GAY TRUTH

Objection Stated Paul is only speaking of pederasty here, not of adult homosexual relationships, and hence the passage is misused when applied to homosexuality . This is the viewpoint expressed by Robin Scroggs in his work The New Testament and Homosexuality . 6 It is commonly repeated in liberal theological institutions. Biblical Response The exegesis of the passage has already addressed this common error. Paul speaks of “males with males committing indecent acts.” He does not say “men with boys” (and there are appropriate Greek words that Paul could have employed if he meant to communicate this idea), nor does the text give the slightest hint that this should be read into it as an assumption.  The desire expressed is mutual between both the lesbians of 1:26 and the homosexual males of 1:27; that is, there is no evidence whatsoever that this is written in reference to pederastic relation ships. Indeed, the mutual kind of desire seen in these verses utterly refutes the simplistic ...

  Objection Stated What is “natural” in Romans 1 is not what is “natural” in the sense of “natural law,” but what is “natural to me.” The reference is not to homosexuals but to heterosexuals who go beyond their natural bounds and engage in homosexuality . Thus John Boswell writes, On the other hand, it should be recognised that the point of the passage is not to stigmatise sexual behaviour of any sort but to condemn the Gentiles for their general infidelity.… The reference to homosexuality is simply a mundane analogy to this theological sin; it is patently not the crux of this argument.… What is even more important, the persons Paul condemns are manifestly not homosexual: what he derogates are homosexual acts committed by apparently heterosexual persons.  The whole point of Romans 1, in fact, is to stigmatise persons who have rejected their calling, gotten off the true path they were once on. It would completely undermine the thrust of the argument if the persons in question w...

  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Romans 1:26–27) Few sections of Scripture are more profound, more foundational to Christian thought, than the opening verses of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. The first chapter has provided Christian writers with insights into the human condition that have resulted in some of the most important published works on the Christian worldview.  Western culture’s view of law and ethics has been deeply influenced by these thirty-two verses. So it is hardly surprising that those who seek to undermine that Christian worldview and foundation invest great effort in reinterpreting these words, at least until they can be safely and ...

I do not want to suggest that Christians who experience same-sex attraction cannot experience some reduction in it over time, as that has been reported by some who have had that as their goal.  Some find that they can marry heterosexually.84  However, the church would do well to expand the vision of the Christian who is navigating sexual identity issues beyond the expectation of complete heterosexuality or the expectation of heterosexual marriage, even if a modest number of believers do experience a more significant shift.  Many others will not experience the same degree of shift, and a Christian’s measure of spiritual depth and maturity does not hinge on the eradication of same-sex attraction or an increase in attraction to the opposite sex.  If a believer does not experience heterosexuality or a significant reduction in homosexual attractions, he or she has much to experience in the life of the church and in a personal walk with God.  For all believers, single...

Homosexuality seems to have existed more widely among the ancient Greeks than among any other ancient people. Excursuses 3 and 4 provide substantial quotations of Greek sources relating to the place and forms of homosexual behaviour. From those sources it is apparent that the predominant form of homosexuality was pederasty between men and boys.  The ethics of Greek love for boys was based upon “an aesthetic and religious foundation,” and it was sanctioned by the state. It was a supplement to marriage and an important factor in education, so it was decidedly bisexual.  Not surprisingly, women objected to such sexual diversions. Pederasty goes back forty-five hundred years in ancient Egypt and occurs in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Solon issued laws to prevent slaves from having connections with free-born boys. The rape of boys was an established “custom.” The Greeks even used boys for paying tribute.54 However, the Greeks knew and practised additional forms of same-gender behavi...