These are the King James Version translations. The original Hebrew and Greek texts are a little more vague and those are the passages that are really in question.
Leviticus 18:22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination"
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them."
Romans 1:26-27: "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence [sic] of their error which was meet."
I Corinthians 6:9 "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, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Timothy 1:9-10 "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."
Jude 1:7: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
Let's use a non-medieval translation, the New Revised Standard Version, and throw in some commentary while we're at it.
Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination."
Obviously, this is addressed to men, Otherwise, female heterosexuality is an abomination. The fact that is addressed soley to men, accompanied by the fact that it addresses only behavior, not orientation, suggests to me that it has nothing to do with homosexuality as we understand it. It assumed that men would be heterosexually oriented and had no concept of any alternative.
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them."
The same criticisms apply. However, this brings the lovely threat of death into the mix. Do you think that homosexuals (rather, men who commit homosexual acts) should be put to death? If not, then you can't use this passage. If so, you are insane.
Romans 1:26-32 "For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die-- yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them."
Again, homosexuals deserve to die. If you don't think the death penalty for homosexuality should be death, then you can't use this passage/ Additionally, notice the recurrence of the word "natural". If people are born gay, then homosexual acts are natural for them. Since we can observe homosexuality in non-human animals, there is no rational argument that homosexuality is unnatural. Anyone from bees to penguins to chimps to humans can be gay. Beyond that, Paul is wrong from time to time. He himself reminds us of that. If he intended to condemn people who were born gay, then this is one of the times he was wrong.
NRS 1 Corinthians 6:9 "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites . . . ."
Evn in the KJV, there's no indication that homosexuality is being condemned. I'm excluded from the Kingdom because I like cosmos and the Gilmore Girls? That's what effeminate means. In fact, thi word probably refers to teenage male sex slaves kept by Roman nobles. If someone is excluded because of something done to them, nt something they do, then I again think Paul is wrong here.
1 Timothy 1:9-11 "This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me."
Yep, this condemns sodomy, the definition of which is engaging in sexual acts using other than male and female genetalia. Anyone who engages in oral sex, masturation (mutual or solo), or, obviously, anal sex are condemned by this one. But we don't mean that by sodomy, do we? No, we mean the bad kind. The kind that makes us feel funny.
Jude 1:7 "Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."
This only condemns homosexuality if you've already defined homosexuality as unnatural, which begs the question. Bad logic.
The long answer is that I really don't think the ancients had a conception of homosexuality like we do. That is, they didn't have a conception of people who born gay. So, when they condemned homosexual acts (never homosexulaity itself, it seems) they were condemning an abuse of God-given sexuality. I would argue that a homosexual engaging in heterosexual activity is engaging in exactly the same type of abuse of God-given sexuality. Also, and this is somehting I've just noticed, the scriptures never condemn homosexuals in leadership. They condemn a lot of other activities, like the wearing of mixed fibers (Lev. 19:19) that we don't bar people from ordination for. Why should we for this? Women, on the other hand, are explicitly forbidden from leadership in the church. Again, to exclude either group from the life of the church, including ordination, is heretical and violates the teachings of Jesus. The short answer is, unless you're going to call for the execution of homosexuals, you can't use the scriptures to condemn homosexuality without being a hypocrite.
