Jade,
Let's assume God is ok with homosexuality....why would He say you are not to lie with man, as with woman.
Well, in Hebrew, it says a man shall not force/deceive another man to have anal sex (submissive position) in beds of a woman. Beds of woman (which is an important conditional clause) does not translate well into English. It's important, because a man cannot lay with another man the way he would a woman. So it either refers to the location, or the submissive nature of the act (since women were property). That verse is specifically referring to the behavior of the pagan prostitutes in Caananite temples. Moses declared that the Isrealites (and they alone) are not to behave like the Caananites, which meant not engaging in sex rituals with pagan prostitutes. This is confirmed in Deuteronomy 23, where Moses tells the Israelites not to become Temple prostitutes. The Torah is filled with commands meant to separate the Israelites as a people from their neighboring cultures. That does not apply to the 21st Century or Christians, as they are not Israelites and don't participate in the pagan worship rituals of neighboring cultures.
Another reason we know it's not referring to homosexuality is that based on Jewish law, the burden of proof was astronomical to charge someone with a violation of Torah. There were many many conditions including that there had to be 4 witnesses to a man lying with another man (meaning it had to be done in public spaces), and the men had to have been warned of the act.
No man has ever been charged with that crime according to the Talmud.
Why is marriage defined in the Bible as man/woman a man is to leave his family and cleave to his wife. Model of the first marriage ordained by God man/woman...why anytime marriage is mentioned in the Bible its always man/woman? Why make procreation between only man/woman? Why not make humans like seahorses asexual? Why put so much effort into the distinction of man and woman? Even down to how they are to dress?
Marriage isn't defined only as man/woman, that's merely the only type mentioned because it was the only type prevalent at the time. The Bible does not deal with minority exceptions. It doesn't talk about how an intersex individual is supposed to behave either, because they were a minority.
The Bible is directed at the general audience, not some unknown group of people.
There is so much distinction of man and woman, because the Bible is written in Patriarchial societies, where men were superior, and women were property. Therefore, women had to be put in their place. But society is not static. It has changed for thousands and thousands of years, and will continue to change. The Bible is directed to specific cultures. The entire thing cannot be applied universally for all time. The Torah "ceremonial laws" were for the Israelites in 3000 B.C., not for Americans in the 21st Century.
Just a few questions to think about.
I've thought about them for over a decade, and your sides arguments are not compelling. Throwing out English verses of scripture out of context does not a good argument make.
