I've Been Thinking

With all of the vitriol being spewed out regarding refugees and immigrants (legal or otherwise) it’s good to see these verses from Leviticus quoted by The Christian Left. This is THE Biblical position on refugees and immigrants – you shall not do wrong to the stranger who sojourns with you, legal or otherwise. And, unless you’re a Native American, in the United States, you’re either an immigrant or a colonizer or both.

Perhaps the Bibles of many Right wing preachers only have a few verses, because they love to quote, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them” (Leviticus 20:13, NRSV), and “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, NRSV).

But, you never hear them quote the verses above. Neither do you hear them quote Leviticus 19:18b, “…but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord”, which sits between their two favorite verses.

And, you most certainly don’t ever hear them talk about Leviticus 25, which proclaims the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee.

I could go on and on about the stuff that isn’t quoted from Leviticus, or where Leviticus fits in the Biblical Canon, but little makes me angrier than a Right wing preacher swiveling his hips, while holding the Bible high in one hand, quoting Leviticus 20:13 and proclaiming, “That’s the gospel.”

Um, no. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are THE gospels, plural. And Jesus of Nazareth said absolutely nothing about a man lying with a male as with a woman – nothing!

But, he did say, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Perhaps that is the only verse from Leviticus that he quoted. And, that is the gospel!