The Abomination Elimination

Revisiting a project I began many moons ago - refuting revisionist theology on Bible verses regarding homosexuality. Below is the weak attempt to re-work Lev 18 & 20.
Mamaditto speaks in blue.

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Perhaps the two most widely abused verses used to condemn homosexuality come from Leviticus.

"You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; this is an abomination." Lev 18:22

"If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they should surely be put to death." Lev 20:13

First of all, the Holiness Code of Leviticus was written primarily as a ritual manual for Israel's priests. The Holiness Code is comprised of four delineations: dietary, ceremonial, ritual & moral. The ceremonial laws were for the Aaronic priests, the ritual/dietary for all of Israel, the moral for all of mankind. (Gen 18:20,21 ; Lev 18:24 ) The principle thought buttressing the Holiness Code is physical perfection as a reflection of God's holiness.

Christians today are not bound by the rules and rituals described in Leviticus. (Gal 3:22-25) The Atonement brought an end to the ceremonial (Heb 7: 18, 19, 27), the dietary (Mk 7:19) & the ritual (Mt 15: 1, 17-20 ; 27: 51) portion of the Law, but not the moral (Mt 19: 4-8 ; Ro 1 ; Col 3:5 ; Heb 13:4). The Scripture from Galatians juxtaposes justification by faith (salvific) vs. works of the Mosaic Law (unregenerate). It does not leave Christians free to indulge in immoral behavior.

If Christians today insist on using this passage to condemn homosexuality, then they are also bound by the other rules and rituals described in Leviticus. Among other things,the Holiness Code prohibits:
sexual intercourse during a woman's menstrual cycle,        tattoos,
wearing certain types of jewelry,
eating cetain kinds of meat,
wearing clothing made from blended textiles,
cross-breeding livestock,
sowing a field with mixed seed,
eating or touching the dead flesh of pigs, rabbits & some forms of seafood,
men cutting their hair or shaving their beards. These rituals are now defunct. (cf. Mt 15) (BTW, if homosexuality is no longer a sin, then other sexual prohibitions would logically no longer be sinful either, ie. adultery, bestiality, incest, necrophilia, pedophilia, child sacrifice.)


The Holiness Code also endorses polygamy and requires Saturday to be reserved as the Sabbath. The Holiness Code does not endorse polygamy. Its existence may be acknowledged, but it is not recognized as God's standard in Scripture (cf. Mt 19: 4,5). The New Testament Christians began to worship on Sunday since this is the day Jesus was resurrected. (Ac 20:7). Thus, Sabbath observance was relegated to the old ceremonial law and is no longer applicable.

Obviously, it is unfair to use these passages to condemn homosexuality, while ignoring the fact that most Christians do not follow the rest of the rules and rituals outlined in the Holiness Code of Leviticus. The penalty for sodomy was death. (Lev 20:13), attesting to the severity of the act in God's eyes. Violation of other rituals did not require execution. As already stated, Christians do not follow the ceremonial/ritual as it is not required ; but, adherence to God's plan for human sexuality is.

It should also be noted that the word abomination was translated from the Hebrew word tow'ebah and means something found detestable by God because it is unclean, disloyal, or unjust. There is also a distinction between tow'ebah (abomination to YHWH) and sheketz (abomination to YOU). The former represents an affront to God's holiness, the latter represents an undermining of the identity of the Jewish people. These regulations were necessary to separate the Jews from the Gentiles, thus ensuring the bloodline of the Messiah would be Jewish.

The term abomination is generally associated with idolatry and the Canaanite religious practice of cult prostitution (Ezekiel). Given tow'ebah's strong association with cult prostitution it is unlikely that this passage applies to loving, responsible homosexual relationships. Tow'ebah is associated with BUT NOT LIMITED TO idolatry and cult prostitution. All homosexual relationships are still enjoined from the human race.

The purpose of the Holiness Code was to establish all of Israel as God's chosen people, thus distinguishing her from the surrounding Canaanite pagan cultures. As Christ fulfilled the Law (Heb 10:11 - 14) the scope of these rules & regulations were exhausted. However, the moral law does not fall under this umbrella, since God's arrangement for human sexuality predates the Holiness Code (cf. Gen 2:24) and was reinforced by Jesus (Mt 19: 4,5). Furthermore, The Apostle Paul refers to former homosexuals in the church by the phrase "and this is what some of you were" (past tense). (1 Cor 6:9-11).

The (Revisionist) Story of Sodom

Revisiting a project I began many moons ago - refuting revisionist theology on Bible verses regarding homosexuality. Below is the lame attempt to re-work Gen 19.
Mamaditto speaks in blue.

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Many people carelessly proclaim that God destroyed the city of Sodom because of homosexuality. A careful look however, reveals that this is unlikely. The conclusion that Sodom was destroyed because of homosexuality is arrived at by utilizing principles of hermeneutics - the analysis of Scripture based on language, context, culture & history. This system is not "careless" by any means. (Notice how they start by planting the idea that those who disagree with them have a problem?)

Two angels were sent to Sodom by God, where Lot, Abraham's nephew, persuades the divine travelers to stay in his home. It is important to note that travelers depended on the kindness of strangers. Ancient hospitality codes required people to offer food, shelter and protection to people who were traveling. Without these codes travel would have been difficult, if not impossible. This paragraph is OK.

After the angels ate and were preparing for bed, all of the people of Sodom converged on Lots home, demanding that the angels come out so that the towns people might know (rape) them. In an effort to protect his guests, Lot denies the angry mob access to the angels, but offers his two virgin daughters instead. This suggests Lot knew his neighbors to be heterosexual. The townspeople refuse, and charge at Lot in an attempt to gain access to the angels. At this point the angels pull Lot back inside the house and render the angry crowd blind so they cannot find the door. The angels then warn Lot to gather his family and leave the city because it will soon be destroyed. The Biblical text does not say the mob was angry. Also, the crowd was only composed of males. (vs. 4). They refused Lot's offer of his daughters & insisted he hand over (what they thought were) men (vs.9), so it is doubtful they were strictly heterosexual. In addition, the word know (Heb. yada) is not used to indicate rape, but sex within traditional marriage (cf. Gen 4:1). The same word is again used in the negative by Lot when he refers to his virgin daughters "which have not known man." (vs. 8) There are other Hebrew words used to describe rape as in 2 Sa 13:14 where Amnon overpowered Tamar and "forced her and lay with her." (Heb. anab & shakab)
   
Much confusion over this passage has to do with the phrase to know them. The Hebrew word yada (to know) has several different meanings throughout the Bible. In most cases it means to "have thorough knowledge of." In many cases it means "to check the credentials of "and in some cases may mean to "have sex with". In this case, however, it is clear that the townspeople wanted to harm the strangers and because of ancient hospitality codes, Lot felt compelled to protect his guests. The townspeople wanted to perform an act of violence by raping the angels, a grave violation of ancient hospitality codes. It is true yada has a wide range of meanings depending on the context. However, when it comes to sex, the word signifies marital relations. Other Hebrew words are used to describe rape and other immoral sex acts. The wording of Gen 19 implies the Sodomites had in mind consensual sex, not rape. There is no mention that they intended to harm the angels.

Homosexual rape was not uncommon. Kings of conquered tribes were sometimes raped by the invading army as the ultimate symbol of defeat and humiliation. The men in these armies were not homosexual, they were heterosexuals performing an act of violence. Never in any culture has more than a minority of the population been homosexual, and it is unlikely that all of the men in these armies or all the men of Sodom were gay. Even if this is true, it does not disprove the fact that the God of Israel enjoins mankind from sexual activity outside the confines of marriage between one man and one woman for life. (Mt 19: 4,5)

Unfortunately, some people have focused on rape as a sexual act, rather than an act of violence, and have missed the point completely. The reason for Sodom's destruction is made clear in Eze 16:48-50. According to Ezekiel, the sins of Sodom were pride, laziness, being inhospitable, neglecting the needs of the poor, greed and idolatry (the worshipping of idols). Nothing about homosexuality is mentioned, nor is it mentioned in any other passage of Scripture which refers to the account of Sodom. The above study of the Hebrew words yada, anab & shakeb validates that the sin of Sodom was homosexuality, not rape. The Prophet Ezekiel cites "abomination" in vs. 50 along with the other sins listed in the passage. The Hebrew word for "abomination" is tow'ebah and it is the same word used in Lev 22:18 where God prohibits the Israelites from engaging in homosexual relations. Strong's Concordance has a total of 48 references for Sodom in the Bible - 39 in the OT and 9 in the NT.
For the record they are: 
                         Gen10:19;13:10,12,13;14:2,8,10,11,12,17,21,22;18:16,20,22,26; 19:1,4,24,28.
Dt 29:23;32:32.
Isa 1:9,10;3:9;13:19.
Jer 23:14;49:18;50:40.
La 4:6.
Eze 16:46,48,49,53,55,56.
Am 4:11.
Zep 2:9.
Mt 10:15;11:23,24.
Mk 6:11.
Lk 10:12;17:29.
Ro 9:29.
2 Pe 2:6.                                           
Jude7 
Rev11:8                                                            
Furthermore, the above assertion "nor is it mentioned in any other passage of Scripture which refers to the account of Sodom" is disingenuous. After Gen 19, Sodom is used by the Biblical writers as a reference point for wickedness, destruction and God's judgement. The fact that homosexuality per se is not specifically mentioned is irrelevant since it is already established as one of the sins for which Sodom was obliterated. In fact, the English word for homosexual sex - sodomy - is derived from the notorious reputation of this ancient city.