Were jesus and st peter gay
Was Jesus in a Sexual Partnership with the Beloved Disciple?
by Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA 15206-2596
gagnon@pts.edu
Feb. 10, 2008
Some readers who espouse a homosexualist ideology go to such an highest that they cite Jesus’ relationship with the “beloved disciple” as an example of a loving homosexual bond. I haven’t previously dealt with the issue in any detail because I hold always regarded the thesis as so far-fetched, even for homosexualist ideology, as to warrant tiny or no response. Hence in my first book, The Bible and Lgbtq+ Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, I merely allude to the admission of Martti Nissinen, a Finnish Old Testament scholar who has written the best (though still flawed) homosexualist book on Scripture and homosexuality that Jesus did not engage in homoerotic behavior. According to Nissinen,
Clearly . . . the favorite disciple shows particular status. . . . Nevertheless, the homoerotic or pederastic dimension of their relationship could be argued only in a strained
What does the New Testament say about homosexuality?
Answer
The Bible is consistent through both Old and New Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis 19:1–13; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10; Jude 1:7). In this matter, the New Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the Law was given to Moses (Leviticus 20:13). The difference between the Antique and New Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught up in the sin of homosexualitythrough the redeeming influence of Jesus. It is the same hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to agree to it (John 1:12; 3:16–18).
God’s standards of holiness did not change with the coming of Jesus, because God does not alter (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). The New Testament is a continuing revelation of God’s interaction with humanity. God hated idolatry in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 5:8), and He still hates it in the New (1 John 5:21). What was immoral in the Old Testament is still immoral in the New.
The New Testament says that homosexuality is a “shameful lust” (Romans 1:26), a “shameful act,” an abandonment o
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Roman Catholic Church
BACKGROUND
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the planet, with approximately 1.2 billion members across the globe. With its origins in the earliest days of Christianity, the Church traces its leadership––in the person of the Pope––to St. Peter, identified by Jesus as “the rock” on which the Church would be built.
The Catholic Church in the United States numbers over 70 million members, and is organized in 33 Provinces, each led by an archbishop. Each bishop answers directly to the Pope, not to an archbishop. Those Provinces are further divided into 195 dioceses, each led by a bishop. At the base of the organizational structure are local parishes, headed by a pastor, appointed by the local bishop. The Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States meets semi-annually.
As part of a global entity with its institutional center at the Vatican, the Catholic Church in America is shaped by worldwide societal and cultural trends. It is further shaped by leadership that is entirely male, with women excluded from the priesthood and thus from key leadership roles.
LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
ON S It is common for those of us who aim to defend the biblical teaching on many matters to hear the retort: “But Jesus never mentioned homosexuality,” or “Jesus never said anything about going to church on Sunday,” etc. Of course my next instinct is to quote any number of passages in the Fresh Testament wherein the practices in question are rather clearly condemned or commanded. But this does not seem to impress the dissenters, who wave their hands and say that Paul (or Peter, or James, or John) was not Jesus, and if it did not reach from the very mouth of Jesus it is not valid.
Thus the dissenters subdivide the Word of God and conclude, in influence, that revelation ended with the Ascension of Jesus rather than with the death of the last Apostle, as the Tradition has always held. Also, they essentially contradict that the same Divine Spirit who inspired Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, also inspired Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude. St. Paul especially is excoriated by many moderns as homophobic, misogynistic, intolerant, etc. Yes, St. Paul and the other epistle writers have become for them a kind of “deuterocanonical” source at leading, and a discredited sou
What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume 21-3 May-June 2008
Mainline Christian denominations in this country are bitterly divided over the scrutinize of homosexuality. For this reason it is significant to ask what flash, if any, the Modern Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently assume that the New Testament expresses formidable opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, lead to the conclusion that the Unused Testament does not provide any direct guidance for understanding and making decisions about homosexuality in the modern world.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the Fresh Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek word or phrase in the entire New Testament that should be translated into English as “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” In reality, the very notion of “homosexuality”—like that of “heterosexuality,” “bisexuality,” and even “sexual orientation”—is essentially a current concept that would simply have been unintelligible to the New Testament writers. The word “homosexuality” came into use only in the latter part
It is common for those of us who aim to defend the biblical teaching on many matters to hear the retort: “But Jesus never mentioned homosexuality,” or “Jesus never said anything about going to church on Sunday,” etc. Of course my next instinct is to quote any number of passages in the Fresh Testament wherein the practices in question are rather clearly condemned or commanded. But this does not seem to impress the dissenters, who wave their hands and say that Paul (or Peter, or James, or John) was not Jesus, and if it did not reach from the very mouth of Jesus it is not valid.
Thus the dissenters subdivide the Word of God and conclude, in influence, that revelation ended with the Ascension of Jesus rather than with the death of the last Apostle, as the Tradition has always held. Also, they essentially contradict that the same Divine Spirit who inspired Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, also inspired Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude. St. Paul especially is excoriated by many moderns as homophobic, misogynistic, intolerant, etc. Yes, St. Paul and the other epistle writers have become for them a kind of “deuterocanonical” source at leading, and a discredited sou
What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume 21-3 May-June 2008
Mainline Christian denominations in this country are bitterly divided over the scrutinize of homosexuality. For this reason it is significant to ask what flash, if any, the Modern Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently assume that the New Testament expresses formidable opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, lead to the conclusion that the Unused Testament does not provide any direct guidance for understanding and making decisions about homosexuality in the modern world.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the Fresh Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek word or phrase in the entire New Testament that should be translated into English as “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” In reality, the very notion of “homosexuality”—like that of “heterosexuality,” “bisexuality,” and even “sexual orientation”—is essentially a current concept that would simply have been unintelligible to the New Testament writers. The word “homosexuality” came into use only in the latter part