In Judaism, an abomination, horror, or scandal is, in general, an offense against the religious senses of a people, and, in particular, an offense against the religious sense of the Jewish people. An abomination offends God because it is offensive on religious grounds. The translation of the Hebrew word for abomination is actually the translation of three different levels or kinds of abominations in terms of severity: toebah, sheḳeẓ, and piggul. While abomination refers mostly to violations of the Mosaic law, specifically violations of the mitzvot on the worship of God in Judaism, it also includes some violations of the moral law.
Judaism
Origins
Some Jewish scholars believe the three levels of abomination were not developments in Jewish theology, but originated all in the Ketuvim, from which the Torah and the Nevi'im borrowed, while other Jewish scholars believe the three levels of abomination were developed over time after the Babylonian captivity.
Shekez or sheketz is the middle level or kind of abomination. It includes the sins of idolatry and eating unclean animals. Oftentimes in the Bibleshekez is used interchangeably with toebah.
Piggul
Piggul is the lowest level or least kind of abomination. In the Bible it refers to the sin of illegal offerings. In rabbinic literature it refers to the sin of hypocritical offerings.
Jewish views
In contemporary Judaism, there are mixed views on all of the aforesaid. Some Jews do not want to return to making offerings, some approve of things that others deem perversions, some see no contradiction between being a Jew and disbelieving in God, some believe lying is not intrinsically wrong, and some do not follow the dietary laws.
Christianity
In the New Testament, perversion is condemned in general in Jude 1:7, while some believe homosexuality is condemned in particular in Romans 1:26-27. In the former verse, Sodom symbolizes the pervert and his damnation after the fashion of the fallen angels. In the latter verses, homosexuality is linked with idolatry: it is because the people practiced idolatry that they then practiced homosexuality. Homosexuality is regarded as unnatural by some Christians, some of whom advocate for the death penalty for homosexuals. Other Christians opposed to homosexuality also oppose the death penalty.
Islam
In the Quran, abominations include idolatry, divination, gambling, and intoxicants; eating blood, dead meat, pig, or an offering made to a false god; homosexuality; and blasphemy. Since the Quran did not specify the punishment of homosexual sodomy, Islamic jurists increasingly turned to hadiths in an attempt to find guidance on appropriate punishment. Some came to the conclusion that the Muhammad had prescribed the death penalty for both the active and also the passive partners. While uncompromisingly condemned by religious purists, some modern Muslim thinkers call for re-examination of Islam's attitude towards homosexuality along more tolerant lines.
