New Testament and Homosexualit [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The author did a very good job of examining in a logical and scholarly fashion exactly what the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality. I appreciated the lack of political rhetoric in the book. The cultural background information was very helpful in understanding how to interpret the Biblical passages often quoted on both sides of the debate.

I found the list of Biblical passages referenced in the back of the book very helpful. I used the index to read all of the referenced passages in the NIV translation of the Bible.

To get the maximum out of this book, you have to be willing to put some intellectual effort into exploring the Bible as a Bible scholar does. This doesn't mean that the book is hard to read - on the contrary, it is written very clearly. This book is most useful if you have an honest desire to understand how the Bible addresses the issue. It will not be as useful if you are simply trying to find ammunition to support your already stated viewpoint.

This is an excellent book for anyone curious about the Scriptural basis (used by both sides) in Christian debates over the morality of homosexual acts. It is short (150 pages) and very readable.

The book starts out with a brief overview of various positions on homosexuality taken by different Christian sects, and how those different positions are claimed to be supported by Scripture. Then he takes a historical approach, going into detail about the cultural background of the time and place where the New Testament was written, which means particular focus on Greek pederasty (sex between men and boys). Scroggs explains both the debate in mainstream Greek society, as well as the views of and Scriptural interpretations (and misinterpretations) of both Palestinian and Hellenistic Jews. He makes clear what is known, as well as what is missing from the historical records.

My favorite aspect of this book is that Scroggs does not let the reader know his opinion at first. He starts being incredibly objective, and then slowly becomes more and more opinionated and colorful in his statements. Finally, in the last chapter, Scroggs gives his own conclusions. I won't spoil the end, but I will tell you that he bases his conclusions on two conditions:

(1) The biblical statements must be consonant with the larger, major theological and ethical judgments which lie at the heart not only of Scripture, but of the historical church throughout the ages. (2) The context today must bear a reasonable similarity to the context of the statements at the time of writing.

Scroggs, a Biblical scholar and Christian, is intellectually honest and rigorous about both his research and analysis. He jumps to no rash conclusions about anything, and when he states his own conclusions, he always presents opposing views in a way that is non-judgmental.

This is one of the early books dealing with the bible and homosexuality written in 1983 just after John Boswell's book (Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality, 1980).

In his commentary on 1 Corinthians Gordon D Fee says that this book "is a model of fairness to all sides". The book is very clearly written and his quotation of the various Greco-roman sources is especially useful as it gives us valuable historical information about society and homosexuality at that time, for this alone it is worth getting. His main thesis is that pederasty was the main form of homosexual activity in higher levels of society in the Greco-roman world. And that the NT bible is against this exploitative sexual activity. Now if Paul had only written 1 Cor 6:9 condemning the malakoi and arsenokoitai, he would have a very good point. However, this argument falls rather flat when one considers Paul's reference to male and female homosexual activity in Romans 1. The fact that Paul says that the men were "consumed with passion for one another" means that he is hardly referring to just exploitative sex. As far as we know female homosexual relationships were very rare in society in those days. Paul's argument in Rom 1 is based on the created intent of the Creator, therefore he indicts both males and females who practise this sin. It is easy to understand that men indulge in this sin, but even the females indulge in this sin, that is Paul's point.

In his discussion of the origin of the word "arsenokoites" used in 1 Cor 6:9 he establishes that this is based on the Greek translation of Leviticus 18 and 20 in the Septuagint the LXX (p86). He fails to point out that Paul's use of the word arsenokoites, which he gets from his Greek OT, means that Paul also thought that the Levitical prohibitions against male-male intercourse also applied in his day. But on p107 he seems to back track by saying that arsenokoites has no recoverable history prior to Paul's use if it, but this is hardly the point, Paul's use of the word arsenokoite is derived from the LXX, meaning that Paul approved of the Levitical prohibitions. He then goes on to argue, and it is quite subtle, that when malakos and arsenokoites are used together, then malakos points to the effeminate call-boy, then arsenokoites in this context must be the active partner who keeps the malakos as a "mistress" or who hires him on occasion to satisfy his sexual desires. If this argument is correct then Paul is only condemning exploitative sex and prostitution, which Paul also clearly condemns in 1 Cor 6. Again we need to look at Rom 1 to see more on Paul's thoughts in order to clarify the issue.

In his discussion of Rom 1:26-27 on p 109 Scroggs clearly looses the plot. He does not seem to realise that Paul refutes his expoitative argument when Paul mentions "dishonoring of their bodies among themselves", men being "consumed with passion for one another", and "receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error".

I highly recommend this book for all who are interested in the biblical issues that surround this debate, especially for the Greco-roman history. He articulates the exploitative position very well, as well as giving us the etymology of the Greek word `arsenokoites'. Also recommended is Robert Gagnon's book "The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics".

For a more modern book on the topic I recommend Homosexuality: Biblical Interpretation and Moral Discernment by Willard Swartley (2003), who gives a decent overview of the field.