I have done some Facebook posts using a “like page” I set up to promote the message of my book (and the book itself as well, for those who want to learn more). I have gotten thousands of “likes,” plus numerous shares and comments. The vast majority of comments have been favorable, but not all. Some atheists have weighed in also, some politely and some not so politely. Apparently, the teaching of how Christ was foreshadowed in the Old Testament really rattles some. I have paid careful attention to their comments, and even entered into a dialog with several.

I have learned some interesting things from the atheists who have responded to my posts:

1. There are arrogant atheists, and there are thoughtful, respectful atheists. Frankly, they are no different from Christians in that regard.
2. The atheists I have interacted with, both in person and on Facebook, like to interpret the Bible very literally, just like fundamentalist Christians. This is ironic to me, and even a bit amusing.
3. The typical atheist’s favorite book of the Bible seems to be Leviticus.

Why Leviticus? It seems that Leviticus, when read literally and superficially, is the perfect strawman. Using various arguments and internet memes, one can invoke the blood and gore, the intricate rules and instructions, and then dismiss it all as an account of primitive man trying to conjure up an imaginary deity with dead animals and magic.

There are multiple problems with this line of reasoning.

In the first place, it ignores the historical context of the book. Humanity had rejected God. Humanity was very primitive and barbaric, and also very rule-oriented. Have you ever observed a group of children playing a game? Lots of time, it’s all about rules. It seems to be in our nature to love rules. So God gave the Israelites some, knowing all along they would never be able to keep them. The end result was that humanity would be prepared to accept the Messiah, who relieves us of all the rules, erases all our sins, and heals all our sicknesses and infirmities through His own perfect sacrifice, which was performed once for all time.

Another important fact about the book of Leviticus is that it’s instructions were directed exclusively to the ancient Israelites, whom God chose to be the vehicle through which He would bring forth the Messiah. This Messiah fulfilled and superseded all of the Old Testament rules. He also told us what is really important: To love God, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Having said that, we can still learn a great deal from the book of Leviticus when we understand that, like the rest of the Old Testament, it bears a holographic, typological image of Christ, when you look at the big picture. Leviticus 16 is a good example. This chapter speaks of two goats, one sacrificed at an altar, and one “scapegoat” that is sent off into the wilderness bearing away the sins of the Israelites. In the sacrificed goat we see foreshadowed the penalty paid on our behalf by Jesus, the perfect, ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. In the scapegoat that was sent into the wilderness we see represented humanity’s need to have their sins taken away, and the fulfillment of this need by Jesus, who was led out of Jerusalem to bear our sins to the Cross, where they were removed from us. God knows that modern humankind can reason by analogy, so He imprinted these Christological analogies upon the entire set of Old Testament writings. By finding these hidden pictures of Christ we may know that God planned and intended our redemption all along. And He planned and executed it using the materials He had, frail and primitive human beings. He did it without violating their free will or turning them into puppets. If you think about it, this was not only an act of great love, but an act of astounding genius.