Rules, Rules and More Rules
For the book of Leviticus there will only be one posting of questions. I really don't have that much for this book in the way of questions, but I will do my best to present the few questions I do have in the most interesting manner possible.
As with all of the other postings of book by book Bible questions, please feel free to leave a comment, an answer, whatever you like. The questions are all part of why I do not believe in the supposed truth of the Bible or that God even exists. I want to know why you believe (IF you are a believer). If you do use a Bible verse as a reference please remember to note the passage location so that I may look it up.
1. Leviticus 1:11, 13
11 Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the LORD's presence, and Aaron's sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar.
13 But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Questions
1) Here we go again with the obvious questions, right? If God is everywhere, all the time then you don't have to worry about being in the Lord's presence since the Lord is supposed to be everywhere, correct?
2) So the Lord wants the animal killed in His presence? Why? Is He just a sicko who likes to watch death?
3) What in the world made God come up with the ludicrous idea that killing something that has nothing to do with sin, much less something that does not even possess the powers of reason with which to sin, somehow compensates for the accumulated sin?
2. Leviticus 2:9, 13
9 And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
13 You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.
Questions
1) What part of this smells good to God? Here these people are cutting and killing and offering up these animal sacrifices every goddamn day, sprinkling blood here and there, taking out entrails...and the Bible says there was a pleasing aroma to the Lord? And don't forget they are in the desert, so can you imagine the horrid smell during the heat riddled days of the year?
2) Why do the offerings have to have salt on them? Does the Lord God eat the items the people of Israel are sacrificing? If so, how freaking much does this God eat considering the number of animals being sacrificed daily?
3) Is the usage of salt intended to ward off bad spirits/demons/devils or the like?
3. Leviticus 3:16
16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD’s.
Questions
1) Why is all the fat the Lord's? Is it because the fat is tasty and the Lord only wants it for Himself?
2) Please, please, please explain this 'pleasing aroma' line that keeps popping up. What does it mean? Is it the smell of death that is pleasing? Is it the smell of the fear that the animals experience as they are being killed? Is it the smell of the power and control over another living being's life that is experienced by the priests doing the actual sacrifice?
4. Leviticus 4:10, 14
10 just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.
Questions
1) You know what? On its own the book of Leviticus SHOULD be a good enough warning for people to NOT believe the terrible things in the Bible, right? Why don't the prophets and seers and leaders of the Bible times and of the people of Israel ever give a true, definitive answer as to WHY and HOW killing something innocent and blameless and lacking in the ability to reason absolves any amount of sin?
2) Where is the logic and where is the validation that clearly conveys that taking life somehow removes sin and guilt and consequence?
5. Leviticus 4:17-18
17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.
18 He will then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for fragrant incense that stands in the LORD's presence inside the Tabernacle. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
Questions
1) Sprinkle the blood seven times? Is that symbolic for the six days of creation and then the seventh day of rest? Is it symbolic of the seven churches and the lampstand?
2) So, if all of this ritual animal sacrifice is taking place in the tabernacle and there are veils and various other things all about, what exactly was the condition of this area where all of this stuff is being done? Did they wash it daily, because if they did not wouldn't it get rather rancid and even harbor disease?
6. Leviticus 5:9
9 and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.
Questions
1) Where is the righteousness in taking the life blood of a living creature, draining this creature of its blood, collecting this blood, and then carrying out a ritual with the blood?
2) How in the world can the people of Israel in the Bible do these terrible things to animals, non-reasoning living creatures that know dick about sin, but then point to other cultures and peoples and say that the rituals and practices of others are so wrong or unacceptable?
3) How in the world do people think this God of the Bible is so great and so powerful if He needs sacrifice, blood sacrifice?
7. Leviticus 7:37
37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering,
Questions
1) Where is the 'offering' part of any of these things? There is nothing offered. And why is nothing offered? Well, how can anything be offered when from the very beginning of the ritual life is taken?
2) Which part of the offering compensates for the purposeful taking of life from a living being for purposes other than a MUST for food? Why in the world would the people of this mighty God want to do such terrible things? Does God want the people to remember what He can do to them if they piss Him off enough, and so He has them sacrifice to Him every day?
8. Leviticus 11:42-43
42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable.
43 You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them.
Questions
1) This is sheer stupidity, isn't it? So, there are all of these different animals that are considered unclean?
2) Doesn't Genesis 9:3 say that, "Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything"?
3) Sooo...what changed between Genesis 9 and Leviticus 11 to make many of the animals God created unsuitable for consumption?
9. Leviticus 14:34, 50-52
34 “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a case of leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession,
50 and shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water
51 and shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, along with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times.
52 Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the fresh water and with the live bird and with the cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet yarn.
Questions
1) This is a freaking ritual spell, straight up. How can so many Christians quite happily tout that magic and spells and incantations are evil, as are rituals and symbolic celebrations of natural power and energy when they have the same in their own practices? Are they not considered evil since it is the people of Israel doing it?
10. Leviticus 18:22, 29
22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people.
Questions
1) Why don't more pastors and preachers make it clear that the term abomination referred to something that was contrary to custom and not something that was slated for hell? Why does it seem like some preachers and representatives of Christianity would rather people think the wrong thing, that abomination means that something is worthy of hell?
11. Leviticus 20:12
12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.
Questions
1) Right. Sooo...God says not a goddamn thing about Lot impregnating BOTH of his daughters, not a damn thing about who the hell Cain married and had children with if everyone came from Adam and Eve, not a damn thing about Abram marrying his freaking half-sister...BUT when it comes to this God suddenly gets a bee in His bonnet? Never mind all of the incest that took place between people who were related after God booted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and even when Noah and his family left the ark. Forget all of that, right?
12. Leviticus 20:13
13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Questions
1) Do people really and truly think that saying that someone's blood is upon that same someone for something wrong that they did, do people who say such things really think they are absolved of any wrong-doing when they kill the people who supposedly did the wrong?
2) Isn't this the same damn thing as saying it is their own fault that they were killed for being gay?
13. Leviticus 24:21
21 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death.
Questions
1) Make the killed animal good? I would assume this means some kind of compensation and not good in the sense of beef ribs with sides of cornbread and mashed potatoes?
2) So the part about killing a person who has killed another person does not apply in war, correct? How does it apply to people who have true mental and psychological issues?
14. Leviticus 26:3-4
3 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out,
4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Questions
1) So basically God is saying that if the people want to eat and drink and raise their families and flocks and all of that happiness that they must obey everything God says...period?
2) And if the people consistently listen then the LORD will make sure the rain gets to where it needs to get when it is needed, the harvests will be voon-der-bar, and the trees producing fruit will be producing in abundance?
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