Level 4
STATEMENT AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Statement: Verse 27 Indicates Mutual Love, Not Excessive Acts
Verse 27c: “. . . with passion for one another . . .”
Verse 27 says they burned or were consumed with “passion for one another.” This is reflexive – they mutually enjoyed it. That message is also contained in verse 24 where it says that they dishonored their bodies “among themselves.” This is the same thing (ref. Gagnon, page 234). Dr. Gagnon also points to verse 27, the en heautois, and he states that this could very well be intended in the reflexive sense. So it is very possible that in three places in this passage there are references to the men being in love with each other, mutually enjoying the acts. This is not the picture of men only committing acts that are selfish and abusive.
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Response
In order to have a sound understanding of what the Word of God teaches concerning same-sex marriage it will be necessary to deal with the above statement. It will not be possible to advocate same-sex marriage without dealing with aspects such as this of Romans 1:27.
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