So when two unmarried people decide to have consensual sex is that sin?
No, assuming neither of them was married to another person. It wasn't a sin under the Mosaic law either.
Because they have dishonored their own bodies via lust between themselves. That's what it says.
That's not what is says, but what you've read into the verses. And your interpretation is ignoring the context (Israel's idolatry), e.g. worshiping the golden calf (Ex 32:23-25 -- idolatry, the people were naked, etc.).
Romans 1:24 speaks specifically of
uncleanness, i.e. the law of Moses. God "gave them up to uncleanness" in the sense that he put a law over them that condemned their flesh (Deut 31:26, Col 2:14), because they, like so many Christians today, were focused on the flesh.
Your interpretation suggests that God intentionally gave people over to homosexuality for some cause, but not others? But the Bible doesn't record God ever doing that. In contrast, the Bible records God giving the idolatrous Israelites up to uncleanness, via the law, to teach them a lesson.
Idolatry is a large part of homosexual relations, they are not mutually exclusive.
I disagree.
Verse 24 already gives ample evidence that homosexuality is the topic, so it is not a sudden conclusion.
I've already addressed that, and the passage doesn't start with verse 24. The context, as I have shown, is clearly about idolatry (Romans 1:23). And again, it is recorded in the Bible that the children of Israel did what Paul is describing in Romans 1:23, i.e. worshiping the golden calf, worshiping the brass serpent, etc.
Paul here speaks about women doing something against nature.
Idolatry is against nature. Sex with animals is against nature. One could claim it means either in the context of Romans 1:23. You are only assuming it's homosexuality, out of context.
Furthermore, female homosexuality is not condemned anywhere in the Bible, but females worshiping idols and having sex with animals is condemned. Women were still doing that during Paul's time, right?
If he is talking about idolatry, why single out women?
He didn't. "And likewise also the men ..." Ro 1:27.
How is idolatry "against nature" more than any other sin?
I didn't say it was.
The "natural use" is heterosexual relations, "that which is against nature" is homosexual relations.
I disagree. First, the natural use of women for men is fellowship, not sex (Ge 2:18). If it was for heterosexual relations, God would not have first offered him animals as companions (Ge 2:19-20). Second, homosexuality is seen throughout nature.
Idolatry is not against nature.
I disagree. Romans 1:20-21 and Acts 17:28-29 proves idolatry is against nature.
Paul never says that everyone is committing these crimes.
Seriously? Did you miss Romans 1:28-29, or are you claiming that only homosexuals are covetous?
What in the world would "leaving aside the natural use of women" and lusting after men have to do with idolatry?
In John 5:44, Matthew 6:2, Matthew 23:5-7, and Luke 16:15, Jesus explains why men lusting other men is idolatry.
The Greek word translated to "lust" (
orexis) in Romans 1:27 is used only
once in the Bible, and based on Strong's could easily be applied to a desire for esteem, like we see Jesus is describing. In contrast, Jesus used the word "lust" (
epithumeo) to describe coveting another sexually.
If it were merely about idolatry the man-woman distinction would be irrelevant.
Not in a male-dominated segregated society and religion. Have you ever been to a synagogue? The men and women are segregated; the men have their group and politics, the women have their group and politics, and that extends outside the synagogue. We see the same thing today, even in Christian churches.
... can you name any reputable Bible scholars who agree with you?
I notice that "reputable Bible scholars" disagree with each other on many doctrinal issues, so I'm inclined to study God's word and allow the Father to teach me (Jn 6:45). For that reason, I wouldn't really know if some scholar has figured this out to the extent I have. :idunno:
But it's interesting that you should ask because I first learned of the textual criticisms regarding the verses about homosexuality from a Catholic priest. That's what got me pondering the subject. Read The Church and the Homosexual by John J. McNeill, if your interested in the textual criticism of all the alleged scriptures about homosexuality.
