Jewish veiw point of the Levitical sexual laws

[superhippy7890]

Hi, first off I would like to say how happy i am about this organization. Now to the point. In Judasim one of the things that is most important is interpreting Torah. So I was studing the Passage in Leviticus the states You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is abomination." On further looking of the hebrew, it seems to say more "you shall not lie with man in the bed of a woman. " But if you are going to use the english, the word abonination, though strong, refers more to hate. I have translated this to mean, you may be hated if you do homosexual acts. If this is the case, than it isn't that G-d dosn't like it, but that you may be turned away by family and friends. That would mean the law was for protection of ays and lesbians. Well theres my 2 cents. Please discuss or debate

[Steven E. Webster]

Brian,

I'm not sure I'd translate the Hebrew quite the way you would--but the point you raise about the meaning of "abomination" is interesting. "Abomination" seems to describe a kind of cultural abhorrence, as though G-d were subject to the kind of narrow-minded, culture-bound biases that plague human beings--as though G-d looks at two men making love and goes "ick!" Frankly, that is what I would call "projection"--we project our own biases on G-d.

I'm not Jewish myself, but I really appreciate the way Jewish tradition seems to make room for so many different interpretations of the same texts. As I understand it, the recent decision by the leading Rabbis in the Conservative movement essentially affirmed two or three differing opinions as "correct" so that now individuals and synagogues are free to choose among different "correct" positions on such issues as the ordination of LGBT Rabbis.

We Christians, too often, get hung up on the need to establish one point of view as exclusively "the truth."

Steven Webster

[BruceChris]

You and Steven have discovered one of the basic contradictions of Christianity, and other religions. God has created Man in His own image, and vice-versa.

Peace and Love, Bruce Chris

PS: I have also discovered a well researched, and well written 'site that is mostly an overview of the national culture, with a specific focus on the excesses of the Neocons and Theocons. They are also gay-friendly. It's called www.jewsonfirst.org Enjoy!

[superhippy7890]

yeah i got this after many debates and thought. Still, some people aren't to happy with it.