It is reasonable to be diligent when it comes to matters that deeply affect a person's life. The primary verses most disputed and analysed is found in Leviticus, chapters eighteen and twenty. For shortness, I will focus on 18:22, which reads: " You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination."
"Abomination" is a very alarming term at glance. It comes from the Hebrew term to'ebah, (תּוֹעֵבָ֖ה). While it is occasionally used in reference to ritual offensiveness (e.g., Deut. 14:3), in range it most commonly dealt with offence in a moral range.
The following are some instances of to'ebah translated as "abomination".
"You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination (to'ebah) to the Lord your God." (Deut. 7:25; on the sin of idolatry)
"You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination (to'ebah) to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods." (Deut. 12:31; on the sin of human sacrifice)
"You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination (to'ebah) to the Lord your God." (Deut. 17:1; on the sin of lack of reverence)
"For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination (to'ebah) to the Lord your God." (Deut. 25:16; on the sin of unrighteousness, in the context of justice)
Another term translated as "abomination" in English is the Hebrew term sheqets (שֶׁקֶץ) which is used primarily and most extensively in a ceremonial context (thus often called "ceremonial uncleanliness" or "ceremonial abomination" in its usage outside Sacred Scripture). This is also the same use most often pointed to in discussions about the sinfulness of homosexuality. So, I will analyse that first.
As Leviticus is the book of the priests (the Levites, that is) it covers a significant portion of the ceremonial laws in question (though, this does not mean it does not cover ethics, like in sexual relations). A couple of examples of this:
"Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination (sheqets) to you." (Lev. 11:12) In the following verses, the terms translated into English are also sheqets and the verbal shaqats.
"Moreover the person who touches any unclean thing, such as human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any abominable (sheqets) unclean thing, and who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the Lord, that person shall be cut off from his people." (Lev. 7:21)
From what has been presented, Lev. 18:22 can be returned to. As we read the beginning of the eighteenth chapter, we can know that these following ordinances are much different in type compared to other ceremonial prescriptions for the Israelites by the way it is presented, and their applicability to all men.
It reads: "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'I am the Lord your God. According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.'" (Lev. 18:1-5)
These are ordinances applied to all men and it is by this that they shall live. (The topic of being "alive" is a separate one which will be detailed in a book more oriented on a religious anthropology.)
YOU ARE READING
LGBT+ and the Church
SpiritualeThis book will be addressing the LGBT+ issues and the Church. The primary chapters will discuss God's design, the sin and reasoning, and more, and will eventually begin going into a question series. In the question segment, it will address questions...
