was that only He is sovereign of all & you don't need to do any of that in order to please Him & have Him bless you.

ETA: the Egyptian link: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cults.htm
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Don't get caught in the trap of thinking you know everything God has to say b/c you've read the Bible. Remember, God is STILL speaking. And surprisingly, through people we DON'T expect.

Evee · Moderator Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 656

No takers on this one? Confused or disgusted

_________________
Don't get caught in the trap of thinking you know everything God has to say b/c you've read the Bible. Remember, God is STILL speaking. And surprisingly, through people we DON'T expect.

Da Blonde Bombshell · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:19 pm Post subject:

Sorry.

I think it's well documented ritualistic and orgianstic sex was a major part of various pagan religions.

Ever hear of the Oracle of Delphi in Greece? The priestesses could predict the future (mostly by speaking in riddles) but were essentially official prostitutes. Such were found att over the Levant.

Some prostitutes were cross-dressing biological males equivalent to what today are called "shemales" in the porn/prostitution trades.

The Priests wished to tell young men of Israel to not go there and have sex with the temple prostitutes be they born female or shemales, in the same manner a parent might tell a teenage boy to avoid red light districts where they live.

It has zero to do with loving same gender physical relationships by people of minority sexual orientation.
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"Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials." (James 1:2)

"The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan values and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism." -Reinhold Niebuhr

Evee · Moderator Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 656

I had never known about this until my own sister came out of the closet & me wanting to understand homosexuality more, came across all this information that I hadn't thought about before. I researched the topic quite thoroughly & had a hard time believing any of it, standing firm in my stance that sis was doomed for eternity if she acted on these "feelings" she had. I don't know what happened, but it was like a veil was lifted off my eyes when I read the stories & researched the facts on what ancient times were like. I'm now convinced that we were blessed when my sis met her partner & her daughters. We now have an extended family that we never would have known if my sister didn't come to terms w/who she was.
_________________
Don't get caught in the trap of thinking you know everything God has to say b/c you've read the Bible. Remember, God is STILL speaking. And surprisingly, through people we DON'T expect.

Da Blonde Bombshell · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:50 pm Post subject:

That's a wonderful story.

We have a friend who's a retired minister in a very conservative denomination. He is working as an MFT (Marriage-Family Therapist) in private practice and is counseling an elderly couple of the same denomination. They have a lesbian daughter and have been estranged from her, mostly, he believes, due to peer pressure from others in their church who are quite judgemental about it. He is trying to move them ever so slightly toward reconciliation. The woman in this couple wants it especially since they have a new grandchild they have not yet seen. The man is not so sure. They are getting horrible advice from their fellow church members, all with chapter and verse cited of course. they even say things like "If they come make them stay in seperate bedrooms", as if homos are any less than hets intimidated about doing the horizontal mamba in the old folks' house Rolling Eyes

Needless to say our friend has his work cut out for him.
_________________
"Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials." (James 1:2)

"The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan values and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism." -Reinhold Niebuhr

Evee · Moderator Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 656

Yes, that would be something to deal with, especially if he's conservative like you say. God may be using this retired minister as a means to reconcile this family. He had better tread lightly.
_________________
Don't get caught in the trap of thinking you know everything God has to say b/c you've read the Bible. Remember, God is STILL speaking. And surprisingly, through people we DON'T expect.

Da Blonde Bombshell · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:02 pm Post subject: