I posted the link below at IMDB and thought I'd put it here too. It's about this issue and more specifically about Leviticus.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibh.htmSome comments:
The verse in question is clearly open to a number of interpretations and translations, possibly mistranslations as well.
Leviticus and, I think, Deuteronomy are filled with condemnations of things that many of us engage in on a regular basis--i.e., wearing blended fabrics, women wearing men's fashions, eating pork and shellfish, menstruating women entering holy places, working on the Sabbath, etc. Yet few people seem to think that these count anymore as abominations or wickedness.
I recommend reading
Misquoting Jesus for a look at how scribal errors, biases and agendas have changed the original Biblical texts.
Also recommended: John Shelby Spong's
The sins of Scripture.
It always bothers me when someone says, "Well, THIS is what the Bible says." Which Bible? Which translation? Which version? In what context? Can we be absolutely sure that the words came directly from God?
There are also verses, if I'm not mistaken, telling people to stone their rebellious teens to death; and verses saying men should stone their wives to death if they find that the wives are not virgins when getting married.
Do we actually follow such rules anymore? No, not that I'm aware of. I'm not saying that none of the rules is a good idea, but we are not living 2K years in the past.
I've been rambling, but I hope I got a point or two across.