I love this stuff. Somehow on a trekkie site they've been arguing/chatting over Jesus & family. How great is that. Not sure how the trekkies found their way to that topic, but glad to be a part of the conversation. I am preparing to do a men's retreat in rural manitoba next weekend on same sex marriage & related stuff, which got me to finishing a piece on the bible and homosexuality - my own take on the topic. I've posted it in the back room. The two pix grow out of that discussion.
While doing that I picked up a copy of Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures by John Henson [looks very interesting]. He deals with the problematic Romans 1:26-27 like this:
God let them go on to pursue their selfish desires. Women use their charms to further their own ends. Men, instead of being friends, ruthlessly exploit one another. Their stressful lifestyle makes them ill. [Ro 1:26-27].
And he adds a footnote to these verses:
These verses have been shamefully used as a basis for the discomforting of those with a same-sex orientation. Undoubtedly Paul had uppermost in his mind the callous exploitation associated with the sex-trade centred in his day in the pagan temples. he was not addressing the issue of loving same-sex relationships. Our translation strives to refocus on Paul's concern with the ill treatment of one human being by another, of which sexual abuse is one example, the persecution of minorities another.
I can say amen to that!
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