Leviticus : you have no idea / by Maurice D. Harris ; with a foreword by S. Tamar Kamionkowski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris, Maurice D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Leviticus--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Bible. Leviticus.

Physical Description:

xxxiii, 123 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Eugene, Oregon : Cascade Books, [2013]

Summary:

Leviticus has been called "irrelevant," "primitive," and "a backwater" of the Bible, even by scholars and people of faith who treasure Scripture. Many find it alienating, or, at minimum, confusing. In Leviticus: You Have No Idea Rabbi Maurice D. Harris offers readers surprising new ways of looking at the Bible's least popular (and least understood) book. Grounded in his progressive religious values and beliefs, Rabbi Harris approaches the various laws, rituals, and stories of Leviticus with an open-minded curiosity about what we can learn today about life, ethics, God, and higher meaning by studying this text. Taking the Bible seriously but not literally, Harris uses a plain-spoken, accessible style to explain confusing elements of Leviticus. He explores topics that matter to many of us in contemporary society, including LGBT equality, the dangers of religious fundamentalism, the impacts of childhood trauma, criminal justice reform, and more. With this book, the author invites us into an ancient text that, read with care, challenges us to be better people and help repair this broken world. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: cozying up to the most avoided book in the Bible

Being pro-gay and hanging in there with Leviticus

Impurity is kryptonite

Animal sacrifice is gross? The supermarket is gross!

What a skin disease can teach us about crime and punishment

Strange fire

Planned obsolescence?

Let's talk about the government

Exile and return

Priests, prophets, rabbis, and Christians

Epilogue: the Trader Joe's cashier accidentally explains my love of Leviticus.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

1620323672

9781620323670

OCLC:

859192471

Publisher Number:

99956944694