It took me 2.5 months to trudge through this book, including several breaks because it sucked so much. That's all the recap I can provide at this time - sorry.
On we go to Deuteronomy, which I just know is going to be the answer to my prayers... well written, interesting, full of moral lessons and family values.
Showing posts with label Thoughts on. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts on. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thoughts on Leviticus
The most wonderful aspect of Leviticus is that it was easier to read than Exodus. It was mercifully shorter too. That's about all I have for you in the way of positives. Sad.
Leviticus spends a lot of time on rituals and animal sacrifice. We also learned that people are very bad, often unclean and perpetual sinners.
Back in the days of Adam and Eve, humans were vegetarians. During the time of Noah and the flood, we became meat eaters. By Leviticus, God is blood thirsty and pretty much loves dead animals. Hundreds if not thousands of animals are slaughtered in Leviticus. What the hell would God need with a dead animal anyway?
Moses is thought to be the author of this book. What a nice coincidence that the priests get to eat the meat of a burnt offering. The priests of course are Moses' kin.
This book is stupid. The end.
Leviticus spends a lot of time on rituals and animal sacrifice. We also learned that people are very bad, often unclean and perpetual sinners.
Back in the days of Adam and Eve, humans were vegetarians. During the time of Noah and the flood, we became meat eaters. By Leviticus, God is blood thirsty and pretty much loves dead animals. Hundreds if not thousands of animals are slaughtered in Leviticus. What the hell would God need with a dead animal anyway?
Moses is thought to be the author of this book. What a nice coincidence that the priests get to eat the meat of a burnt offering. The priests of course are Moses' kin.
This book is stupid. The end.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thoughts on Exodus
I cannot believe how bad this book is. If it is possible to suck more than Genesis, Exodus has done it. Well, that's not entirely true. There are a few - a very few - positive takeaways from Exodus. In the Exodus 21-23 post, we learned the following: Do not help a guilty party by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. Do not execute an innocent or honest person. Do not accept bribes. Unfortunately, this small bit of good instruction is outnumbered by an avalanche of total crap, ranging from nonsensical to horrifying.
Leviticus is up next. My Christmas present to you is to get through the entire thing during the month of December. It doesn't seem terribly long and what I've read so far has been pretty entertaining, so I'm hoping it's easier to get through and write about than Exodus was.
I cannot stress enough how agonizing it was to plod through some of these chapters. I plan to never read Exodus again.
Leviticus is up next. My Christmas present to you is to get through the entire thing during the month of December. It doesn't seem terribly long and what I've read so far has been pretty entertaining, so I'm hoping it's easier to get through and write about than Exodus was.
I cannot stress enough how agonizing it was to plod through some of these chapters. I plan to never read Exodus again.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thoughts on Genesis
One book down, sixty five to go.
I'm surprised how much of Genesis was familiar to me, considering I'd never read the entire book before. So has anyone read this but me? It's ridiculous. Seriously. I feel like the kid in The Emperor's New Clothes.
It's alarming how much influence the bible has over modern society. Take the creation myth. It spans two simpleton chapters. Is this really what creationists and intelligent design folks look to as proof of how we got here? I don't know how our story began either, but that doesn't mean God did it. The fact we don't know something is not proof that God did it. And I don't have to prove he *didn't* do it. In fact, I can't; the burden of proof is on the side making the claim. I also can't prove Jupiter is not full of cotton candy. If you think it is in fact full of cotton candy, it's on you to provide the evidence. I'm not wicked or immoral if I don't believe it. Same concept.
Abraham and his kin are nothing special. Actually they often act horribly, and yet they're the chosen people. Was circumcision, the symbol of their covenant with God, a new concept when the bible was written? If yes, why on earth would you agree to it as a token of your agreement with God or anyone else? Wouldn't you back away in horror instead? And if circumcision was known to the bible authors, weren't they simply writing about something they understood?
The bible is pretty plainly a product of its time. Rainbows weren't understood so they were described as God's cute little reminders to himself. We now have a straight forward scientific explanation for rainbows. This is one simple thing you can write off in the bible. If you dismiss this one thing as silliness, how do you buy the rest of it? If you also dismiss a talking snake, impossibly old people and Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt, where do you draw the line on what is "real" and what is not? OK, so maybe you write off the obvious baloney and hold up the bible as the ultimate reference for how we should behave. Well what about slavery, women as property, murder, rape, burning people alive, animal sacrifice and lots of other behavior that simply cannot be defended as moral?
I didn't find one good takeaway from the entire book of Genesis. On to Exodus.
I'm surprised how much of Genesis was familiar to me, considering I'd never read the entire book before. So has anyone read this but me? It's ridiculous. Seriously. I feel like the kid in The Emperor's New Clothes.
It's alarming how much influence the bible has over modern society. Take the creation myth. It spans two simpleton chapters. Is this really what creationists and intelligent design folks look to as proof of how we got here? I don't know how our story began either, but that doesn't mean God did it. The fact we don't know something is not proof that God did it. And I don't have to prove he *didn't* do it. In fact, I can't; the burden of proof is on the side making the claim. I also can't prove Jupiter is not full of cotton candy. If you think it is in fact full of cotton candy, it's on you to provide the evidence. I'm not wicked or immoral if I don't believe it. Same concept.
Abraham and his kin are nothing special. Actually they often act horribly, and yet they're the chosen people. Was circumcision, the symbol of their covenant with God, a new concept when the bible was written? If yes, why on earth would you agree to it as a token of your agreement with God or anyone else? Wouldn't you back away in horror instead? And if circumcision was known to the bible authors, weren't they simply writing about something they understood?
The bible is pretty plainly a product of its time. Rainbows weren't understood so they were described as God's cute little reminders to himself. We now have a straight forward scientific explanation for rainbows. This is one simple thing you can write off in the bible. If you dismiss this one thing as silliness, how do you buy the rest of it? If you also dismiss a talking snake, impossibly old people and Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt, where do you draw the line on what is "real" and what is not? OK, so maybe you write off the obvious baloney and hold up the bible as the ultimate reference for how we should behave. Well what about slavery, women as property, murder, rape, burning people alive, animal sacrifice and lots of other behavior that simply cannot be defended as moral?
I didn't find one good takeaway from the entire book of Genesis. On to Exodus.
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