Thread: Atheists

Originally Posted by gwahir

more, in case you wanted it

If a man has sex with a woman on her period, they are both to be "cut off from their people" (Leviticus 20:18)

Psychics, wizards, and so on are to be stoned to death. (Leviticus 20:27)

If a priest's daughter is a whore, she is to be burnt at the stake. (Leviticus 21:9)

Anyone who curses or blasphemes God, should be stoned to death by the community. (Leviticus 24:14-16)

If anyone, even your own family suggests worshipping another God, kill them. (Deuteronomy 13:6-10)

edit: oh and the exact wording of the one about gays: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be on them." (lev. 20:13)

Of course everything is out of Leviticus or Deuteronomy.

The traditional view is that ... the material (Leviticus) in it goes back to Moses' time. However, the tradition is comparatively late (it dates from Josephus, a 1st century CE historian), and scholars are practically unanimous that the book had a long period of growth, that it includes some material of considerable antiquity, and that it reached its present form in the Persian period (538-332 BCE).

For the psychics/wizards - in looking at several translations, the common theme was talking to the dead. Cultural context again, mon ami. Even today, those claiming to speak to the dead are fucking cold readers seeking to enrich themselves. That kind of influence is retardedly strong, and, if you're susceptible to it (which is heartbreaking - a sister of mine genuinely believes in this), pretty much impossible to defend against. Look up MacKenzie King, the Canadian Prime Minister (In WWII, I think) who consulted the spirit of his dead mother and had his dog stuffed (who he also consulted) for help making decisions that affected the country. I can see why, in a world where harsher punishments were the only ones people paid attention to, this would be acceptable.

fun leviticus facts quote:

...Although [Leviticus 18] is principally concerned with incest...

Apart from the questionable case of a man marrying his daughter, the list in Leviticus 18 roughly produces the same rules as were followed in early (pre-Islamic) Arabic culture. However, most tribal nations also disliked exogamous marriage—marriage to completely unrelated people ... In several prominent cases in the Torah, the incest rules are ignored in favour of marriage to a close relative; Jacob is described as having married his first wife's sister, and Abraham as having a father in common with Sarah (rather than a mother, which would have been permitted by the list). These are not seen as illegal marriages as the incest laws were not given until Moses.

I just don't have the energy to go on through all these now, but I'll give a more serious effort in the future.