"Sodom and Gomorah" Tories /Lib Dems

Just to bury this nonsense about the bible texts not condeming homosexual acts. The way the book of Leviticus is structured is that the first 16 chapters refer to "what pertains to the Levitical priests" and what they need to avoid to remain ritually pure. Chaps 17-27 have a more positive focus however deal with a broader consideration of the moral
obligations that enable communal behaviour and public worship and which express Israels unique identity and its call to be holy in accordance with the covenant. The traditional interpretation of the passage has been that it forbids sexual intercourse between men but Reconstructionist, Reform and some Conservative Jews have recently changed their minds on
this. Orthodox and Messianic Jews remain true to the scriptures here. There is a strong contrast drawn between the Egyptian and Canaanite cultures because these were regarded as strong examples of sinful depravity and might otherwise have exercised a hold on the Israelites as with the example of child sacrifice to Molech for example. This should not distract from the point that homosexuals acts were regarded as an abomination indeed it actually strengthens the point by providing a graphic example of the depravity of a culture where these prohibitions were ignored.

Also while Lev 18 v 19 -23 is a logical section that includes pagan associations e.g. with Molech and child scarifice for instance the words at the end of each verse indicates that the prohibition reaches deeper that these merely cultural references- e.g. use of words like "detestable", "profaning the name of your God" and "perversion". This is a word for all time not just for ancient Israel.

wikipedia-Judaism_and_sexual_orientation said:

The subject of homosexuality in Judaism dates back to the Torah, in the books of Bereshit and Vayiqra. Bereshit (Genesis) treats the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by God. Vayiqra (Leviticus) forbids sexual intercourse between males, classifying it as a to'eivah (something abhorred or detested) that can be subject to capital punishment under halakha (Jewish law).

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Maimonides Mishneh Torah clearly prohibits homosexuality for men (Issurei Bi'ah 1:14, 21:18) and women (Issurei Bi'ah 21:8).

Issurei Bi'ah 21:8 said:

For women to be mesollelot with one another is forbidden, as this is the practice of Egypt, which we were warned against: "Like the practice of the land of Egypt . . . you shall not do" (Leviticus 18:3). The Sages said [in the midrash of Sifra Aharei Mot 8:8–9], "What did they do? A man married a man, and a woman married a woman, and a woman married two men." Even though this practice is forbidden, one is not lashed [as for a Torah prohibition] on account of it, since there is no specific prohibition against it, and there is no real intercourse. Therefore, [one who does this] is not forbidden to the priesthood because of harlotry, and a woman is not prohibited to her husband by this, since it is not harlotry. But it is appropriate to administer to them lashings of rebellion [i.e., those given for violation of rabbinic prohibitions], since they did something forbidden. And a man should be strict with his wife in this matter, and should prevent women known to do this from coming to her or from her going to them.

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The application of capital punishment in the Jewish law was next to impossible in practice however because of the strict rules regarding verification of the crime. However other punishments were often applied in the case of lesbians above known to have the tendency.

wikipedia-Judaism_and_sexual_orientation said:

capital punishment would only be applicable if two men were caught in the act of anal sex, if there were two witnesses to the act, if the two witnesses warned the men involved that they committed a capital offense, and the two men - or the willing party, in case of rape - subsequently acknowledged the warning but continued to engage in the prohibited act anyway. As such, it is not surprising that there is no account of capital punishment, in regards to this law, in Jewish history

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In the Christian tradition people have been put to death for homosexual acts however based on these Levitical passages.

Also the mainstream historical denunciation of this abomination has been very clear. This continued with the reformation:

Martin Luther said:

The vice of the Sodomites is an unparalleled enormity. It departs from the natural passion and desire, planted into nature by God, according to which the male has a passionate desire for the female. Sodomy craves what is entirely contrary to nature. Whence comes this perversion? Without a doubt it comes from the devil. After a man has once turned aside from the fear of God, the devil puts such great pressure upon his nature that he extinguishes the fire of natural desire and stirs up another, which is contrary to nature.

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The conclusion is pretty clear that homosexual acts are detestable to God.

The largest Christian church the Catholic church is quite clear on this:

Catholic Catechism said:

Chastity and homosexuality

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

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Interestingly their footnotes do not use the Levitical passages for this justification from scripture, they use:

Gen 19:1-29; Rom 1:24-27; 1Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10

The Anglican church is also very clear:

Lambeth Conference 1998: Resolution 1.10 Human Sexuality said:

This Conference:

1. commends to the Church the subsection report on human sexuality;
2. in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage;
3. recognises that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Many of these are members of the Church and are seeking the pastoral care, moral direction of the Church, and God's transforming power for the living of their lives and the ordering of relationships. We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ;
4. while rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex;
5. cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions;
6. requests the Primates and the ACC to establish a means of monitoring the work done on the subject of human sexuality in the Communion and to share statements and resources among us;
7. notes the significance of the Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality and the concerns expressed in resolutions IV.26, V.1, V.10, V.23 and V.35 on the authority of Scripture in matters of marriage and sexuality and asks the Primates and the ACC to include them in their monitoring process.

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- See more at: The Windsor Report - Appendix Three: Lambeth Conference 1998: Resolution 1.10 Human Sexuality

The Southern Baptist Union published this resolution on the matter:

RESOLUTION ON HOMOSEXUALITY June 1988 said:

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WHEREAS, The erosion of moral sanity continues to be a major problem of modern society; and

WHEREAS, Homosexuality has become the chosen lifestyle of many in this moral decline; and

WHEREAS, The Bible is very clear in its teaching that homosexuality is a manifestation of a depraved nature; and

WHEREAS, This deviant behavior has wrought havoc in the lives of millions; and

WHEREAS, Homosexuals are justified and even glorified in our secular media; and

WHEREAS, Homosexual activity is the primary cause of the introduction and spread of AIDS in the United States which has not only affected those of the homosexual community, but also many innocent victims.

Therefore be it RESOLVED, That we, the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in San Antonio, Texas, June 14-16, 1988, deplore homosexuality as a perversion of divine standards and as a violation of nature and natural affections; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we affirm the biblical injunction which declares homosexuals, like all sinners, can receive forgiveness and victory through personal faith in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9-11); and

Be it finally RESOLVED, That we maintain that while God loves the homosexual and offers salvation, homosexuality is not a normal lifestyle and is an abomination in the eyes of God (Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:24-28; 1 Timothy 1:8-10).

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Dave Ellis said:

Great, and when Catholic Priests stop engaging in homosexual sex, often non-consensual and with children, they can start lecturing us on morals about sex.

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There are 1.2 billion catholics and more than 420000 priests. It would be very surprising if there were not incidents of this sort however regrettable they are. Also the church has done a lot in recent years to put its house in order and many of the accusations date from decades ago.

But the people who criticise this most strongly are often those who feel most critiqued by a church that cannot support the genocide of the unborn, gay sex , adultery, fornication, divorce, a contempt for the poor, a life without God etc.

People look for excuses to deny Gods authority in their lives accusing Christians of being hypocrits as a way of soothing their own guilty consciences. The result is the ammoral nihilistic relativistic culture which spawned this current political elite.

Psudopod said:

Why should those of us who are not Christian or Jewish care? Why should Christian or Jewish law automatically be British civil law?

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Because each of the sins that the law is now affirming carry curses which drag every body else down also whether or not they believe in it. If you want to understand the causes of Britains current malaise then here is the root.

Also Britains Judaeo Christian heritage remains the strongest influence on its laws and the most widely accepted by the general population.

Despite this our current ammoral nihilistic relativistic elites are promoting a religion of secular equality that is eroding religious freedoms, undermining respect for the rule of law, directky promoting evil acts, sowing the seeds of social division and instability and preparing the way for an extreme backlash against decadent governance in the future.

Camerons socalled Big Society vision is a joke. He has achieved the opposite of what he set out to do cause he never understood the life and soul of a workable culture lies in the freedom to worship and to live a moral life.

TheQuietRiot said:

How has Cameron stopped anyone from worshipping? Or leading a moral life?

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Worship is often misunderstood as just singing songs in church but in fact it is about living our whole lives for the only one who is worth it.

I was talking about the political elite as a whole rather than just Cameron who is a symptom of the larger problem which he has simply bought in to for his own egotistical reasons. This elite has over the last few decades deprived the unborn of lives made for worship , destroyed marriages with fast track divorce schemes, thereby destroying the faith of the children who were praying for their parents to stay together, recently it has made possible the desecration of churches like those belonging to the Quakers for instance where life long Christians must now accept gay marriages in their places of worship because their organisation as a whole has done so.

But this attack on worship and the moral life is broader than that. Nurses who wear crosses to work as sign of Him for whom they live their lives are condemned for this. Hoteliers who had a family vision for their hotels and who would prefer that their hotels are not defiled by gay sex are not allowed to turn away gay couples. Registrars who have rejoiced in tying the knot of commitment between hetrosexual couples are now losing their jobs because they cannot in good conscience marry a gay couple Counsellors who have helped people through serious problems are dismissed when they take a moral stand on counselling a gay couple about their sex lives. Roman Catholic charities are threatened with extinction despite the good work that they do helping the childless find a child and the parentless find love.

The list is getting longer all the time that this political elite remains. The rottenness of it stinks to high heaven and yet people wonder why life seems such a struggle right now to so many, why the sense of effortless progress is suddenly shattered. Suddenly for the first time since the end of the cold war people have reason to be afraid- not of a menacing host of Russian tanks and missiles but from a dark and decadent shadow creeping through the corridors of power and clawing surrepticiously at our souls.