One In Jesus

[This is rewritten from a comment I posted a few days ago.]

There are, of course, many factors pushing marriage rates down in the West, and there have been for years. They largely fit within the rubric of “marriage is but a social construct.” And each time society pushes further in that direction, the marriage rate goes down. It’s not uniquely homosexual marriage. Rather, homosexual marriage is just the most recent sharp nail being driven into the coffin of traditional marriage. Continue reading →

Paul’s arguments regarding God “giving up” or “giving over” are indeed controversial.

N. T. Wright necessarily made himself an expert on the topic because, as an Anglican bishop, he served on the Lambert Commission that considered division resulting from the ordination of Gene Robinson, a practicing homosexual, as bishop of Boston.

Moreover, Wright is generally considered the greatest scholar on Paul living today. Therefore, we should take his thoughts very seriously. After all, he’s part of a denomination in which many leaders would prefer that he approve homosexuality activity. But Wright feels compelled by the Scriptures to find that Paul does not approve homosexuality at all. Indeed, Wright concludes that Paul sees homosexuality as symptomatic of a society that has turned away from the true God and toward idolatry. Continue reading →

This brings us to —

(Rom 1:21-23 ESV)  ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools,  ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Paul sees world history in terms of Genesis. Adam and Eve were originally God-fearers, but they chose to disobey. Over time, their descendants forgot God and chose to worship idols instead. Continue reading →

I love studying Romans, because I always learn so much when I do. It’s just so deep and rich that I can never leave a study feeling that I’ve exhausted the wisdom that is there.

Since N. T. Wright is the world’s foremost scholar on Paul, we should begin with a few words of wisdom from him —

Continue reading →

Fitting it all together

At this point, it’s fair to ask why Eden is considered the pattern and ideal for sex and marriage. The Jewish view of sex was radically different from the Grecian view, and it was surely a burden on evangelism for the church to refuse to accept homosexuality.

Indeed, the reason the Mediterranean world came to disapprove homosexuality would seem to be solely because Christianity became the dominant worldview. That was a remarkable, dramatic change of sexual attitudes. Continue reading →

Eden as hermeneutic

Way back in Part 1 of this series, I concluded from the sayings of Jesus and writings of Paul that faith in Jesus and love for God and our neighbors are core principles that ought to drive our hermeneutics.

As we’ve further dug into the text, focusing on the Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings on sexuality and marriage, we’ve found that Jesus and Paul also consider Genesis 1 and 2 as core principles for Christian ethics. Again and again, when confronted with a question regarding marriage or sex, they begin their explanation by inquiring regarding God’s creation of Adam and Eve. Continue reading →

The first half of 1 Corinthians 11 — dealing with the wearing of veils — is notoriously difficult for all readers of all schools of thought.

Both 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians 5 are critical passages for the study of the role of women. Just as is true of divorce and remarriage, we’re not studying the role of women in the church at this time. But for those with an interest in that topic, my thoughts will be found in the ebook Buried Talents.

Rather, we turn to chapter 11 to see how Paul approaches the question of women prophesying and praying without veils. Continue reading →