Leviticus is instructions for priests, not the general public, as priests were also judges in ancient Jewish culture. The general public wasn't to run around killing people out of hand. As for slavery, unless one is familiar with Jewish law re slaves, it''s easy enough to misinterpret the context of the isolated quote in Leviticus is actually means, as well as every other quote people run around claiming as well, not that knowing what is actually meant will change the propagandist versions spewed daily by any means, since the use of such verses out of context is key to lying about them.
As far as Christians and the Old Testament, Jesus was very much an 'old school' type in his interpretations of Mosaic law and Judaism, and was rejecting the 'modern Judaism' and its drift from the ancient beliefs, so yes, Christians are indeed 'bound', according to his 'reforms', which are in fact mostly calling for reversion to 'original intents' across the board. Other 'reform schools' around at nearly the same times were similar in their 'new' teachings. The following link will give brief example:
Jesus as Rabbi 4: From Hillel to Shammai | Fishing The Abyss
Gamaliel - All the Men of the Bible - Bible Gateway
If one is interested in Jewish culture and society at the time of Jesus, Joachim Jeremia's Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus is an excellent intro primer, heavily sourced, and with excellent chapters on Jewish social structure and slavery codes.
Anybody can cite verses; very few can be bothered with placing them in anywhere near the proper context and meanings. Neither the old or new testaments are mere collections of isolated verses just thrown out there with no reason or relations to anything else; they're there on purpose. The Protestant Reformation and the printing press throwing out translations and making them available to just anybody to pick and choose from was both and advantage and a disadvantage, given the proliferation of bizarre claims and false misrepresentations that have been prolific ever since.
Last edited:
