I wrote recently about interpretation of Paul’s letter to the Romans as it affects LGBT Christians, pointing out that if we approach it with due consideration for the context of the full Chapter 1 and opening of Chapter 2, and not just the frequently quoted verses of 1:24 - 27, the sense of the passage changes substantially. This is not after all a condemnation of same - sex relationships as sinful. Paul does however, describe them as “shameful”. To appreciate more precisely what he means by this, and what it should mean for gay Christians today, we need to pay attention to another of the principles recommended for biblical interpretation by the Pontifical Biblical Commission: the need to consider the historical and cultural context appertaining at the time of writing.

I made a start on this in a previous post, where I argued that when the cultural context is considered for this passage, the real meaning is hiding in plain site: Paul was writing to the Romans, for whom sex in all its variety, was an even bigger part of daily life than in modern Western cities, with no general hostility to same - gender sexual practices.

Ithyphallic Tintinnabulum in British Museum (Source: Wikipedia)

“The first - century Roman world was pervaded by sexuality in a way that even modern Americans might find astonishing. It was not uncommon for home furnishings, cups, plates, floor mosaics and wall - paintings to carry representations of sexual intercourse, whether same - gender or opposite - gender. Nor was it uncommon for a person who owned slaves to treat one or more of them, whether of the same or opposite gender, as a sexual partner. Paul was in Gentile houses. He was scarcely ignorant of the differences in mores. He will certainly have had to come to grips with this most obvious of differences - the place of same - gender sexual relationships.

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