RE: Gay Marriage/Homosexuality

Hello Burgy,

Thank you for the reply. I notice that you do present both sides of this
argument on your site. I was going to read your position statement this
weekend but never got around to it. Always so much to do. I will
eventually get around to it, though.

You wrote: "When [2 Timothy 3:16] was written, the gospels were as yet
unwritten. Unless you hold that the writer was explicitly forseeing the
assembly of the 66 book canon two centuries in the future, to claim that it
applies to all the scripture is problematic."

While I agree that Paul was probably referring primarily to the OT writings
in this verse, there is evidence that some NT writings were already viewed
as inspired and authoritative Scripture when Paul wrote 2 Timothy. For
instance, 1 Timothy 5:18 quotes from the gospel of Luke (so it was obviously
not "unwritten at the time of 2 Timothy), and 2 Peter 3:15-16 clearly
regards Paul's epistles as Scripture.

Jesus Christ Himself taught that Scripture is God's inspired Word, and He
also spoke of revelation yet to come from the Holy Spirit through the
apostles. To deny full inspiration of Scripture, therefore, is to set aside
the fundamental witness of Jesus Christ and the apostles. The apostle Paul
was writing under direct inspiration of God. When Paul was merely offering
his own personal judgment, he clearly states as much as is evident in 1
Corinthians 7:25. I would tend to agree that Paul, when writing 2 Timothy
3:16, probably did not foresee "the assembly of the 66 book canon two
centuries in the future," but we can be assured that God did!

You say: "HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE! It is a 19th century
word coined to express a concept first seriously researched in that time
period. Certain homosexual actions ARE addressed in scripture; the debate
is between those who see those passages as applying to ALL such actions
and those who see those passages as applying to only certain actions
(man-boy relationships, in particular)."

Webster's New World College Dictionary defines homosexuality as "sexual
desire for those of the same sex as oneself." According to this definition,
which sounds valid to me, Romans 1:27 describes homosexuality perfectly. I
honestly don't see where there could be room for confusion. The verse
refers to "men with men", not "men with boys". Leviticus 20:13 also
perfectly describes homosexuality. So yes, both the OT and NT not only
mention homosexuality, but condemn it as a sin.

In Christ,
Mike
Received on Mon Jun 21 17:40:57 2004