What are your opinions regarding Pauls claims to the acts of homosexuality? Do you agree/disagree?

Question

In the Epistle to the Romans 1:26-27 (TNIV), Paul writes

"Because of this [idolatry], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual 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 shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."

This has been described as "the most important biblical reference for the homosexuality debate" (Hilborn 2002, p.5). It is also the only explicit reference in the Bible to female homosexuality.

However, a minority of more recent interpreters (eg., Boswell 1980, p.109f; Vasey 1995, p.131f) argue that Paul does not have in mind a system of natural laws (as this is an Enlightenment concept) [2] and that "Paul did not discuss gay persons, but only homosexual acts committed by heterosexual persons" (Boswell 1980, p.109).

What are your opinions?

Answer 1

Not sure how that distinction changes. It still is a reference to homosexual acts. And that these acts were ungoldy. To label somoene as a "gay person" is a recent invention of our time anyways. You will find very little to NO cases of people who are purely "homosexual" in Paul's time.

Paul is refering to "homosexual acts" wether they be from a heterosexual or not as "unnatural."

Answer 2

For starters, I think Paul was an ***. I'm not to keen on some of the things he says about women, either, so I don't personally see any reason to give him any kind of authority on such things. Also, I always had an issue with Paul as a "Jonny-come-lately". I could write a bunch of stuff, and it wouldn't be any different from Paul; he never saw the living Jesus.

Answer 3

I think we have a bunch of queer, clever professors trying to redefine a clear and very damning piece of scripture, purely for their own benefit.

There was lots of homosexual activity of all types going on in Paul's time, particularly among the more "landed" Greek and Roman types, and he knew it when he saw it.

That's what he's referring to, without doubt, so don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise.

Answer 4

where he says the penalty for their error I think we straight people deserve the penalty When I was a kid there were homosexual people but they had the decency to keep their mbedroom preferences to themselves. I do not tell the world what my husband and I have done in our bedroom why then can't they do the same thing. I don't brag about being straight why should they brag about being gay I mean no disrespect to gay people but keep it to yourself and therein is our penalty for not making it known that we don't want to hear about their sex life nor do we want to tell about ours

Answer 5

Let's go back 2,000 years and try to understand why Paul wrote this.

Paul is writing this letter to Rome after his missionary tour of the Mediterranean. On his journey Paul had seen great temples built to honor Aphrodite, Diana, and other fertility gods and goddesses of sex and passion instead of the one true God the apostle honors. Apparently, these priests and priestesses engaged in some odd sexual behaviors, including castrating themselves, carrying on drunken sexual orgies, and even having sex with young temple prostitutes (male and female). All to honor the gods of sex and pleasure.

The Bible is clear that sexuality is a gift from God. God celebrates our passion. But the Bible is also clear that when passion gets control of our lives, we're in deep trouble.

When we live for pleasure, when we forget that we are God's children and that God has great dreams for our lives, we may end up serving the false gods of sex and passion, just as they did in Paul's time. In our obsession with pleasure, we may even walk away from the God who created us and in the process we may cause God to abandon all the great dreams God has for our lives.

Did these priests and priestesses get into these behaviors because they were lesbian or gay? I don't think so. Did God abandon them because they were practicing homosexuals? No.

Getting to know a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person of faith will help you realize that it is unreasonable (and unjust) to compare their love for each other to the rituals of the priests and priestesses who danced around the statues of Aphrodite and Diana. I feel certain this passage says a lot about God, but nothing about homosexuality as we understand it.

You'll also note that Romans 2 begins with "Therefore, [referring to Romans 1], you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself..." Even after he describes the disturbing practices he has seen, Paul warns us that judging others is God's business, not ours.

Answer 6

I'm going to believe the apostle Paul who was inspired by God to write the epistles over some ordinary guy's opinion.

Answer 7

Looks pretty straight forward to me.

the stuff about>>"Paul did not discuss gay persons, but only homosexual acts committed by heterosexual persons <<

Is just so much WHITEWASH and CRAP!

Answer 8

Homosexuality is a choice, not a disorder, and people are not born homosexual. We live in a perverse world that is rapidly becoming moreso, as more and more what is sin is no longer called sin, even though the recognizable effects of sin are the same as they have always been.

Answer 9

People tend to believe lies that reinforce their own selfish, personal beliefs. Today, more than ever, we need to know what the basis is for our beliefs. With TV, music, movies, and the rest of the media often presenting sinful life-styles and unwholesome values, we find ourselves constantly bombarded by attitudes and beliefs that are totally opposed to the Bible. Be careful about what influences you to form your opinions. The Bible is the only standard of truth. Evaluate all other opinions in light of its teachings.
God’s plan for sexual relationships is his ideal for his creation. Unfortunately, sin distorts the natural use of God’s gifts. Sin often means not only denying God but also denying the way we are made. When people say that any sex act is acceptable as long as nobody gets hurt, they are fooling themselves. In the long run (and often in the short run), sin hurts people—individuals, families, whole societies. How sad it is that people who worship the things God made instead of the Creator so often distort and destroy the very things they claim to value!
Homosexuality (to turn against or abandon natural relations of sex) was as widespread in Paul’s day as it is in ours. Many pagan practices encouraged it. God is willing to receive anyone who comes to him in faith, and Christians should love and accept others no matter what their background. Yet, homosexuality is strictly forbidden in Scripture (Leviticus 18:22). Homosexuality is considered an acceptable practice by many in our world today—even by some churches. But society does not set the standard for God’s law. Homosexuals believe that their desires are normal and that they have a right to express them. But God does not encourage us to fulfill all our desires (even normal ones). Those desires that violate his laws must be controlled.
If you have these desires, you can and must resist acting upon them. Consciously avoid places or activities you know will kindle temptations. Don’t underestimate the power of Satan to tempt you, or the potential for serious harm if you continue to yield to these temptations. Remember, God can and will forgive sexual sins just as he forgives other sins. Surrender yourself to God, asking him to show you the way out of sin and into the light of his freedom and his love. Prayer, Bible study, and loving support of Christians in a Bible-believing church can help you to gain strength to resist these powerful temptations. If you are already deeply involved in homosexual behavior, seek help from a trustworthy, professional, Christian counselor.

Answer 10

Let me ask you this, and by my asking you will have your answer.
Did not God say that people having sex with the same gender is an abomination unto Him?