BREAKFAST BIBLE STUDY

God Will Make You Eat Your Children

Leviticus 26: 27-31 (ICB)

11/9/25

“Christian nationalism is about power, nothing more.” – Christian Pecker

Since Halloween came and went last week, I have been having nightmares about cannibals and zombies from the commercials playing on television. When I was little, the church only allowed us to watch the farm report and search the Internet without pictures, but now, I can watch anything I want without a parental filter. Sometimes, I get scared when Halloween monsters sell snacks on TV. Sometimes, the Bible even scares me, even though the pictures are just in my mind. Because I still get scared, I only read the International Children’s Bible, but that does not always help.

This week, I asked Christian and Grace to explain a Bible passage from Leviticus because the International Children’s Bible does not make the passage any better. Because God’s commandments are in the news this year, I have been reading about the punishments God had when people broke those commandments.

“It’s about the singular worship of Yahweh,” Christian explained. “When these texts were written, Israel was a polytheistic and henotheistic society.”

“What does the second word mean?” I asked.

“It means that people only worshiped one god but acknowledged the existence of other gods,” Grace said. “The chapter you asked us about is meant to frighten people into worship.”

“It frightened me,” I said.

“Yahweh promises to bless obedience with good crops and successful warfare,” Christian said, “and deliver punishment for worshiping other gods.”

“But eating children?” I asked. “And nothing about salvation?”           

“We’ve talked about how people in that day and age didn’t believe in eternal salvation,” Grace said. “The rewards for obedience were temporal.”

“But how could God make them eat their children?” I asked.

“How’s the passage read?” Christian asked.

I showed him the International Children’s Bible: “‘If you still refuse to listen to me, and if you still turn against me, I will really show my anger. I will punish you seven more times for your sins. You will eat the bodies of your sons and daughters. I will destroy your places where false gods are worshiped. I will cut down your incense altars. I will pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols. I will hate you.’ Leviticus 26: 27-31.”

“It’s simple,” Grace said. “If your crops have failed or your enemies have ravaged your lands, what happens?”

“Um.”

“Would you have food?” Christian asked.

“I guess not.”

“Starvation was a reality,” Grace said. “It still is in many parts of the world, and even here in the United States, all of it exacerbated by the cruelty of MAGA, Christian nationalism, and the Trump regime…which, I suppose, is off topic.”

“Exacerbated?” I asked. “Is that like touching yourself in bad ways? Or, oh, wait, ‘exacer’…does that mean touching someone else in bad ways?”

“Exacerbate means to make something worse,” Grace said. “It has nothing to do with masturbation.”

I plug my ears because some words make my face go hot and blush.

“Wait, if the Israelites disobeyed, they would have to resort to cannibalism?” I asked.

“Bingo. That’s your loving God,” Christian said.

“I’m going to have more nightmares,” I said. “Leviticus should never be taught to little kids. I think the whole book might have been copyist errors. Maybe they should just make good rules in school and not try to scare kids with commandments and stuff. The punishments for breaking them are way too harsh.”

“We agree,” Grace said.

In state legislatures across the country, Christian fundamentalists are passing laws meant to force the teaching of the Christian Bible in public schools. From the posting of textually inaccurate iterations of the Ten Commandments on the walls of classrooms to the incorporation of the “Trump Bible” across multiple pedagogical disciplines, these laws and mandates are sweeping the reddest parts of this nation.

The height of hypocrisy is banning books in the name of “protecting children” while mandating one particular book rife with numerous acts of sexual violence and scenes of graphic violence and genocide.

Book bans are dangerous. The Bible is worth reading and exists online and in public school libraries across the country, but proponents of mandating its formal teaching in public schools need to know what it actually says.

Some themes in my books below might not be appropriate for children.