Whether they write professionally or write for the love of writing, pundits occasionally make the mistake of assuming that their audience already knows what the pundits mean whenever they briefly mention a topic that is not directly addressed. Sometimes, the audience doesn’t already know.
This writer made such a mistake in his first post featured on The Moderate Voice. Specifically, in his post U.S. Supreme Court v. Theocrats, this writer states, “Clearly, the New Testament teaches that it is a sin for two people of the same gender to have sex with each other …”
In response to the above-quoted statement, one TMV reader asks, “Where exactly does the New Testament teach that? I’ve never been able to find it. Thanks!”
The reader asks a valid question, and this author believes that the question should be addressed in an appropriate way. The Moderate Voice is not a church service, and so, this writer strives to write about thorny issues without preaching.
Before answering the reader’s question, three things should be noted:
1) People who believe the New Testament’s teachings aren’t supposed to force others to accept those teachings.
2) Members of the universal Church aren’t supposed to pass judgement on people who aren’t also members of the universal Church. In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (ESV), the Apostle Paul states, “What have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.”
In his commentary about Paul’s statement, Christian theologian William Barclay writes, “It is Paul’s principle that we are not to judge those outside the Church. ‘Those outside’ was a Jewish phrase used to describe people outside the Chosen People. We must leave their judgment to God who alone knows the hearts of men.”
3) One’s sexual feelings toward others don’t determine whether or not one can be a member of the universal Church, as Jonathan Elliot reveals in his commentary “I’m gay, liberal, open-minded – and a convert to Christianity”.
Now, in order to answer the above-quoted reader’s question, this writer turns to people with the proper expertise, namely theologians who have studied the New Testament in its original Koine Greek language.
Dr. Robin Schumacher writes, “The passages in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy dealing with homosexual behavior do indeed condemn homosexual sex . . .”
Dr. David E. Malick writes, “A contextual and exegetical examination of Romans 1:26–27 reveals that attempts by some contemporary writers to do away with Paul’s prohibitions against present-day same-sex relations are false.” He also writes, “The Apostle Paul condemned all homosexual relationships in his vice-list in 1 Corinthians 6:9 …”
Dr. James De Young states, “Since he [the Apostle Paul] referred to behavior in his lists in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1, he excluded from the kingdom of God all those who engage in same-sex behavior . . .”
The New Testament verses that these theologians are referring to are Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10. It should be noted that these verses talk about sexual behavior, not sexual feelings.
Whether or not the reader believes the above-referenced verses (and the above-cited theologians) is up to the reader. What matters here is that the reader understand why plenty of Christians believe that it is sinful for two people of the same gender to have sex with each other.
Granted, not all Christians believe such. In 2014, The Atlantic published an article titled “How LGBT Students Are Changing Christian Colleges”, in which the authors describe the way that homosexual students at Christian colleges are challenging the ban that those colleges have on same-gender sexual activity. In June of 2015, popular evangelical sociologist Dr. Tony Campolo came out in favor of same-sex marriage. In a YouTube video that has gained popularity among homosexuals, Harvard University student Matthew Vines argues that the New Testament doesn’t condemn such behavior, a claim that he makes in an interview with The Christian Post.
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References:
Barclay, W. (1975). The Letters to the Corinthians. The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
DeYoung, J. B. (1992). The Source and NT Meaning of APZENDOKOITAI with Implications for Christian Ethics and Ministry. The Master’s Seminary Journal, 3(2), 191-216. Retrieved from http://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj3h.pdf
Malick, D. E. (1993). The Condemnation of Homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27. Bibliotheca Sacra 150: 599 (1993): 327-340. Retrieved from http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/romans_malick.pdf
Malick, D.E. (1993). The Condemnation of Homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 6:9. Bibliotheca Sacra 150: 600
(1993): 479-492. Retrieved from http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/homosexuality_corinthians6.pdf
Schumacher, R. (2012). Does Paul Condemn Homosexuality in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy? The Confident Christian. Retrieved from http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/does-paul-condemn-homosexuality-in-1-corinthians-and-1-timothy-12362/
Feature Image: Colossus, the first electronic digital programmable computing device. Image is in the public domain and was retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Colossus.jpg
Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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