"You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." (NASB)
"If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them." (NASB)
While the meaning of these passages seems clear, pro-homosexual advocates argue that since Leviticus 18:22 appears in the holiness codes for the Levitical priesthood it refers to
ritual, not
moral impurity;
ceremonial, not
moral prohibitions.
Others argue that since these passages condemning homosexuality are surrounded by other commands that were purely ceremonial in nature and no longer apply to believers under the New Covenant, the same applies to the command against homosexuality: it is ceremonial in nature, and no longer applicable to NT believers.
These lines of argumentation are flawed for several reasons. First, they ignores the fact that the New Testament condemns homosexuality as well.
Secondly, it is not true that these passages are surrounded by ceremonial commands pertaining to ritual purity. The immediate contexts of both passages are filled with moral commands that apply to all men, not just the Levitical priesthood. Among them are commands forbidding incest and other inter-family sexuality (18:6-17; 20:11-14, 17, 19-21), adultery (18:20; 20:10), child sacrifice (18:20-21; 20:2-5), bestiality (18:23; 20:15-16), and the seeking of diviners (20:6). There are only two non-moral commandments in the immediate context: killing kids for cursing their parents (20:9); forbidding sex with a woman on her period (18; 20:18). While there are many non-moral commands in other parts of Leviticus, that does not detract from the fact that the immediate context in both anti-homosexuality passages consists of a host of moral sins.
Some argue that God's condemnation of homosexuality was limited to homosexual acts associated with idolatrous worship. "Normal" homosexuality apart from this context was acceptable. If such were the case, why does the text not make this explicit? Furthermore, following this line of reasoning one could cheat on their wife, have sex with their daughter, have sex with animals, and kill their children so long as those acts were not in the context of idolatrous worship!
The fact of the matter is that there is no way to get out of the plain reading of these passages without doing serious injustice to the normal methods of interpretation and common sense.