I continue the series on homosexuality and the Bible with a discussion of Romans 1, probably the most cited text in the New Testament on the issue of same-sex activities.
Rom. 1:18-32
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because god has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. Therefore god gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about god for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever1 amen.
For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who do such things deserve to die - yet they not only do them but even applaud those who practice them.
This scripture is unique since it is the only reference to lesbian sex, but also because it links homosexuality to (un)naturalness. Moreover, the contents of the Paul’s Letter to the Romans was heavily influenced by the context of Rome, probably the - to that date - first and only metropolitan city in the world boasting (more than) a million inhabitants, many of them privileged citizens of the
Roman Empire. According theologians the quoted scripture should also considered in textual context, which reveals a rhetorical style that Paul applies to his letter. These considerations allow for a variety of interpretations, in spite of the final verdict on the interpretation of Romans 1 that is often heard in churches. When Christians argue that Romans 1 states it all too clear ‘homosexuality is a sin and idolatry’, this is plainly wrong. More interpretations exist, to deny their very existence is theologically unsound and a clear sign of fundamentalist myopia.
Bible,homosexuality,gay,Romans,Christianity
2 Comments:
Your post was interesting, but it left me with a number of questions. What was the rhetorical style that Paul used? What other Roman documents share the same writing style? Who are the theologians who argue for a different interpretation? What are those other possible interpretations?
Perzik
Hey Peach,
Good questions. I will address them in the next 2 or 3 posts.
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