IN the eleventh chapter of Leviticus, God tells us those animals which we are forbidden from eating as they are an “abomination” to do so…
- Verse 4 – No camels
- Verse 5 – No coneys (a translation of the Hebrew Bible word shaphan, in modern English “rock hyrax”)
- Verse 6 – No hares
- Verse 7 – No swine
- Verse 8 – “Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.”
- Verse 10 – “all that have not fins and scales… they shall be an abomination unto you” – so basically No shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, etc)
- Verse 13 – No eagles, ossifrage (a kind of vulture) or ospray
- Verse 14 – No vultures or kites (raptors)
- Verse 15 – No ravens
- Verse 16 – No owls, nighthawks, cuckoos, or hawks
- Verse 17 – No little owls, or great owls or cormorants
- Verse 18 – No swans, pelicans, or gier-eagles
- Verse 19 – No storks, herons, lapwings, or bats
- Verse 20 – “All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.”
- Verse 29 – No weasels, mice or tortoises (I’m guessing turtles would be a no-no as well)
- Verse 30 – No ferrets, chameleons, lizards, snails or moles
- Verse 41 – “And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earthshall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.”
- Verse 42 – “Whatsoever goeth upon the belly. and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat, for they are an abomination.” – So basically no snakes, centipedes, millipedes – pretty much no bugs (except locusts which are deemed okay in verse 22).
It goes into detail in verses 30-40ish about how these “unclean” animals are not only to be avoided as food but that if they come in contact with or if their carcasses come in contact with anything then those things are basically contaminated and we are forbidden from them as well.
So you’re probably wondering… why do I care? Well doesn’t this seem just a little bit over the top? I know that I’m not going to give up bacon or shrimp to name a few favorites. I mean, truthfully, I probably wouldn’t have eaten many of these animals anyway but I fail to see the reasoning for them being banned. Further…. I point this out because of the hypocrisy. This is the same book of the Bible that homophobic right-wingers like to quote from when they try to defend their anti-gay propaganda. (See Lev 18:22 or 20:13)
So, here is my question for the masses… why should we vehemently follow the “anti-gay” verses but not the ones about naughty tasty animals? Or how about the versus dictating that “they shall not make baldness upon their head” (Lev 21:05) boy that would put a dent in some fundamentalist hair-dos (or lack therof). How about Lev 19:28 which says “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you” – No tattoos!
I could go on – the entire book of Leviticus is a plethora of hypocrisy and unreasonable rules. So why oh why??? Why would anyone trying to prove a point use this as ammunition? I’m bewildered, befuddled… mystified! (Guess I’m not a)dumb b)gullible c)fundamentalist enough to get it.)
Help celebrate a year of Domestic Partnership Protections in Wisconsin!
Remember folks… it’s not about gay rights — it’s about CIVIL EQUALITY!!
I think I’m gonna go have some bacon-wrapped shrimp while I think about a design for my 6th tattoo…