God does not Consider Homosexuality a Sin

I mostly agree with Thoughts on 1. 2. Lev. 18:22 Hebrew (1). v'et zakar lo t'shakab mishkebai ishah tovebah hi The hebrew word "zakar" is referring to a male. Hebrew "shakab" is noted for being used to refer to sexual intercourse. I will list the following verses to prove that: Numbers 5:11-13 "11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man lies with her sexually (shakab), and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act," Leviticus 15:18 "18 If a man lies (shakab)with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening." "The Hebrew literally says: "You shall not lie with a male [on] the bedding (or bed) of a woman (or wife), it is a despised thing (or despicable act)." The Bible doesn't always tell us why something is "despised," and hence we have to use reason. It is likely that the two men were having sex on the bed of the woman to despise her and rub it in her face that she wasn't woman enough. Reuben slept with his father's wife on his dad's bed to despise his father Jacob." Hebrew "Mishkab" is mostly used for bedding, but is used to refer to having sex with whoever is on the bed (2). Numbers 31:17-18 "17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept (Mishkab) with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." The place is not of importance, but the act of sexual activity. Moreover, Mishkab is used for women who had sex with men in general. As we can see, no specific bedding or place is mentioned, Mishkab is typically used to describe the act of sexual intercourse. Ishah is used for the woman and or wife. "The word "abomination" in Leviticus 18:22 comes from the Hebrew word "toevah". It's translated as "abomination" and "detestable" in many cases, "Yet a close reading of the term toevah suggests an entirely different meaning: something permitted to one group, and forbidden to another. Though there is (probably) no etymological relationship, toevah means taboo." The word toevah "...(and its plural, toevot) occurs 103 times in the Hebrew Bible, and almost always has the connotation of a non-Israelite cultic practice." [4] This would make a lot of sense, seeing how Levitical laws apply specifically to Israelites, as I've argued. Another source says that, "If the writer(s) of Leviticus had wished to refer to a moral violation, a sin, he would have used the Hebrew word "zimah."" [5] So why wasn't the word "zimah" used? I urge the audience of this debate to reflect on this." Judges 21:11 "11 "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept (Mishkab) with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan." Whether it is ethical or moral, God abhors it and punishment will given period. The Hebrew Toevah comes from the root "Ta'ab" which means to abhor (3). I will list several verses where the same word is used to describe what is abominable to the Lord: Lev. 18:26-27 "26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations (toevah), either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you"27 (for all these abominations (Toevah) the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), Lev. 18:29 "29 For whoever commits any of these abominations (toevah), the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people." Lev. 20:13 "13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination (toevah). They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." Deut. 7:25 "25 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 (toevah) to the Lord your God." Prov. 15:9 "9 The way of the wicked is an abomination (toevah) to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness." As we can see, the end result is the same, all of the things ethical and moral are detestable and the end result is the same: Death. For now, i will wait until my opponent dives into the New Testament. While i mostly agree with some of Thoughts rebuttals, i disagree with the following: "I don't see how this refutes that all love falls on the same spectrum. Given the verse con quoted, love for God is like an extreme measure of love. I will liken it to an extremely hot temperature. Certainly, as we progress toward the love of God, we may lose some features of love. As love intensifies, we lose sexual attraction because love for God does differ from love for one's spouse. As heat intensifies, we lose features too. For example, ever see snow in the middle of June? Probably not. I argue that all love (according to my definition and not including lust) is a varying intensity of the same thing." All love does not fall in the same spectrum. You are to love God above all else (Matthew 22:36-40). We are to obey God first and foremost then others. "Genesis 2:23-24... "The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. "Furthermore, I want the audience reading this debate to know that at least seven bibles translate the beginning of Genesis 2:24 as "For this reason..." or "This is why..." [8] The bible is not commanding that men marry wives, but rather explaining why they do" The Hebrew translate it as "al ken" or "upon thus" (4). Your right, God is not commanding that people marry, but notice that it doesn't say "thus shall a mean leave his father and mother and be joined to his man and they shall be one flesh." Lets examine the uses of the Hebrew "Ish" and "Ishah." Gen. 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband (ish) with her; and he did eat." Gen. 3:16 "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Gen. 4:1 "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man (ish) from the LORD." Ishah Gen. 2:22 "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman (ishah) and brought her unto the man. " Gen. 2:25 "And they were both naked, the man and his wife 9ishah) and were not ashamed." Gen. 8:16 "Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife (ishah), and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. " It is very clear that there is a distinction between ish and ishah. A man and a woman. "Well, all men are already made up of the same flesh. Can't two men also marry and become one "for this reason"?" No, notice that in Gen. 1:27, the Hebrew word for man is "Adam" which is a collective noun for "humanity" (5). It was not until that Adam was separated from his other half (Eve) that they were referred to as ish and ishah. "Homosexuality is not against nature. Genetics and pre-natal hormones have been found to influence sexuality, [10] [11] suggesting that homosexuality was part of God's design. Why might it be a part of God's design? It's very simple. To control the population rate. The human species, as a whole, faces far fewer natural selection pressures than the rest of the animal kingdom; typically speaking, we don't need to hunt for food, and we have reliable shelter, health care, police protection, etc. So many people make it to sexual maturity nowadays that our population has spiked. The more it increases, the more limited our resources become. Therefore, homosexuality could be a wise design on God's part" The concept of nature vs. nurture takes into account many things such as murder, incest, rape, necrophilia, etc. to genetic factors and the environment. Should we also justify those acts as well? Certainly not. Theologically, these are moral evils and because Jesus is able to free us from the power of sin controlling our lustful desires (Romans 6:19,22). Even if our natural instincts drive us into sin, the power of Jesus Christ is the ultimate authority to break the curse of sin. Sources: 1. http://www.mechon-mamre.org... 2. https://www.blueletterbible.org... 3. https://www.blueletterbible.org... 4. http://biblehub.com... 5. http://biblehub.com...