Is being gay an abomination

What Scripture has to say

It is easy enough to see at first glance why LGBTQ people, and those who stand in solidarity with them, glance askance at the Bible. After all, the two most cited biblical texts on the subject are the following, from the old purity codes of ancient Israel:

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination (Lev. 18:22).

If a dude lies with a male as with a female, both of them hold committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them (Lev. 20:13).

There they are. There is no way around them; there is no ambiguity in them. They are, moreover, seconded by another verse that occurs in a list of exclusions from the holy people of God:

No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is carve off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord (Deut. 23:1).

This text apparently concerns those who had willingly grow eunuchs in order to serve in foreign courts. For those who need it simple and remove and clean, these texts will serve well. They seem, moreover, to be echoed in this eminent passage from the Apostle Paul:

They exchanged the glory of the imm

LGBT teaching an abomination, Jewish judge says

Rabbi Charley Baginsky, of Liberal Judaism, a group that promotes a progressive form of the religion, said Mr Krausz did not represent most Jews.

"While his comments are shocking, disturbing and upsetting, it's also far removed from any sort of Judaism that we hold contact with," she said.

A spokeswoman for the LGBT Foundation said Mr Krausz's language sought to "create division in society and ostracise LGBT communities, and in particular LGBT people of faith".

She added: "These views are not held by the vast majority of the Jewish collective and the vast majority of people of faith in general."

Rabbi Warren Elf, of Southend and District Reform Synagogue, said a recent conference in Manchester had brought together faith leaders to discuss how to deliver diverse teaching more effectively.

He said it was "important to heed and understand what is actually being taught".

Manchester Beth Din said Mr Krausz was no longer related with it but declined to comment further.

But for many LGBTQ Christians, the Bible can perceive like the enemy. In the Book of Leviticus homosexuality is called an “abomination” (18:22; 20:13). And although Jesus never explicitly condemns homosexuality, thought he could have (he is hard on divorce, for example), St. Paul does (1 Cor 6:9-10). The few biblical verses that address homosexuality are used against LGBTQ people over and over: in the political sphere; by religious leaders; on social media; in one-on-one encounters; and, perhaps worst of all, in homilies and sermons in the very churches where LGBTQ people try to encounter a loving God.

By the same token, the Bible proscribes many laws, moral codes and ethical guidelines that modern-day Christians ignore, don’t shadow or have rejected completely. For example, even though they honor the Ancient Testament, Christians don’t stone people who work on the Sabbath (Ex. 35:2). We don’t sell people into slavery (Ex. 21:7). And if someone curses God, we don’t implement them (Lev. 24:10-16). In the New Testament, St. Paul told slaves to be obedient to their masters (Eph. 6:25-29). He also said that women should be silent in churches (1 Cor 14:34). A now-famous online response to

The Bible on Homosexual Behavior

One way to argue against these passages is to make what I phone the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, halt wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to hear to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).

In other words, if we can disregard rules favor the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus 11:12, then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Aged Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.

Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction.

I think of two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I hold to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now do me more harm than good.

Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were appreciate mom’s handholding rule. The reason they forbade the Israelites from using certain fabrics or foods, or interacting with bodily

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