Other Sheep - Multicultural Ministries with Sexual Minorities

NEW TRANSLATION OF ROMANS 1:18 - 2:16

Idolatry (Romans 1:18-23)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all idolatry and oppression of men,

who with their oppression even suppress the truth,

because what can be known about God

plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

For ever since the creation of the

world, his

eternal power and divinity, though invisible, have been understood and clearly

perceived in the

things that have been made, so they are without excuse,

because

although they knew God, they

did not glorify nor thank him, but became futile in their

reasonings, and their undiscerning heart was

darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became

fools

and exchanged the glory of the immortal

God into a likeness of an image of

corruptible man and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles;

Covetous desires and unclean sexual acts (Romans 1:24-27)

wherefore, God gave them up in the

covetous

desires

of their hearts to

uncleanness

, to

the

dishonoring

of their bodies among themselves,

who exchanged the truth about God

for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than

the Creator who is blessed unto

the ages! Amen.

For this reason,

God gave them up

dishonorable passions

, for even

their females exchanged the natural use for the use against

nature

;

and similarly also the

males, leaving the natural use of the female,

burned with passion

for one another, males

with males committing

shameful acts

and received back among themselves

the penalty due

their error.

Injustice, oppression, violence, gossip (Romans 1:28-32)

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God

gave them up to a debased mind

to do what is not proper,

having [already] been filled with

all oppression/injustice,

wickedness,

covetousness,

malice,

full of envy,

of murder,

of strife,

of guile,

of malignity,

whisperers,

slanderers,

haters of God,

insolent,

arrogant,

boasters,

inventors of evil,

disobedient to parents,

undiscerning,

unfaithful,

unaffectionate,

unmerciful;

who know God’s just ordinance that those who practice such things deserve to die, they

not only

do them, but even applaud others who practice them.

Gentile (and Jewish?) moralizers and God’s just judgment (Romans 2:1-16)

2:1

Wherefore, O man, you are inexcusable, everyone of you who judges; for in passing

judgment

on another you condemn yourself, since you who judge practice the same things.

Now we know

that God’s judgment is according to truth against those who do such things.

So do you suppose, O

man—you who judge those who do such things and yet do them

yourself—that you will escape God’

s judgment?

Or do you despise the riches of his

kindness and forbearance and longsuffering?

But by your stubbornness and your

impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day

of wrath when God’s just

judgment will be revealed.

He will repay according to each one’s deeds:

on the one hand, to those who by *manly

perseverance in doing good work seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give life in

the age

to come; 8 on the other hand, to those who are self-seeking and disobeying the truth,

but practicing

oppression, there will be wrath and fury.

Affliction and poverty on every soul of

man working evil,

the Jew first and also the Greek;

but glory and honor and peace to

everyone working good, the

Jew first and also the Greek.

For God shows no partiality.

For as many as have sinned without Torah also will perish without Torah; and as many as

have

sinned in Torah will be judged by Torah;

for it is not the hearers of Torah who are just

with God,

but rather the doers of Torah will be justified [at the future final judgment].

For

whenever Gentiles

who do not possess Torah by nature the things of the Torah do, these,

though not having the

Torah, are a law to themselves,

who show the work of the Torah to

be written in their hearts, to

which their own conscience bears witness; and their conflicting

thoughts will accuse or perhaps

excuse them

on the day when, according to my good

news, God, through Messiah Jesus, will

judge men’s secret thoughts.

Deconstruction of texts on uncleanness, against nature, shame, and Sodom

Uncleanness

1:24

# 14:14, 20b — I know and have been persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is

unclean in

itself; but if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is

unclean….All

things indeed are

clean, but it is wrong for anyone to eat anything that

causes someone else

to stumble.

Agaionst Nature

1:24, 26-27

# 1:16; 3:24-25; 5:2-3,11 — I am not ashamed of the Gospel….being

justified by

his

grace through the redemption that is in Messiah Jesus, whom God set

forth as an

expiation-

propitiation by his blood through faith….We boast in the hope of

the glory of

God…but also in our

oppressions….but also in God (cf. Hebrews 12:2,

“despising the shame”).

Shame

1:26-27

# 11:21, 24 — For if God spared not the natural branches [Israel], neither will

spare you

[Gentiles]….For if you [Gentiles] were cut out of the olive tree that is wild

by nature

(katà phúsin) and

against nature (parà phúsin) were grafted into a cultivated

olive tree [Israel],

how much more readily

will these [Jews], the natural (katà phúsin)

branches, be grafted into

their own olive tree.

Sodom

9:29

If the Lord of hosts had not left us sperm/seed (offspring), we would have fared

Sodom and

been likened to Gomorrah [Isa 1:9].

A Gay Apostle’s Queer Epistle for a Peculiar People: Romans 1:24-27 in its Context
Rev. Dr. Tom Hanks

Part 1
Romans 1:18 - 2:16, a new translation
with end note references to
Deconstruction of texts on uncleanness, against nature, shame, and Sodom

Note: The pound sign (#) indicates that more detail or related treatment
of the marked subject is discuessed in other place(s) in this docuemnt.