Leveticus

[kokokolo]

I was on another Christian Forum, and in regards to Homosexuality I posted a few verses from Leveticus.

The another person pointed out to me that when I quote the things God says in Leveticus that I should be careful because there is a lot of atuff in leveticus that we dont believe anymore. So I am confused.

Do all of the things God warned us about in Leveticus still stand? Or is this Book something we dont really follow anymore or something?


no drinking blood, no Incest, No sex during menstrual period, No bestiality Im pretty sure it says to avoid eating animal fat, no eating of most of the sea creatures, no trimming the sides of your hair or your facial hair.

etc

[psaturn]

The Orthodox Jews do all that...and more...

[kokokolo]

Im totally confused.

[psaturn]

Kokokolo

I learned a lot about Judaism when I was with a Messianic Jewish synagogue with an Orthodox Messianic Rabbi and I even went to his Yeshiva for a period of time.

They still meet on the Sabbath (which starts on Friday nights at sundown and they welcome it with two candles and a woman would say the Barukhas).

They follow the Kosher Dietary Laws which is no pork, no shrimp, no catfish, no lobsters.

The rabbi also wears clothing that is made of single source materials.

And the Messianics worship Jesus as LORD and Saviour.

I went to Israel last year and there are MANY Messianic congregations throughout the land. Some meet publicly in large buildings, and some in their houses (like in the Book of Acts).

I happen to meet a guy at the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem and he was in charge of relating to local congregations !!! While we were walking in Ben Jehuda Street in downtown Jerusalem, he was pointing to me that a Messianic congregation meets here, another meets there and here another meets here...

Most Christian meetings in Israel meets on the Sabbath (Saturdays) except for a few, like the Arabic church we visited in Haifa. They meet on Sunday nights since Sundays are a working day in Israel.

Any questions, please feel free in asking me! I will do my best to answer them accurately.

[Adam Knowlden]

There are plenty of verses on this in the New Testament to quote from too bro! /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[kokokolo]

OS, I dont know of any. Most of them that I saw, say something like "do not be sexually immoral" or the like. Leveticus gets specific.

My deal is thought, Why is all the stuff that God says is bad in Leveticus not taken seriously today ? Did people just decide one day that some things dont matter anymore ? If God says something is a sin in Leveticus, isnt it a sin ?

[psaturn]

Sorry to change the direction of the question, Kokokolo.

Like Old School said, there are New Testament references regarding the practices also.

Kokokolo,

If you want to embark on a discussion about homosexuality, be ready for all kinds of nuances of interpretation of the words, this and that...

Seems to me people will believe what they want. There are many liberal Christians out there, including evangelicals, who believe that the lifestyle is acceptable.

It is an issue that...it is tough to make people agree.

I think it has to go back to the Book of Genesis.

God saw that Man was alone. And He created another human being. She was a woman. He could have created an identical self but He didn't.

Adam the man saw that the World God created, the animals had the males and females and they procreated.

Maybe it was because of this observation, Adam was alone. So God created woman:
[ QUOTE ]
18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." 19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; 22 and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.


[/ QUOTE ]

I live in a community that is unique in that there are many gays living here. So I deal with them quite often and they are the nicest people, very kind and respectful, while I have met other gays that are drama queens and they make fuss of everything and can be downright pests.

I have met quite a few gay couples who have stayed together far longer than I have seen Christian marriages last and that is very embarrasing ! I mean, one of my church pastors are in the midst of a very bad divorce. And they got married last year! Even the police got involved...of course their ordination and pastoral license was revoked...but still...he was the main guy they used to counsel other couples...

And just to think that God said "I hate divorces!"

[ QUOTE ]
16 "For I hate divorce, says the LORD the God of Israel, and covering one's garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless."


[/ QUOTE ]

I am not saying that the longevity of a gay coupling was right or wrong, but just saying that if a gay couple could stay together that long without the Bible or the Scriptures to back them up, how much more in a Christian marriage !!!

And no, no one is perfect and never will be. So, do not think of finding a perfect soulmate!

Note that Eve was not perfect, Eve sorta led Adam to eat that fruit, when Adam knew better NOT TO EAT THAT FRUIT !!!

Of course Adam could not leave Eve and go with someone else...there was none ! HA !

And few people discuss how important PROCREATION is in the sight of God. Catholic Church recognizes that to their credit but not many within the Evangelical churches do that. Seems like pleasing God and the self is the theme.

[psaturn]

Kokokolo,

here it is

Romans 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.


1 Cor 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

[kokokolo]

awesome thanks bro , I will use these. But im still confuse dabout Leveticus. It kinda reminds me of this aig pic.


Except replace Genesis with Leveticus

http://www.answersingenesis.org/CreationWise/Cartoons/FillInGenesis.gif

[psaturn]

K

hat are you confused about the Leviticus?

You are right it does say that homosexual acts are punished by stoning. And so was adultery. And so were other acts.

[Kesu]

[ QUOTE ]
I was on another Christian Forum, and in regards to Homosexuality I posted a few verses from Leveticus.

The another person pointed out to me that when I quote the things God says in Leveticus that I should be careful because there is a lot of atuff in leveticus that we dont believe anymore. So I am confused.

Do all of the things God warned us about in Leveticus still stand? Or is this Book something we dont really follow anymore or something?


no drinking blood, no Incest, No sex during menstrual period, No bestiality Im pretty sure it says to avoid eating animal fat, no eating of most of the sea creatures, no trimming the sides of your hair or your facial hair.

etc

[/ QUOTE ] (Quoted for reference /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

A lot of the stuff in Leviticus has to be taken in context; this is God, dictating customs and laws for the Children of Israel to follow after being brought out from Egypt. On the whole, it details, and rather intricately, rules and proccedures for hundreds of things... Christians are not obligated to keep rules of sacrifice, the feast days, and many of the articles do not apply because they existed in the law as a shadow of things to come before the substance, Christ, appeared.

Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Not keeping these customs does not invalidate them, however- it's just an acknowledgement that our salvation does not lie in these things, but rather in the redemptive power of the shed blood of the Messiah. (Col 2) Even the Apostle Peter referred to these things as "A yoke...which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." Saying that God, who knows the heart, accepted even gentile believers and acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit. Ah, but I digress...this is sort of off topic, my apologies. /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The passage in Leviticus which goes over sexual morality, in my understanding, is not something that can be limited by context- the rules of sacrifice, and rules of the aaronic priesthood no longer apply, as Christ was the FINAL sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and He is our Holy High Priest. I hear a lot of people who try, when debating if homosexual acts are considered sinful according to the Bible, try to invalidate the verse in the Old testment by simply brushing the offending text aside- but that passage doesn't seem to be one that can be put under the constraints of context- in what day and age is it considered good and right to uncover people's nakedness, or to engage in beastiality... to commit adultery with your neighbour's wife, or to burn your children? Not only this, but Romans 1:27 also talks about the subject of homosexual behaviour.

I hope that cleared something up, although I think I might've just caused more confusion... Oh, and if God warns you about something... I'm betting it stands for all eternity. But again, in Leveticus, He tells Moses to "Speak to the Children of Israel". The way I see it- after Christ's acension and a surgance of non-Jewish people believing in the Messiah... there might've been some kind of move to assimilate them into Judaism. Heh, but this post is waaaay too long as it is, and that's a topic for another thread.

[kokokolo]

nice replies

I was taking my time to repond becuase I first wanted to read over this book a little.

I geuss the thing that I was confused about was just that certain things that God says not to do are not taken as sin anymore.

[ QUOTE ]
19:26 "Never eat meat that has not been drained of its blood."Do not practice fortune-telling or witchcraft. 27 "Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards

7 26 Even in your homes, you must never eat the blood of any bird or animal.27 Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from the community.

11:2 "Give the following instructions to the Israelites: The animals you may use for food 3 include those that have completely divided hooves and chew the cud. 4 You may not, however, eat the animals named here F18 because they either have split hooves or chew the cud, but not both. The camel may not be eaten, for though it chews the cud, it does not have split hooves. 5 The same is true of the rock badger F19 6 and the hare, so they also may never be eaten. 7 And the pig may not be eaten, for though it has split hooves, it does not chew the cud. 8 You may not eat the meat of these animals or touch their dead bodies. They are ceremonially unclean for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

But seeing as God was giving these as the laws to the Israelite, the argument could be made that these things were just thier laws, to set them apart so people know they are Gods people, and they are not neccessarily sin. So when it says.

[ QUOTE ]
19:11 "Do not steal."Do not cheat one another."Do not lie. 12 "Do not use my name to swear a falsehood and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13 "Do not cheat or rob anyone."Always pay your hired workers promptly. 14 "Show your fear of God by treating the deaf with respect and by not taking advantage of the blind. I am the LORD. 15 "Always judge your neighbors fairly, neither favoring the poor nor showing deference to the rich

[/ QUOTE ]

these things could be taken simply as rules for them and not sin.

However in some of the Verses It says specifically that the things mentioned in that verse are sin. ( says the act is perverse, detestable, an abomination etc )


[ QUOTE ]
18:22 "Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin. 23 "A man must never defile himself by having sexual intercourse with an animal, and a woman must never present herself to a male animal in order to have intercourse with it; this is a terrible perversion.

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Also I would find it common sense that anything, the Lord mentions as bad enough to be put to death for, is definitely sin.

[ QUOTE ]
20:15 "If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed. 16 If a woman approaches a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. Both must die, for they are guilty of a capital offense

[/ QUOTE ]

hmmm, So if it doesnt say it is sin, or is punishable by death, and it doesnt feel like a sin, it was probably just for their customs?

[William Ustav]

Just a quickie, regarding food etc - in the NT, Jesus told us that it is not what comes into our mouths that make us unclean, but rather what comes out of our mouths.

Eating pork and other "unclean" foods then could naturally bring disease, as could food not thoroughly prepared/cooked. For example, you still make sure to cook the chicken enough, so that no blood be in it - because you don't want the bacteria.