Men with Men?

Leviticus 20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Romans 1:27
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another; males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was fitting for their error.

It seemed appropriate to have an article for men as with women. Everyone uses the terms homosexual, gay and to a lesser degree now sodomite. I'm not sure many really know what the scripture actually forbids.

The scripture forbids two things, one of which is in the two scriptures above. Scripture is mostly concerned about intercourse. Anal intercourse is forbidden by these verses as it is also forbidden between a man and woman in Romans 1:26. It is a health issue. The new medical procedure, fecal transplant, is similar in result as two or more people participating in anal intercourse. This is all forbidden by scripture.

The second act that is forbidden is for a person to dress or behave as the opposite sex.

Deuteronomy 22:5
"A woman shall not wear men's clothing, neither shall a man put on women’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh your God."
1 Corinthians 16:13
"Watch! Stand firm in the faith! Be courageous! Be strong!"

The Greek behind the word courageous means act manly.

So those are the two areas that are forbidden. Other acts that two men can do together are never mentioned or forbidden in scripture. This is quite a step for those of us who have been taught a blanket term that could mean much more. I can not find it and do not see anything else mentioned. So there appears to be more freedom for what men can do together that would not be sin provided they avoid what has already been listed.

I do think that much of what we think we know today has developed over time. What we think of as homosexual or gay are more societal than scriptural issues. The harm has been to classify people. Do you know someone who is known to be "gay"? Do they behave as a good stable Christian in every other regard? Perhaps then the label they have accepted is the problem? Just something to consider. As long as a person does not sin, as listed here, and behaves as a Christian then why do we need the label?

Tim