Homosexuality vs. Bible

It seems that the more & more YouTube videos I watch that deal with homophobia the more fundamentalists & "Christians" I see that use their religion to justify their hate towards homosexuals. Why would any true "Christian" attempt to misuse the Bible to drive people away from the church rather than to it? First, let me start by saying that I grew up in a Protestant household & went to church several times a week until I moved out and got married at age 21. Since then I have branched out on my own to understand Christianity & answer questions I had always asked myself as a child. I am not a religious person now (heavily influenced by the "wolves in sheep's clothing" that like call themselves "Christians" and use the Bible to justify & breed hatred), I am more spiritual if anything. I am a firm believer that man & church have written what people today refer to as the Bible. Why do I say that?
1.) There are far too many versions of the Bible, why so many versions of the same book & why are there REVISIONS? (Example the NLT - New Living Translation Bible circa 1996-translated into plain English for ease of reading ... "Ninety evangelical scholars from various theological backgrounds and denominations spent seven years in revising the New Living Translation. This version is based on the most recent scholarship in the theory of translation. Entire thoughts, rather than just words, were translated into natural, everyday English. Thus, this is a dynamic-equivalence translation. Three scholars were assigned to a portion of Scripture, usually one or two books. One general reviewer was assigned to each of the six groups of books." quoted portion taken from http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Scriptures/nlt.htm)
2.) I think it has been so loosely translated by man that the original context has been lost. Due to this I have decided to do my own research. What I've discovered is that many Hebrew & Greek words have been very loosely translated to meet mans version of moralities.

The word "homosexuality" didn't even exist until the late 1860's. It originated due to the sexual/emotional bond two same-sexed persons shared & had nothing to do with, at the time of its origination, same-gender sexual relations. It's very likely, that at the time when the Bible was written, no one knew of homosexuality as we think of it today.

I'm not trying to draw you from your faith or push anything down your throats, like fundamentalist Christian radicals (ex. WBC - Westboro Baptist Church/Fred Phelps)do, just that you explore the possibility that man himself has imposed many of the words/definitions/sense of moralities into today's Bible. You decide what seems reasonable & rational for yourself as I have and decided to share what I have found through my studies.
For instance I will discuss abomination, homosexuality, effeminate & sodomy according to today's Bible (KJV) vs. the original context of the words written in Hebrew or Greek:

(Old Testament)

(Leviticus 18 & 20)
18:22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is an abomination.”

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 be upon them.”

The rules set forth in Leviticus:18&20 are meant to prevent the Israelites from doing what the Egyptians and Canaanites did (fertility rites consisting of sexual rituals for crop & livestock production) which was idol worship. The passage doesn't refer to "gay sex" in general but to a specific form of male-cult homosexuality-prostitution in temples when it came to Pagan cult rituals.

(Genesis 6:4 & 19)

(Gen. 6:4)
The understanding that "sons of God" are angels from (Job 38:7). "Strange flesh" is a linking between angelic flesh and human flesh. As mentioned in (Gen6:4) the Hebrew word "nephillim" was used which translates to weird or "strange". The two visitors to Lot in Sodom were angels that is why they are referred to as "strange flesh".

(Gen. 19)
The sin here is of rape not sexual desire. "ALL the men, young & old, & ALL the people to the last man" the men at Lots door demanded that Lot turn over his two guests (angels). When Lot offered his two virgin daughters to the people of Sodom they attempted to barge in thus being struck blind by the angels. Lot lived in Sodom w/ his family. He would certainly know that "ALL" the people were homosexuals. Why would he offer his 2 daughters to "homosexual men" if he knew they were homosexual? It's rather unlikely that All the people or even ALL the men & boys of Sodom were homosexuals & if the verse was speaking to a portion of the men of Sodom then it wouldn't say "ALL" it would say many, several or certain, etc. "Strange flesh" refers to the flesh of angels & wanting to "know them" refers to having carnal knowledge of them. The angels appeared as men to the people of Sodom. The men didn't know Lots guests were angels, this is even more proof to the way the scripture is written "after-the-fact" as "strange flesh" because flesh of an angel would be "strange flesh". If it was strictly regrading same-sexed intercourse between males there was certainly a much clearer way to describe these as homosexual acts.

Ask yourself this question: "If homosexuality is a sin & sodomy is a sin why was homosexuality not listed in the sins of Sodom?"

Many translate "abomination" to mean enormous sin. The original Hebrew translation = "ritually unclean" if the writers of Leviticus would have meant moral violation, a sin, they would have used the Hebrew word "zimah". The verse says nothing about the same-sex practices of today but speaks to same-sex religious prostitution.

(New Testament)

(Romans 1:21-28) I'll cover 27 since that is specifically what passage people refer homosexuality to: 27 "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 recompense of their error which was meet."

The homosexual behavior that Paul was referring to is that of idol worship, such as the temple prostitution because the fertility rituals (by the Egyptians & Canaanites in Leviticus) included adultery & sex with family members, etc. It also refers to individuals promiscuity by abandoning their natural sex orientation to find pleasures in having sex with anyone available. Paul is not referring to stable, loving relationships between people of faith. So, again here the sin Paul is referring to is promiscuity, adultery & prostitution, NOT that of consenting adults that are in relationships. Basically this passage refers to people that broke away from their natural sexual orientation to simply fulfill their sexual lusts & desires by being promiscuous & basically "sleeping around" with anyone.

(1Cor6:9)"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". Note the use of "effeminate" vs. Old Testament language "homosexual", very different language used.

If Paul was referring to the act of homosexuality he would have said that or the Greek word "paederast" (which was the standard word at that time for sexual acts between 2 males) and not "arsenokoitai" which was never used before but was universally translated to mean masturbation at the time of Martin Luther. Today this is another case of a loose translation made by man & church.

For further information on Paul's use of the words malakoi & arsenokoitai follow this link, I found it go be a good read! http://fogarty.org/tim/gay_issues/word_arsenokoitai.html

Also loosely translated is the word sodomite which I quite frequently see used by fundamentalists. Sodomite was derived from the city of Sodom where the men supposedly would rape visiting men. Many Christians have also left this up to a loose translation to mean homosexuality...that's a very loose translation of the word if you ask me.
It was common practice for soldiers (in biblical times) to use homosexual-rape as a form of humiliation. When they wanted to break the spirit of defeated enemies they would "treat them like women" by raping them. The practice was not one of sexual desire but brutality & hatred towards their enemies. The sin in Sodom & Gomorrah was homosexual-rape NOT that of loving, stable faithful same-sexed relationships of today.

Do you remember playing that game in elementary school where you'd all sit in a circle & the teacher would whisper a sentence into one students ear and then they would repeat the process to the student next to the, all "repeating" what the teacher supposedly said to the very first student? By the end the sentence was nothing at all like it started out because of every ones interpretation of what was said. (Example: a teacher starts off whispering into the first students ear "mom sent me to the market for eggs, bread, milk & butter", by the time the last student gets the message it is "mom wanted me to go to the store to buy stuff to make french toast". In this example it is obvious that somewhere along the lines the sentence changed depending on the students interpretation of what was said to them & how they commit logic to memory. Many people have different ways of coping with memorization. In this example a student somewhere in the line decided it was easier to remember french toast than a list of ingredients since the ingredients are those used to make french toast & the word they commonly used was store rather than market.) I believe that this is exactly what has happened to today's Bibles. Words and phrases have been so loosely translated that the original context is lost.

The above is what I have studied & found in my research. I recommend reading "The Children are Free" (Re-examining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships) by: Rev. Jeff Miner & John Tyler Connoley. ISBN-13: 978-0-9719296-0-9, or going to www.jesusmcc.org
I always find it interesting that they are so passionate about knocking down homosexuality that they forget the other parts of the Bible that say to not judge, love thy neighbor, we are all Gods children, not to wear clothing woven of more than one fabric, not to eat shellfish, not to shave facial hair, and slavery would be acceptable if it were not for man who decided it was inhumane, etc. We are ALL sinners & judging others & persecuting others for their so-called sins is not going to cleanse them of theirs.

If we are ALL Gods children & ALL created in his image .........Just a little food for thought, as I find that many "Christians" don't ever read the Bible just listen to preachers, this makes them puppets & and the church/preacher/minister/priest the puppet masters. When else would you ever read one book (or not read & just nod in compliance with the church) & believe everything it says without attempting to understand the times/practices/traditions/languages, etc. during the time the Bible was written? A good example is - if you mention a "CD" to any child today they immediately think "music". However, 2o years ago if you mentioned the same thing people would think of $ saving accounts. Do you not think that the same can hold true of our interpretations of today's Bible without understanding the times? I am not asking anyone to abandon their religion but to challenge yourself.