Leviticus The Supernatural

To the average reader today, Leviticus can seem chock full of mystical woo-woo. God sniffing altars! Flames shooting down from the sky! Goat-demons, Molech, and ghosts!

But religion scholars who spend way too much free time reading old clay tablets have noticed that Leviticus stands out in some interesting ways. While demons and deities are everywhere in ancient religion—making their presence known in hilltop altars, business dealings, and even running sores and menstrual blood—in Leviticus, they take a back seat.

Could Leviticus actually be more in tune with a modern secular society than the New Testament, where demons are blamed for everything from epilepsy, blindness and yes, menstruation to a bunch of pigs going out for a jog?

Questions About The Supernatural

• Is it fair to call Leviticus the Bible's Taylor Swift, obsessed with talking smack about all Israel's ex-gods?
• Should we trust how Leviticus describes the practices of religions, such as the sacrifice of children to Molech?
• Is the view of the divine in Leviticus primitive, progressive, or an unclean mix of both?
• What, if anything, do the laws in Leviticus mean for Israelite fans of Harry Potter and The Wizards of Waverly Place?