From: Robert Schneider (rjschn39@bellsouth.net)
Date: Wed Jan 22 2003 - 23:00:29 EST
Moorad writes:
> I believe Jesus does address the issue of homosexuality in Mark 10:6-8
“But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. FOR
THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL
BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Jesus
certainly defines what Christian marriage is. So much for homosexual
marriages! Also in the epistle to the Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul uses
Christian marriage to teach the relationship of Christ to the Church, where
Paul quotes the above verses, which are actually found in the Old Testament.
Moorad
Bob's reply:
Moorad, I think these two quotations are perfect examples of taking
verses out of context and then drawing illogical conclusions from them. The
context of Jesus' allusion to Genesis 2:24 is a discussion on divorce, not
same-sex relations; Jesus was stating that he deems Moses' permission of
divorce was a concession to men's "hardness of heart," and goes on to say to
his disciples later that to remarry after divorce is to commit adultery (in
Matt. 19:9, Jesus is reported as making an exception for unchastity). If
you were arguing that therefore Jesus was opposed to divorce, I could see
your point. But to claim that he was addressing the issue of homosexuality
is to read into his statement something that is not there. Sorry, but this
argument is not logical. The same is the case for the statement about
marital relations in the household code in Ephesians 5. To conclude that
this writer was implying a negative judgment about same-sex relations by the
mere fact that he is making statements about the relations between husbands
and wives is to draw an erroneous conclusion. This is aside from the fact
that enduring same-sex relationships as the equivalent to marriage were not
a feature of the cultures of the Roman Empire of that time, as I stated in
my note; therefore, it was not a concept that one should expect either Jesus
or Paul to think about, or that the matter would have ever come up for
discussion. I doubt very much it was in their minds when the one spoke and
the other wrote.
Bob
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