GAY TRUTH

Paul uses conventional Greek terminology to express a Jewish-Christian worldview that “nature” and what is “natural” must correspond to what God has created and legislated. It cannot simply be equated with culture.72 While Paul on this occasion uses physis to refer to the creation order, he is borrowing conventional language to express a ktisis (“creation”) idea or worldview. He uses the word exchanged (v. 26) to point to a violation of creation when people make idols and “change” the glory of God into an image made from the Creation.  Also, he may use the term aschēmosynē (“indecent acts”) in Romans 1:27 as a subtle pointer to schēma, which is used by Paul only in Philippians 2:7. In Philippians 2:7, it describes the earthly “form, appearance, or essence” of Christ, suggesting that Christ is the only perfect person, the pattern for all humanity. Those who engage in same-gender sexual intercourse do not emulate Christ as our pattern or image, but rather make an idol from the creati...

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...

Another approach views Romans 1 from the standpoint of the philosophy of moral argumentation. Pim Pronk concludes that Paul by his use of nature, does not refer to the normative creation order but to the social conventions of his day, or to the biologically natural.17 This is consistent with the relationship of theology and morality.  The reasoning of the “whole human community,” not revelation or theology, determines the proper human response to homosexuality or any other moral concern.  Theology cannot tell us what God’s will is for us. The exegesis of Romans 1 can affirm that homosexuality is sin in a given time and culture, but it cannot tell us whether this is normative and definitive for people today who read Paul’s statements. This issue is the concern of hermeneutics.  Theology is not the epistemological source of the knowledge of good and evil; it exists only to affirm the idea that moral reasoning is God’s will. Moral education, critical thinking, and rational ...

Fake Arguments against Romans 1:26–27 Perhaps no New Testament text has suffered more assaults than has Romans 1. Central to the revisionist approach to Romans 1 is the focus on new ways of understanding the meaning of nature (physis) in verses 26–27. The verses read (niv), Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. The words for “natural relations” represent more literally “natural use” (physikēn chrēsin). Unnatural relations, then, are “against nature” (para physin). The word for “nature” occurs once as a noun (in v. 26) and twice as an adjective (in vv. 26 and 27). “Against Nature”—Views of Interpretation Perverts and Inverts Some interpreters limit the term natural to “what is natural for...

The 90-page guide, funded by Vienna's Women's Health Program, promotes masturbation, transgender ideology, and abortion primarily to women and girls of all ages. The city of Vienna has published a “contraception brochure” for people of all ages that promotes abortion and advocates for LGBT causes. The 90-page document , titled “Very Intimate: My Body, Our Contraception,” was funded by the Vienna Women’s Health Program and is targeted at women and girls. Regarding the question “what sexuality means,” the brochure states: “Sex can mean many different things. When it comes to sexuality, many people think of love, comfort, and security.” “For others, sex is an adventure. They want to explore every possibility. Some seek confirmation through sex that they are attractive. For still others, sex is a spiritual matter. For them, it’s about more than just the physical experience. Many people want to have a pleasant and pleasurable time during sex, free from stress. Good sex means someth...

Rorate Caeli reported published a report from InfoVaticana yesterday morning showing that two Catholic bishops and a monsignor participated in a pagan ritual (venerating and praying to Pachamama) in a conference intended to prepare the way for Pope Leo’s trip to Peru this November. The initial story came from the Vatican News , and unsurprisingly, Vatican News omitted several key details. The event titled “Weaving Voices for Dignity: For Human Rights and the Common Good” was organised by three organisations: Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDDHH), Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (Episcopal Commission for Social Action of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference), and Derechos Humanos Sin Fronteras . I n addition to representatives from unnamed “social organizations, Indigenous peoples and communities, grassroots groups, leaders, and human rights defenders,” the list of participants in the event included Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of ...