The Old Testament was written in the Hebrew tongue. In other words,
before we can say whether homosexuality was condemned as a sin or
not, we ought to examine the original language.
For instance, qades translated as "cult prostitute" in
Deuteronomy in our English Bibles, points particularly to
sodomites (homosexuals).
Homosexuality was a sin, universally and not circumstantially
--- Leviticus 18 and 20 tell us that homosexuality was condemned
not only because it violated a purity code which was meant to
distinguish the Jews from the gentiles but because, above all, it
was against God's design for human sexuality. Homosexuality is a
sin against God, it displeases God because it goes against a
person's nature.
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Leviticus 18: 22 and 20: 13 clearly
describe homosexual behaviour, with the second passage calling for
the death penalty. The words abomination or
detestable occur in both passages. Among the vices listed
in the two chapters, this is the only one singled out as an
“abomination,” and this use occurs twice. It speaks to severity and
provides a link to Ezekiel 16: 50, where the prophet
identifies Sodom’s sin as an “abomination.”
As a whole, Leviticus 18 - 20
forms a special section within Leviticus that transcends
Israel’s cult or ritual. In significance the text approaches Exodus
20 and Deuteronomy 5, where the Ten Commandments occur. These texts
are universal in scope. No mention is made of sacrifice, ritual, or
ceremony, as in the rest of Leviticus. The sins of this section,
commonly referred to as the “Code of Holiness,” are child
sacrifice, religious prostitution, spiritism and consulting
mediums, cursing parents, adultery, incest, bigamy, homosexuality
and bestiality. None of these are limited to Israel’s own purity
code.
Other considerations support their
universal significance. The New Testament cites Leviticus 19 as a
universal code. Jesus cites Leviticus 19 as universal (Matthew 5:
33, 43; 19: 19; 22: 37-40), as do Paul (Romans 10: 5; 13: 8-10; 2
Corinthians 6: 14ff.; Galatians 3: 12; 5: 14), Peter (1 Peter 1:
14-16), and James (2: 8). Frequently they cite the “second
commandment”: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (19: 18).
Surely they saw this section as embodying universal standards of
morality. The prohibitions of Leviticus 19 repeat or reflect on the
Ten Commandments, including prohibitions of stealing, lying,
deceiving, swearing falsely, and cursing (19: 11-12).
Although some instructions and
prohibitions of chapters 18 and 20 are limited to Israel
(distinguishing clean and unclean animals and having sexual
relations with one’s wife during her menstrual period), most are
not. The context itself distinguishes limited, cultic prostitutions
from universal prohibitions. The reader is able to discern which
laws are universal. In addition, the similarity of these chapters
to the Ten Commandments and the New Testament’s application of this
section warrant consideration of most of these rules as valid.
Prohibitions of homosexuality elsewhere in the Old Testament,
ancient Judaism, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and in the New
Testament also justify the interpretation that the prohibtion is
universal.
Application of the death penalty in
20: 13 must be a factor in our consideration. It raises
homosexuality from the level of a simple social or civil concern to
the category of a crime against society.
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visit Answers to the 20 Most Important Questions About
Homosexuality via http://thetruthsetsyoufree.wordpress.com/answers-to-the-20-most-important-questions-about-homosexuality/
Wrong, humanity is the sin against God.