Paul

, as in Paul’s vision, God will in the end be ‘all in all’ (1 Cor. 15:28), then nothing present and nothing past is excluded. We are told that in the fulfilment of the times all things will be united in Christ, things in heaven and things in earth’ (Eph. 1:10) and ‘all things reconciled to him, whether on earth or in heaven’ (Col. 1:20), because ‘all things were created through him’ (Col. 1:16); and if this is so, we have to talk about the universality of God’s grace. ‘Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Phil. 2:11). Then ‘universal reconciliation’ can no longer be a heresy and a reproach. It is an expression of hope and of trust in God’s goodness. But the decision is God’s alone" Moltmann ☀

Romans 1:26-7 - The Bible Says That Homosexuality Is A Sin?

"The bible says” is often the excuse employed by homophobic Christians who believe scripture requires a condemnation of homosexuality. The bible is a neutral object. It only “says” something when we act upon it. This is why we as actors must use this prop in a Shakespearean manner and not improv it as so many do today.


 In the last several decades, the use of classical rhetoric as a tool to examine the Pauline epistles has become something of an institution among New Testament scholars. Because of this, we are able to wield scripture more effectively. Equally so, there is push back from fundamentalists and conservatives who would read scripture as if they were the ones writing it, divorced from its first century Greco-Roman-Hellenistic context. It is because of this insistence we read scripture as a modern how-to guide that those who use it are likely to do so not only in error but to the harm of others as well.


 A case in point is the often (mis)used passage, Romans 1.18-32. It does not take long in a discussion on scripture and homosexuality for the more traditional defender to take this out of his or her arsenal, as if it is the “nuclear option.” Jesus may not have spoken directly about homosexuality, but Paul did, we are assured. However, and I relish this role as the bearer of bad news, this passage is not about condemning homosexuality, but about condemning those who condemn others."


 Romans 1:26-7 - The Bible Says That Homosexuality Is A Sin? Via azspot.net
 I strongly agree with this.

'A lot of interpretive decisions were made for you before you picked up Romans. Ignoring verse divisions, chapter divisions, and paragraph breaks created by committees is one way to begin taking Romans back. Trying, as best we can, to read Romans as its original recipients would is the key. Knowing a bit about Greek style in writing rhetoric is indispensable. Forgetting caricatures of Judaism drawn from unbalanced reading of Jesus’ criticisms of some Pharisees in his time should be a prerequisite. And it might be worth supposing, from what we know of Gentile god-fearers in the first century, that the Gentile readers of the letter to the Romans respected Jewish teaching. It might be further worth supposing that Paul saw himself as a better Jewish teacher than any they might be getting advice from.”
—   How Your Bible Christianizes Paul, via azspot.net as well