Michelle Cherry-Picks Leviticus in a Culturally Inappropriate Way (which is funner) *with pictures!

After my recent blogs, certain anomalies have come to my attention…

Yes, I’m going to chat about homosexuality again, in the context of the Bible and Christianity.

Before I delve into OT law, I give you...JEWVERINE!

I watch prominent Christian groups pull the same verses from the Bible over and over to prove a point…I even used to do the exact same thing; but it’s begun to get under my skin. These are the verses:

Leviticus 18:22 “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman.  It is a detestable sin.”  Hmm, “detestable”…yep, sure sounds like God REALLY hates that.

Leviticus 20:13 “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act.  They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.” OH YEAH.  “Put to death”…must be a REALLY BIG SIN.

Seems super-obvious right?  …As long as you subscribe to the cherry-picked version of Leviticus where you ignore all the other verses.  Like these:

Leviticus 11, which tells you not to eat animals such as pigs, rabbits, snake, shrimp, lobsters,etc.  Hey, you can’t even TOUCH a dead one.  So…my favorite childhood stuffed animal—a cat made from REAL (dead) RABBIT FUR!—“defiled” me.  And what about all those former football players who used a genuine “pigskin”?  DEFILED!  These animals are called “detestable”—the same adjective used for homosexuality.  And btw, NO MORE BACON FOR YOU!!!

Leviticus 17:10  “And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people,”  Ever had a steak or hamburger rare or medium-rare?  Whoops.  I guess it’s off to the desert for you. <kisses goodbye>  Don't forget to stay hydrated.

Leviticus 18:19,26 “Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her period of menstrual impurity….You must not commit any of these detestable sins.”  Not even a teeny-weeny little bit.  And notice this is grouped in the SAME CATEGORY AS HOMOSEXUALITY.  Punishment:  Banishment.  FOR LIFE.  Yea, I went there.  It’s right there with homosexuality, men.  So stop yelling “Abomination” okay?  Don’t make us pry into your sexual history to see if we need to ostracize you too.

Leviticus 19:16,17 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.  Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s life is threatened.  I am the Lord.  Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.”  This verse is literally SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE TWO VERSES ON HOMOSEXUALITY.  Why don’t we treat these sins as seriously?  Why not start a campaign against slander and gossip and hatred?  Now THAT would improve the world!

Chris's new look.  He rocks it like a BOSS!

Leviticus 19:27,28 "Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.  Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos.  I am the Lord.”  So, it’s okay to trim beards now; to cut your hair also—but tattoos are still detestable?  Do I have that correct?  God puts them both in the same breath, but we assign our own judgmental values on their holiness.  Is anyone other than me seeing the RAMPANT HYPOCRISY?  Can someone tell me WHEN did GOD split these two instructions apart and assign one to be void and the other to be valid?

Leviticus 20:9 “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death.  Such a person is guilty of a capital offense.”  OUCH.  Seems like there should be a bunch of dead kids out there.  Same paragraph as an anti-homosexual verse, so, you know, let’s keep all these laws, eh?

Perhaps you disregard the OT verses, and use the NT verses as your argument.  Verses such as these:

1 Corinthians 6:9,10 “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Don’t fool yourselves.  Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”  TAKE NOTE:  Homosexuality IS NOT singled out as being worse than anything else on this list.

The church as an institution has a corner on THIS disease.

1 Timothy 1:10,11 “The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.”

Yes, the Bible has words to say against the practice of homosexuality, JUST LIKE PEOPLE WHO DO THE FOLLOWING:  (note; BEING a homosexual is never stated as a sin.  NEVER.  And p.s. There are NO recorded words from Jesus about homosexuality either.)

·        Take other Christians to court

·         Cheat

·         Are involved in ANY sexual sin (like porn, masturbation, lustful thoughts, watching or reading sexually explicit material, premarital crossing boundaries, extramarital boundary crossing, or simply having sexual relations with your spouse with a selfish heart)

·         Steal

·         Are greedy

·         Drink too much alcohol

·         Are abusive, either physically or verbally

·         Cheat people

·         Lie

·         Break promises

·         Do anything un-biblical

Who can look at that list and call themselves sinless?  Ever looked at another kid’s paper to see what answer they put down for number ten?  Then you are GUILTY.  Ever looked at a girl and wondered what she looked like naked?  GUILTY.  Ever kind-of stretched the truth on your charitable giving on your taxes?  GUILTY.  Were you a party binge drinker in college?  GUILTY.  Ever told your child that you would do something for them, and forgot?  GUILTY.  Got frustrated at that sales clerk and spoke harshly to her?  GUILTY.  Honestly, I’m fairly certain I do at least one of these things daily.  I mean, who can manage a day without doing ONE THING “that contradicts the wholesome teaching…”?

Sure, we may look at the previous examples and say, “Well, in comparison, those things are minor infractions.”  I beg to differ.  Are your actions contrary to the Holy nature of our God?  We are not called to compare ourselves to other people; we are called to strive to be like the Holiest of Holy!

I may be repeating myself, but I don’t think people get this:  SIN IS SIN.  YOUR SIN ISN’T ANY BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE’S SIN.

I have been given a massive blessing by having some amazing and wonderful people in my life, who also happen to be homosexual.  When I am with them, I don’t sit around and think about that aspect of their life every single moment I am with them.  If I did, then there would be something wrong with me and my thinking.  I don’t want others who have a relationship with me to constantly think about the nature of my sexual life while I am with them, either.  That’s sick.  If I can’t stop thinking about sex, then it’s my thought life that needs an overhaul, no matter what is going on in that other person’s life.

Perhaps if we began focusing on our own sins instead of pointing out the sins of others(or behaving as if THEY are more sinful than we are), the world would see Christ in us a little better.  After all, I can only change me.  And other people won’t see the love of God in you, or learn about His grace through Jesus if you don’t show it through your actions.  If you show hate and anger, they will learn that your god is a vindictive and evil god.  If you show love and compassion, then they will be given the opportunity to see the true God through you.

I'm learning.  Thanks to all those amazingly patient people out there.