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Homosexuality & the Bible: Here's how I think it goes. What's everyone else think? Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with man as with a woman, it is an abomination. Romans 1:25-26 They exchanged the truth of God for ...
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Old 12-19-2005, 10:35 PM
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Homosexuality & the Bible

Here's how I think it goes. What's everyone else think?
Quote:
Leviticus 18:22
Thou shalt not lie with man as with a woman, it is an abomination.

Romans 1:25-26
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

Matthew 8:5-13
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Leviticus is the Holiness Code for priests and rituals used by the Jews to separate themselves from the Pagans. It is invalid to Christians along with all the other kosher laws it contains. Because Pagans had male/male sex (often using prostitution) as part of fertility rituals, the Jews separated themselves from the Pagans by not allowing that. It is talking about ritual uncleanliness.

In Leviticus 18:22 and in Romans 1:26, the word "abomination" is actually "ritualistically unclean". So, Leviticus 18:22 would refer to those men who have sex with men but would not normally do that and are not attracted to men. It refers to men who are, by nature, attracted to women. Furthermore, the phrasing "as with a woman" implies that the man would normally bed women not men, meaning it's a straight guy sleeping with a man for a Pagan fertility ritual.

In Romans 1:26 it would mean people having homosexual sex without originally being homosexuals or bisexuals themselves (yes, this is possible. Homosexuality refers to attractions, not actions.). The word actually means "unnatural". Since God cannot defy the laws of nature because he is the law of nature, it cannot mean "against the laws of nature". More accurately, this phrase, "para physin" means "uncharacteristic". It means that the person's actions were different from their usual actions. Besides this, in Romans homosexuality is not being called a sin. Instead, gay sex is being used as a form of penance. They turn from God, and so he decides that they should be gay to cleanse themselves. Certain translations also mention that the people who were "turned gay" by God had loveless sex based only on lust. It ignores loving relationships.

Also, in that time they believed that sperm was the full baby and the woman was simply an incubator (no concept of an egg). This is why masturbation is wrong: it kills the babies with no chance to live since they have no incubator. The lack of incubator in a male would make it wrong to have sex with a male as the babies would just die which would be murder. Since sperm is not a full baby, it isn't murder, and therefore this argument doesn't really apply.

Soddom was also not burned for gay people. It was burned because the people were greedy ("fullness of bread" the Bible calls it). The scene with the angels? That was hazing. Lot was being a good host and kept them from being hazed since they were the "new guys" in town.

In the story of the Roman soldier's servant being healed, it can be viewed that Jesus endorsed homosexuality. He lived in Galilee which was a Pagan area, not in Judea where the Jews were. Because he was a Galileen he would have known that the Pagan Romans had no problem with homosexuality. When Matthew wrote this, he used the Greek slang word "pai§" for a servant who is also a catamite. Roman soldiers often had sexual relationships with their boy servants. Jesus would have known this. If he had something against homosexuality, would he have healed the boy? He seems to be approving of their relationship.

Um, I think I've covered everything I've come across.

Last edited by maco; 12-20-2005 at 09:13 AM.
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Old 12-20-2005, 08:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maco
Here's how I think it goes. What's everyone else think?


Leviticus is the Holiness Code for priests and rituals used by the Jews to separate themselves from the Pagans. It is invalid to Christians along with all the other kosher laws it contains. Because Pagans had male/male sex (often using prostitution) as part of fertility rituals, the Jews separated themselves from the Pagans by not allowing that. It is talking about ritual uncleanliness.

In Leviticus 18:22 and in Romans 1:26, the word "abomination" is closer to "unnatural". Paul uses the same word in Romans. It is used to describe God at one point. Since God cannot defy the laws of nature because he is the law of nature, it cannot mean "against the laws of nature". More accurately, this phrase, "para physin" means "uncharacteristic". It means that the person's actions were different from their usual actions. So, Leviticus 18:22 would refer to those men who have sex with men but would not normally do that and are not attracted to men. It refers to men who are, by nature, attracted to women. Furthermore, the phrasing "as with a woman" implies that the man would normally bed women not men. In Romans 1:26 it would also mean people having homosexual sex without being homosexuals or bisexuals themselves (yes, this is possible. Homosexuality refers to attractions, not actions.). Besides this, in Romans homosexuality is not being called a sin. Instead, gay sex is being used as a form of penance. They turn from God, and so he decides that they should be gay to cleanse themselves. Certain translations also mention that the people who were "turned gay" by God had loveless sex based only on lust. It ignores loving relationships.

Also, in that time they believed that sperm was the full baby and the woman was simply an incubator (no concept of an egg). This is why masturbation is wrong: it kills the babies with no chance to live since they have no incubator. The lack of incubator in a male would make it wrong to have sex with a male as the babies would just die which would be murder. Since sperm is not a full baby, it isn't murder, and therefore this argument doesn't really apply.

Soddom was also not burned for gay people. It was burned because the people were greedy ("fullness of bread" the Bible calls it). The scene with the angels? That was hazing. Lot was being a good host and kept them from being hazed since they were the "new guys" in town.

Um, I think I've covered everything I've come across.

Actually, the word in LEviticus is 'Tovah' , which means 'ritualistically unclean.' The conservative and orthodox Jews do think that homosexual
behavior is wrong. The Reform Jews are more flexible.


You are correct, the sin of Soddom and Gomorrah is of inhosplitatlity, not of
being homosexual.
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Old 12-20-2005, 08:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trebor
Actually, the word in LEviticus is 'Tovah' , which means 'ritualistically unclean.' The conservative and orthodox Jews do think that homosexual
behavior is wrong. The Reform Jews are more flexible.


You are correct, the sin of Soddom and Gomorrah is of inhosplitatlity, not of
being homosexual.
Oh, thank you. Getting things crossed in my head. Will fix.
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Old 12-20-2005, 09:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trebor
You are correct, the sin of Soddom and Gomorrah is of inhosplitatlity, not of
being homosexual.
That's your opinion. And often the opinion of people who don't WANT the Bible interpreted in a way that says gay sex is wrong. I tend to think there were numerous "sins of Soddom and Gomorrah," inhospitality being one of them, as well as sexual issues gone so bad that homosexual relations were everywhere.
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Old 12-20-2005, 09:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jyoshu
That's your opinion. And often the opinion of people who don't WANT the Bible interpreted in a way that says gay sex is wrong. I tend to think there numerous "sins of Soddom and Gomorrah," inhospitality being one of them, as well as sexual issues gone so bad that homosexual relations were everywhere.
Ezekiel 16:49
" 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
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Old 12-20-2005, 09:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jyoshu
That's your opinion. And often the opinion of people who don't WANT the Bible interpreted in a way that says gay sex is wrong. I tend to think there were numerous "sins of Soddom and Gomorrah," inhospitality being one of them, as well as sexual issues gone so bad that homosexual relations were everywhere.

No, it is not my opinion. It is the opinion of Eziekle for one.

Quote:
Your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. You not only followed their ways, and acted according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, says the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Ezekiel 16:46-50
And what did Joesphus say about it?

Quote:
the Sodomites, overweeningly proud of their numbers and the extent of their wealth, showed themselves insolent to men and impious to the Divinity, insomuch that they no more remembered the benefits that they had received from him, hated foreigners and declined all intercourse with others. Indignant at this conduct, God accordingly resolved to chastise them for their arrogance...

Josephus, Antiquities I: 194-5
So, it is not just my opinion, but the opinion of the scriptures, and the opinion of Josphus (who probably took it from the Jewish scriptures).

Then , let's look at the Bablyonian Talmud

Quote:
The men of Sodom waxed haughty only on account of the good which the Holy One, blessed be He, had lavished upon them...They said: Since there cometh forth bread out of (our) earth, and it hath the dust of gold, why should we suffer wayfarers, who come to us only to deplete our wealth. Come, let us abolish the practice of travelling in our land...

There were four judges in Sodom named Shakrai (Liar), Shakurai (Awful Liar), Zayyafi (Forger), and Mazle Dina (Perverter of Justice). Now if a man assaulted his neighbour's wife and bruised her, they would say to the husband, Give her to him, that she may become pregnant for thee. If one cut off the ear of his neighbour's XXX, they would order, Give it to him until it grows again.

If one wounded his neighbour they would say to the victim, Give him a fee for bleeding thee [bloodletting was sometimes considered medically beneficial in those days; Here the Sodomite judge cruelly ruled that if one beats you until you bleed, you owe your attacker money for this "beneficial" medical service"...]

... they had beds upon which travellers slept. If the guest was too long they shortened him by lopping off his feet; if too short, they stretched him out...

If a poor man happened to come there, every resident gave him a denar [coin], upon which he wrote his name, but no bread was given [the store owners recognized such coins, and refused toa accept them]. When he died, each came and took back his (denar)...

A certain maiden gave some bread to a poor man, hiding it in a pitcher. On the matter becoming known, they daubed her with honey and placed her on the parapet of the wall, and the bees came and consumed her. Thus it is written, And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it is great (rabbah): whereupon Rab Judah commented in Rab's name: on account of the maiden (ribah).

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 109a
And Rambam

Quote:

Nachmanides commenting on the verse "AND WE SHALL KNOW THEM".

Their intention was to stop people from coming among them, as our rabbis have said, for they thought that because of the excellence of their land... many will come there and they despised charity... they continued provoking and rebelling against Him with their ease and the oppression of the poor... In the opinion of our Rabbis, all evil practices were rampant among them. Yet their fate was sealed because of this sin - i.e. they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy - since this sin represented their usual behaviour more than any other. Besides, since all peoples act righteously towards their friends and their poor, there was none among all the nations who matched Sodom in cruelty.

Nahmanides (Ramban) Commentary on Genesis, 13th century
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Old 12-21-2005, 05:45 AM
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Totally unrealistic depiction of a society of course... very fablic.

But it does seem to show that they were a model of pride and selfishness, not 'sodomy'.
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Old 12-21-2005, 08:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Obvious Child
Totally unrealistic depiction of a society of course... very fablic.

But it does seem to show that they were a model of pride and selfishness, not 'sodomy'.
Bad readings are what gave "sodomy" the name it has. If people actually read Ezekiel, "sodomy" would be defined as "greed" not "any sexual act that is not one man and one woman in missionary position with the woman in the submissive position".
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Old 12-26-2005, 08:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trebor
No, it is not my opinion. It is the opinion of Eziekle for one.

And what did Joesphus say about it?

So, it is not just my opinion, but the opinion of the scriptures, and the opinion of Josphus (who probably took it from the Jewish scriptures).

Then , let's look at the Bablyonian Talmud

And Rambam
In spite of what your revisionist Reform Judaism (politically correct Judaism) says, gay sex is a sin (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, etc.).

As for Sodom and Gomorrah, the brother of Christ / God himself - said,

"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." Jude 1:7
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Old 12-26-2005, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Easyrider
In spite of what your revisionist Reform Judaism (politically correct Judaism) says, gay sex is a sin (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, etc.).

As for Sodom and Gomorrah, the brother of Christ / God himself - said,

"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." Jude 1:7
You know, I don't accept Jude as any kind of authority.. it also contradicts Eziekel and all of Jewish tradition... so no, i don't accept , from eziekle that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is homosexuality.

Even the writer of the JUde (which most scholars things is a pseudepigraph, not from the apostal jude), did not define 'Sexual immorality and peversion'.

SO stuff that in your pipe and smoke it.
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Old 12-29-2005, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by trebor
You know, I don't accept Jude as any kind of authority.. it also contradicts Eziekel and all of Jewish tradition... so no, i don't accept , from eziekle that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is homosexuality.
Nonsense. It doesn't contradict anything in Ezekiel. It just adds another sin to the platter. Nice try.
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Old 12-29-2005, 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Easyrider
Nonsense. It doesn't contradict anything in Ezekiel. It just adds another sin to the platter. Nice try.

Well, it puts some extra stuff there.. but it never was meant to be there.

That is just Pauls hangups.. Boy, did he have a lot of sexual hangups.
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Old 12-29-2005, 06:49 PM
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Originally Posted by trebor
Well, it puts some extra stuff there.. but it never was meant to be there.

That is just Pauls hangups.. Boy, did he have a lot of sexual hangups.
Ha! Try looking at your own Tanakh for a load of those, like King David, who besides his adultery was descended from a gentile and had a hooker in the woodpile. Then try Judah having sex with his daughter-in-law Tamar, whom he unwittingly thought was a prostitute so he slept with her.

You guys should talk.
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Old 12-29-2005, 07:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Easyrider
Ha! Try looking at your own Tanakh for a load of those, like King David, who besides his adultery was descended from a gentile and had a hooker in the woodpile. Then try Judah having sex with his daughter-in-law Tamar, whom he unwittingly thought was a prostitute so he slept with her.

You guys should talk.

Indeed they did. However, you don't understand what the stories are and what the stories mean. That is just your christain blinders closing your eyes to the true meaning of the Tanakh.

That, of course, is your loss. Maybe someday you will grow up, and learn some spiritual enlightenment.
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Old 12-30-2005, 03:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Easyrider
Ha! Try looking at your own Tanakh for a load of those, like King David, who besides his adultery was descended from a gentile and had a hooker in the woodpile. Then try Judah having sex with his daughter-in-law Tamar, whom he unwittingly thought was a prostitute so he slept with her.

You guys should talk.
It must be said, enjoying sex (even with gentiles!) is not really a hang-up, though in some contexts it may be sin. In any case, I'd be careful putting down David and Judah as 'you guys' (those sinful Jews). The genealogies quite clearly make Jesus the descendant of these various sinful relationships.
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