Homosexuality is not against nature or what God has designed

Thank you for agreeing to debate this topic with me. I agree that we should first address the passages in the Bible that you believe condemn homosexuality. I will now offer my rebuttal to the Bible verses that my opponent presented. As for Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, (Hebrew) "V'et-zachar lo tishkav mish'k' vei ishah" Leviticus 18:22 (Hebrew translation) You shall not lie with a male [on] the bedding of a woman it is a despised thing. (The women's portion of the tent was separated by a curtain from the men's half, and it was strictly off limits. A male stranger who entered a woman's quarters could be punished with death. Sisera hid in Jael's tent, but paid for it with his life (Judg. 4:18-21)." Leviticus KJV 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (KJV) Leviticus 18:22 ESV You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. As you can see, as we go from Hebrew through the translations and bible rewrites to the present time, (I've only stated a few examples but its a lot more complicated then this) it's original meaning, like many statements in Leviticus, are not relevant in modern society. If 18:22 stayed with its original translation, no one would pay any attention to it. It's been translated like this purely to boost bible sales. Newer bible sales have become more and more homophobic to boost sales. Homosexual global population is around 10% lesbians 6%. By hurting the minority, the bible publication have boosted sales for the overhaul majority (90% straight male). The plural Hebrew word mish-che-ve (the bedding of) appears only 3 times in the Hebrew OT. The three places are at: Gen. 49:4, Lev. 18:22 & Lev. 20:13. The "bedding" or "bed" in tents consisted of the mattress which was stuffed with straw or feathers or animal skins spread out. Most English translations leave the word, "bedding" or "laying" out the the verse when translated. " "Bedding" is the most widely attested translation of "mish'k' vei"" (The dictionary of classical Hebrew Sheffield: Volume V Nun-Mem Ed. David J.A Clines. Sheffield Accademic Press, 200, p.526) I would like to point out that those two verses in particular, were in the Old Testament. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that the entire law is summed up into one commandment; "Love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14. Homosexuality is not mentioned in that verse at all. Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." This verse makes it clear that we are no longer bound by the Old Testament laws. Eating pork, wearing clothing that contains more than one type of fabric are ALL forbidden. Eating shellfish (Lev 11:9-12), a woman wearing a man's cloak (Deut 22:5) and the Hebrews breaking bread with the Egyptians (Gen 43:32) are ALL abominations too. To put an end to this argument once and for all, Christ came to set up a NEW Covenant and we are no longer bound by the old. Heb. 8:13, "In that He says, 'A new covenant, He has made the first OBSOLETE. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.' " This is why I believe that even if your interpretation of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 were correct, they are still irrelevant because Christ has come and we are under a NEW COVENANT. There not a word for "homosexual" in Greek nor Hebrew at the time the books of the Bible were written. there was not Greek word for "homosexual" at the time that verse was written. The word translated for "homosexuals" there in Greek was "arsenkoites" a compound word meaning "arsen" (male-plural) "koites" (bed). The fact of the matter is that no one knows for sure what Paul meant by that word when he used it. It was the first recorded use of that word. Since no one knows for certain, you cannot site it as "proof" of your position. You can't take compound words at face value. "Honeymoon" and "armchair" cannot be interpreted literally. Some scholars believe that it had to do with a male prostitution ring and not necessarily a homosexual one either. So you have NOT "proven: anything at this point. In fact the word, the word "homosexual" first appeared in the New Revised Standard (RSV) Bible in 1946. ("The word "homosexual" did not appear in any translation of the Christian Bible until 1946." That was taken from a CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS website. http://carm.org...... The accurate translation of 1 Cor 6:9-10 is, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."" The word "effeminate" is the Greek word, "malakos" meaning, "lazy, soft, cowardly, or weak." The verse you quoted in 1 Timothy uses the same word "arsenkoites" and I have already shown that no one knows for certain what Paul meant when he used that word. You have not offered evidence to show that "sexually immoral" refers to homosexuals, it is simply your opinion. As for Romans 1:27, "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men gave up the natural function of the woman and burned in their lust toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error."" First of all, you can't "give up" something you never had in the first place. If I ask you for a million dollars, you can't "give it up" to me if you never had it, right? The use of the woman for gay men, is not NATURAL. Second of all, no one that I know of is defending LUST. Obviously these men were straight because they left the women in the name of LUST. That of course would be wrong. There was lust, promiscuity, and adultery going on in this passage. It is clearly not "loving your neighbor". We would never read a passage in the Bible about heterosexual lust and promiscuity and condemn all heterosexual marriages, would we? Now before you try to say that verse says that homosexuality goes against "NATURE": 1 Cor 11:113-15 says "Does not the very NATURE of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him..." Nature had to do with custom, not biology. Unless of course you believe that NATURE controls the length of a man's hair.A279; It is the same Greek word for "nature/natural" in Greek translated in 1 Cor 11 as it is in Romans . "phusis " We are to interpret Scripture with other Scripture. A word cannot mean one thing in one verse and something else in another. None of these verses give clear condemnation of homosexuality. It only proves it is wrong in certain circumstances; just as heterosexuality is wrong in certain circumstances. My opponent went on to make a point of "Nature" and animals. Animals also commit homosexual acts in nature. "Homosexual behavior has been observed in 1,500 animal species." Taken from http://www.news-medical.net...... Having said that, I don't believe that just because animals do something that it makes it "right". Some animals eat their young. I only mention "animals" because my opponent did. Marriage and choosing a mate is not just about reproduction. Infertile people, people above the childbrearing age, AIS intersex people, and people that choose not to have children still choose to get married and are not condemned for it; nor is reproduction a requirement for marriage. None of this proves that homosexuality is "wrong"or against "God's plan". For the record, I never made the point that AIS people should not exist. What I said is that the premise that God ONLY created male/female and ONLY created them for each other contradicts that particular belief. While my opponent defined what an AIS intersex person is, he never addressed the questions at hand: 1) If our sexual orientation is determined by God, and he reveals what our orientation should be by our gender, what is one to do that is born with a vagina AND testicles? My opponent said, "They can be wonderful human beings, be a perfect stereotype of the gender they choose and be a perfect benefit to society?" What scriptural evidence does my opponent have to support that position? It is clearly opinion. 2) Why are THEY allowed to make choices about gender and others are not? 3) Who would this person choose as a mate without sinning if homosexuality is a sin? 4) Probably most importantly, how does one (anyone for that matter) determine their sexual orientation? Thank you and I yield.