What are your opinions about the letters from St. Paul regarding homosexuality?

Question

The letters of St Paul provide traditional support for the position that homosexuality is sinful. He writes: "God has given [people who worship false gods] up to shameful passions. Their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and their men in turn, giving up natural relations with women burn with lust for one another; males behave indecently with males and paid in their own persons the fitting wage of such perversion."

Paul later writes: "Make no mistake: no fornicator or idolator, none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion, no thieves or grabbers of drunkards of slanderers or swindlers, will possess the kingdom of God."

Did Paul alternately mean to use the word "homosexual" for a "male" prostitute? Since Paul's letters are clearly of his time, and there are plenty of verses which people have no problem ignoring for ex. eating lobster, women praying bareheaded, not eating shellfish, ect. so why should homosexuality be regarded seperately?

Answer 1

I read somewhere that the homosexual relations between men referred to was actually RAPE of a man by a man. *shrug*

There's a religious forum for you to bounce your ideas around in. Leave the gay forum alone for REAL problems, mkay?

Answer 2

I don't think he ever used the word homosexual. He could not have, for the word itself was not first coined until 1869.

"Their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and their men in turn, giving up natural relations with women burn with lust for one another; males behave indecently with males and paid in their own persons the fitting wage of such perversion."
-I believe that Paul was condemning lust and prostitution with this statement, not homosexuality. People paying others for sex, feigning a different sexuality just for money, these are what Paul was talking about.

Answer 3

Good question, it's too bad you are going to receive some defencive answers. Unfortunately even homosexual persons can be so defencive that they are downright ignorant and rude.

Personally, I always thought St. Paul was a closet homo, and he wrote these letters trying to convince himself that he wasn't, or trying to convince God that he wasn't, or both.

I don't really think about it, but then again, God didn't write the bible, people did, and people are flawed. So I think the real question here should be, why do people so adamantly follow a book that was not written by their creator, but by their fellow man? I mean, there are some good stories and insights in there, but there were in the vaginal monologues too...

The bottom line is, St. Paul's writings shouldn't influence Christians (and non-Christians for that matter) as much as they do. I don't think God would be very pleased to find out that not only are we following blindly, but that we are considering St. Paul's opinion before his.

Plus, the fact that using God's name to hurt others breaks a commandment...thou shalt not take thy lord's name in vain...for those who disagree, please re-read the commandment and understand it for what it really means. It doesn't mean cussing. It means using God's name to raise yourself up.

We are all God's children.

Answer 4

Paul's comments about homosexual perversion, adultery, etc., need no modernization. They are timeless in stating the disgust that exists for people who engage in unnatural activity that is counter productive to humanity existing beyond animalian instinct.

Answer 5

Darn! I'm getting old and slow to the draw...mikelew beat me to just what I was going to say! However, it's been said that most gay-bashers are actually frustrated closet gays themselves, or else have been jilted by a gay lover in the past... So judge whatever you will about good old Paul... (which boyfriend were his letters written to, anyway?)

Answer 6

first of all, whatever and whomsoever makes any hateful comment about 2 people loving each other doesnot deserve to be called a saint in the first place..

A selfless love, whether between a man & a woman, between 2 men OR between 2 women can never go against god's wish.

God hates those who hate others; tht includes racists, homophobes, religious fanatics, perverts of many other kinds etc etc.. God can never hate selfless love of any kind..

I think you got what i meant to say..

Answer 7

I think you dwell on this too much.

I think you're only going to repeat this question later on and only skim by because you word it differently.

Answer 8

Why are you trying to read between the lines? Read and believe what is written.