Leviticus 16:3

"But thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering" (Leviticus 16:3 RSV).

 

Question:

It sounds like God is condoning animal sacrifice, which is a form of paganism. Is this correct?

 

Comment:

Animal sacrifice was not considered a form of paganism at the time the Book of Leviticus was written. It was an integral part of the religion of the Hebrew people. And of course they believed it was sanctioned by God, because that was the whole point.

This is an example of why we truly cannot take the entirety of the Bible as if it had been all written at the same time as one long message from God. The Bible is a record of spiritual growth; that's why Jesus cautioned the Pharisees not to throw scripture at him as an accusation. His favorite teaching technique in all the gospels is "You have heard it said ... But I say to you ..."  He knew Leviticus very well. He also knew that it was a record of an earlier time in our spiritual journey—a time when we believed in a God who would be pleased if we sacrificed one of His creatures. People have used Leviticus for centuries to justify slavery and the subjugation of women, among other things. That was then. This is now. We have grown in our awareness of our spiritual Truth.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed