The Book of Leviticus tells the story of Moses delivering God’s commandments to the Jews after leading them out of Egypt but before entering the promised land of Israel. According to tradition, Moses wrote the first five books of the Torah, including Leviticus, around 1,400BC, but some Biblical scholars believe it was written by multiple unknown authors over hundreds of years, and its final edits were written around 400BC. Some Biblical scholars have also found evidence Moses wasn’t a real person, and a mass exodus of Jewish slaves from Egypt never happened.

If Moses never existed, the Jewish exodus never happened, and the Torah was written by multiple authors competing to record and rewrite an oral tradition passed down over generations, then the first five books of the Bible are merely “a story that serves to define the fundamental worldview of a culture by explaining aspects of the natural world and describing the psychological and social practices and ideals of a society…” in other words, mythology. It would also be accurate to call the Bible a fraudulent work of fiction.

If you doubt this claim, then put the Bible to the test to see if you can find any evidence of primitive tribesmen projecting their culture into their religion. You can find it in every chapter of the Bible, especially the first five books. Leviticus 13-14 is a perfect example. It gives detailed instructions on how to diagnose and treat skin diseases and mold. Below, I’ve copied the verses dealing with mold infestations, highlighted important parts, and added commentary between each chapter.

Leviticus 13:47-59

Regulations About Defiling Molds

“As for any fabric that is spoiled with a defiling mold—any woolen or linen clothing, any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather— if the affected area in the fabric, the leather, the woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a defiling mold and must be shown to the priest. The priest is to examine the affected area and isolate the article for seven days. On the seventh day he is to examine it, and if the mold has spread in the fabric, the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use, it is a persistent defiling mold; the article is unclean. He must burn the fabric, the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or any leather article that has been spoiled; because the defiling mold is persistent, the article must be burned.

“But if, when the priest examines it, the mold has not spread in the fabric, the woven or knitted material, or the leather article, he shall order that the spoiled article be washed. Then he is to isolate it for another seven days. After the article has been washed, the priest is to examine it again, and if the mold has not changed its appearance, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it, no matter which side of the fabric has been spoiled. If, when the priest examines it, the mold has faded after the article has been washed, he is to tear the spoiled part out of the fabric, the leather, or the woven or knitted material. But if it reappears in the fabric, in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather article, it is a spreading mold; whatever has the mold must be burned. Any fabric, woven or knitted material, or any leather article that has been washed and is rid of the mold, must be washed again. Then it will be clean.”

These are the regulations concerning defiling molds in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean.

Leviticus 13 says if you find green or reddish mold in a piece of wool, linen, or leather, then you’re to bring it to a priest for inspection. This is the same person you also go to see if you have a skin rash. So the priest class served as God’s spokesmen, doctors, health inspectors, and rulers. Either this is the ideal social structure as ordained by an omnipotent God, or it’s just an isolated instance of tribal theocrats doing their best to rule a herd of nomadic poor people with the limited education and resources they had at the time.

There’s some wisdom in Leviticus 13. It’s a good idea to check for mold and wash anything that might cause health hazards, but burning moldy objects is excessive, and no modern health inspector would follow the primitive instructions here for identifying mold infestations.

Leviticus 14:33-57

Cleansing From Defiling Molds

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land, the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.’ The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mold has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.

“If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mold has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mold; the house is unclean. It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place.

“Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening. Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.

“But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the defiling mold is gone. To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease, for a sore, for defiling molds in fabric or in a house, and for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot, to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling molds.

It’s worth noting that Leviticus 14:33 begins by reiterating that these are God’s (perfect) commandments. He also casually mentions He gave Moses and Aaron the land of Canaan and put “spreading mold” in some of the houses. If you’re wondering how/why God would just give the Israelites someone else’s land and put mold in the houses, Genesis 9 and Exodus 23 provide the answer:

Genesis 9:18-29

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

Exodus 23:20-30

My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

After God flooded the world, leaving nobody but Noah’s family alive, one of Noah’s children (Ham) saw his father naked and told his brothers about it. Then God cursed Ham’s son (Canaan) and the nation he would repopulate impossibly fast (that didn’t exist yet and Noah couldn’t have possibly known about). Then, when Noah’s other descendants needed a new home, God gave them Canaan and helped them commit ethnic cleansing against their relatives and enslave the survivors. Plus, God says He’ll take away His people’s sickness, which apparently doesn’t include mold poisoning. Is this really a god you can trust?

Getting back to God’s commandments about mold, notice how Leviticus 14:37-38 says if a priest finds mold in a house he is to close it up for seven days and then check for mold again. This is one of many statements in the Bible that are verifiably scientifically inaccurate. The worst thing you can do to treat mold is lock up your house and make it dark and damp. You know this. So you already don’t believe what the Bible says, and you won’t ever follow this rule, because you’ll die if you do.

Imagine if you called a mold inspector to your house, and he said, “Yep. Looks like you got mold on your walls, but don’t worry. All I have to do is splash a little bird blood on it and release another bird in a field, and it’ll clear that mold infestation right up.” You’d fire that person and report him to the police. I can’t even find words to express how obviously absurd it is to paint your walls with bird blood for any reason, least of all treating mold. That’s not going to solve any problem, and it’s going to create new health hazards. This is utter insanity, and you know it. If Leviticus 13-14 are too crazy for you to put your faith in, why would you dogmatically trust any other chapter in the Bible?

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