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"You shall not lie with a male as with a women; it is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13). These passages appear within the Holiness Code of Israel. The Holiness Code is concerned with keeping Israel pure and untainted by the surrounding nations whose ways, it was felt, would lead them away from God. An abomination is that which God found detestable because it was unclean, disloyal and unjust. The word appears six times in the Holiness Code, always with reference to sexual impurity. In the book of Ezekiel the word appears several times, where it is associated with idolatry.
The Hebrew religion stood in continuous tension with the religions of the surrounding Canaanites who worshipped the multiple gods of the fertility cults. Sexual intercourse (as cult prostitution) was a regular feature of the pagan worship. In having sex, devotees re-enacted the relationship of their God with the land. Homoerotic encounters were part of the many pagan cults and therefore Israel distanced herself from them. Christians today do not follow the other laws found in the Holiness Code (the wearing of clothes with two kinds of materials, for example). We are however aware of actions that may lead us away from God. Homosexual acts are no longer seen as part of pagan worship. Cult prostitution is condemned in Leviticus, such condemnation should not be applied to loving, respectful, same-sex relationships.
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