Is any of Leviticus valid any longer?

[Glennonite]

I’ve noticed that Leviticus is FULL of things that the modern world simply disregards: touching the skin of a dead pig, (football); 19:19 wearing garments of two kinds of thread; 19:28 having a tattoo; 11:6 eating rabbits (I hunt AND eat 'em); 11:19 eating bats (now, who does THAT anyway?) What if I was sooooo hungry that I wanted to capture and eat a bat? Do I really need to be stoned for it?

I mean, some of these have serious penances too. Is Father Dooley gonna assign me three Hail Marys and a stoning?

But seriously, how do we deal with Leviticus? Mostly we seem to disregard it as being Old Covenant Law…but all of a sudden, people get really serious when it talks about “laying with another man.”

I’m not trying to promote any agenda here, but could I get in as much trouble wearing a cool poly-threaded running shirt as I could laying with a teammate who is wearing only all-cotton?

Who can unravel the Mysteries of Leviticus for me?

Glennonite

 

[GEddie]

I’ve noticed that Leviticus is FULL of things that the modern world simply disregards: touching the skin of a dead pig, (football); 19:19 wearing garments of two kinds of thread; 19:28 having a tattoo; 11:6 eating rabbits (I hunt AND eat 'em); 11:19 eating bats (now, who does THAT anyway?) What if I was sooooo hungry that I wanted to capture and eat a bat? Do I really need to be stoned for it?

These are Jewish ritual laws. Christians who were not Jewish are not expected to keep them.

The writers of the NT never urged non-Jewish converts to the faith to keep theem.

BTW: Aren’t footballs covered with either leather or vinyl now?
BTW2: They do eat bats in some Asian countries. I wouldn’t suggest it, though, they carry rabies.

So if you’re not originally Jewish, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you were, they don’t stone anybody, either.

I mean, some of these have serious penances too. Is Father Dooley gonna assign me three Hail Marys and a stoning?

He can’t do that The penance can’t require someone else to sin by stoning you.

But seriously, how do we deal with Leviticus? Mostly we seem to disregard it as being Old Covenant Law…but all of a sudden, people get really serious when it talks about “laying with another man.”

I’m not trying to promote any agenda here, but could I get in as much trouble wearing a cool poly-threaded running shirt as I could laying with a teammate who is wearing only all-cotton?

Who can unravel the Mysteries of Leviticus for me?

Glennonite

Big difference. Homosexual activity is condemned in the NT, as well as in the OT. S. Paul said that homosexuals would not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

No stoning is required, but if it’s in the NT, Christians do need to keep it.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA

 

[Crumpy]

I read a commentary on Leviticus maybe two years ago, but I’m a little fuzzy, for sure, on the bulk of the book.

No, it is not “valid” for its literal requirements. But, as 2 Tim 3:16-17 teachs us, all scripture is useful for instruction, etc. When Paul wrote this to Timothy, the “scripture” was what we call the OT.

One of the things that impressed me right away was the description of what we might call the OT version of confession. If you did such and such a sin, there you would be taking your prize bull to be sacrificed at the Temple (in this case, the wilderness Temple). But, the book is really for the priest to ensure that the right thing is done for your sin, so you have to confess your sin to the priest, to begin with. Confession.

This is a big thing that struck me.

And, along with that, there is a prohibition of sacrificing your animal out in the field someplace. Does that ring a bell? In other words, you don’t confess your sins directly to God, you have to go to the temple and confess to the priest. This is what today we call the ordinary form of confession.

Now, as a matter of clarification, what was going on with the sacrifice? Well, the blood of the animal was thrown on the altar. What did this accomplish? The blood symbolized life, and the life of the animal that was sacrificed purified the earthly dwelling place of God. (Another reason for not sacrificing out in a field.) This was an action that implored God not to leave the presence of the Israelite camp.

“blood on the altar”? Don’t we have Jesus’ blood on the altar during Mass? Jesus’ blood is what purifies us, it’s what makes us worthy and what justifies us.

The end of Lev has the holiness code. It’s been too much time for me to remember the details right now.

We should always recall that scripture is inspired by God. As Pope Benedict says in Verbum Domini, his apostolic exhortation on the Word of God in the Life of the Church, we should always keep the inspiration of scripture before us, so that it does not become merely an historic oddity. In particular, the Israelites, too, were confused about the rationale about such things as the cloths (as modern commentators suggest). The point is, to learn to obey God whether the command makes sense to us or not.

If we withhold our obedience to only those commands of God which we understand and agree with, then ours is not a devotion to God, ours is not a religion of God but one only of our own making. We are denying who God is and what we owe to God.

These were the commands of the covenant (see my signature line below) and the Israelites agreed in advance to obey them (they wondered later if they should have agreed so quickly or without some negotiation).

Modern Judaism is what I call Judaism from about 400 BC onward, I’m going to say starting with the second Temple period. Here’s where the Jews started enumerating the 613 commands of God – the do’s and the don’ts. Jews call them mitzvos. The word has the idiomatic meaning of “blessing.” It’s a command, but when you perform it, it’s a blessing – you are closer to God.

Jesus said not one jot or tittle of the law (the commands) was cancelled. When the rich young man came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do attain eternal life, he explained (if I have the right story) that he obeyed all the laws. That’s pretty good. But, Jesus said it wasn’t enough. That’s another thing to keep in mind when you read Lev – it’s not enough.

Lots of meaning in Lev.

 

[Crumpy]

Leviticus is considered an inspired book, inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, it’s still printed in every copy of every Catholic Bible. (When I hear liberals and critics of scripture, I always want to ask them which pages I should tear out of my Bible.)

When we look at these “outdated” commands, we should be looking into the cultural background, to see why these commands were given. That is sometimes very relevant to why such-and-such was prohibited – because it was a practice of the surrounding pagan peoples.

If these WERE applicable to us today, we would still be in the exact position of Adam and Eve contemplating the tree of good and evil – the fruit was pleasing to look at, etc. It just ripens and falls to the ground and rots. Why can’t we eat it? See, our pride starts gripping us to violate God’s command. Protestants teach their children with simple songs or slogans, at times: “trust and obey, for there’s no other way.”

In his recent book, vol 2 of Jesus of Nazareth, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI discusses the end of the cultic practices of the Temple, with the death of Jesus. In the NT, we see some discussion creeping in, about the need for circumcision or eating/not eating certain foods, etc. NT laws, as foretold in the OT, are laws that are written “on the heart.”

At higher level, it is curious that the laws in Deuteronomy (the “second” law) are different from the corresponding laws in Exodus and Leviticus. That’s where things get interesting. Later Judaism would develop along Deuteronomic guidelines (as best as I can understand this complex subject). Leviticus emphasizes an Aaronic priesthood (descendents of Aaron) whereas Deut has just the general run of Levites performing the duties of the priesthood.

 

[Crumpy]

Well, back again. this is an interesting subject for me. I have the Jewish Publication Society Commentaries on the Torah (5 volumes) and I glanced through the volume on Leviticus again.

The relevance of Leviticus is enormous when you consider Lev 19:2 Be holy as I the LORD your God am holy (from memory). This is what the Catholic Church in recent years has called the universal call to holiness.

It is just as challenging to the Jews as it is to Christians.

The JPS commentary has a special essay at the end to discuss the very question in the OP.

But, the problem is not that the commands are strange, the problem is that the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and Judaism cannot carry out the worship of God that was specified in the covenant. So, Judaism was sort of backed into the problem of having no Temple and not being able to conduct the cultic commands.

Christians had earlier detached themselves from the cultic commands. So, these two groups are in a similar situation.

I’ve heard a rabbi in the U.S. state that Judaism should probably rebuild the Temple and start worship there again. There is a big “ethos” in Judaism – “next year in Jerusalem!” There is a longing for the state of Israel and for the return to the cult of the Temple.

The commentary says that since the destruction of the Temple, there has been a reliance on prayers, blessings, and readings from (Hebrew) scripture, to compensate for the loss of the sacrificial cult at the Temple.

So, this was a major impact on Judaism for a couple thousand years now. LIkewise, Christianity has its own worship of God, and in Catholicism, at any rate, it focuses on the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist – in the Mass.

This is my rambling mixed in here with the commentary.

For a much more authoritative discussion, see
ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PBCJWSCR.HTM

which is the document on The Jewish People and their Scriptures in the Christian Bible.

That is the tip of the discussion. It talks about CONTINUITY between the NT and OT, DISCONTINUITY between the NT and the OT, and the PROGRESSION from the OT to the NT (OT = Old Testament, NT = New Testament).

I don’t recall whether it specifically deals with Leviticus, but this is the general subject and is the same as this thread.

Pope Benedict XVI discusses the end of the temple cult with the death of Jesus, in the vol 2 of his book, Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, there’s a lot of recent “paper” in the Church on these subjects.

 

[Glennonite]

GEddie and Crumpy:

Thanks, I feel like I’ve been pulled up by the back of my collar! I’ve been too dismissive re: Leviticus.

GEddie, Yeah, I know I’m not gonna get a stoning from the Confessional But I would like a Catholic-version of some kind of “filter” of Lv. You know, something that would screen out those prohibitions of Lv that no longer are applicable in the NT.

Crumpy, wow. You gave me a lot of stuff to think about; you reminded me that the NT needs to be viewed through the OT to fully understand its meaning.

Thanks guys,

Glennonite