Bill Cork at Ut Unum Sint has an interesting post regarding Lutheran interpretation of Leviticus. According to the post, at least one respected Lutheran pastor believes that Leviticus sets out law only for Jews and is not applicable to non-Jews. I've never heard this suggestion before. As he points out, this would seem to weaken the Biblical support for condemnations of homosexuality since it appears the passages in Leviticus are the most explicit in condemning homosexuality.
Ut Unum Sint almost always has interesting takes on ecumenism and Protestant and Jewish interpretations of scripture. I don't know enough to expound on interpretation of Leviticus. It appears that many of the laws are good hygiene, at least, and perhaps many can seem to be outdated by technology.
I find it interesting to hear other's thoughts on the interpretation of Leviticus, becasue any interpretation, except a literalist one, seems to compromise on the plain meaning of the words. Since I'm not a literalist, I concede I enjoy wearing a woolen sweater over my cotton shirts carefree of any guilt as I enjoy a lobster salad. It's fascinating to see the variations in the interpretations and the explanations for including, or excluding, a particular commandment.
Suggestions for futher reading?
I assume you've been to Religious Tolerance. I don't know how balanced they are (perhaps leaning more towards "tolerance" than "religion"), but they do provide citations, and those might be very helpful. If you find something interesting, I hope you'll share it here.
Posted by: Talmida | November 11, 2004 at 01:42 PM
The section of the Catechism on Sacred Scripture has a useful summary on how to do Bible interpretation. (Since the Catechism uses the word 'literal' to mean something quite different from what many think that word should mean, some care has to be taken.)
Leviticus is still today an inspired text, and still contains valid teaching. If a balancing act has to be performed when reading it, it is a balancing act that the rest of Scripture (and the Church) completely prepares us for.
Posted by: Paul | November 12, 2004 at 02:20 AM
Paul, good point. The Church does distinguish between a literal reading of scripture and a "literalist" reading of scripture.
A very interesting interpretation is at Velveteen Rabbi
Posted by: Unapologetic Catholic | November 12, 2004 at 03:49 PM