by Dr. Rodger Rice
Statement Against Heterosexual Marriages Only
Statement
In considering Romans 1, might the writers of the Human Sexuality Report be acting over-scrupulously?
Dr. Rice takes a look at Romans 15:1 where it says that the strong are to bear up the weak. He rejects the idea, “The attitude of I’m right and you’re wrong.” Those who insist they are right are the weak in faith (about the 10:00 minute marker).
At about the 10:15 he provides the following four points/questions: 1. Condemning homosexuality was not the intent of Rom. 1. Rom. 2 shows his intent was to discourage an overly scrupulous attitude. 2. Is the HSR showing an overly judgmental attitude? 3. Could such over-scrupulosity come from weakness not strength? Paul accepts all, he did not condemn. 4. Appeal to writers to look again, are they acting over-scrupulously?
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Response
Does this mean that those who firmly believe that Christ died for our sins are weak in the faith? There are some topics that we cannot be overly-scrupulous about. I Corinthians 6:9-10 tells us that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If God says a certain act will prevent a person from enjoying eternal fellowship with God, wouldn’t we be doing harm to people to tell them it is good to engage in those acts?
Concerning his first of the four points/questions, the church has understood Romans 1 as well as Leviticus 18 and 20 and I Corinthians 6 to condemn all forms of homosexual acts. Has the church been wrong for millennia? If so, how do we know that?
As far as the second point goes, the church has long understood Romans 2 to carry the meaning that not only were the heathen guilty before God, the recipients of Paul’s letter were also guilty of sin. As Romans 3:23 states, “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . .”
The Human Sexuality Report lists a number of matters of biblical interpretation which indicate the church has been correct in its understanding of this passage. Rice’s video is in response to that report. What is needed is to bring the reasons why it is not the intent of Romans 1 to the table. A comment that Romans 2 shows what the real intent of Romans 1 is needs supporting evidence. If someone believes the report is in error, then clearly show what that is based upon. The evidence the HSR brings forward is that Romans 1 prohibits loving same-sex relationships. The content of Romans 2 does not alter the prohibition of Romans 1.
Concerning the third point, how does Rice know that Paul accepts all people? We can each have our own understanding of what we believe a passage teaches, but we need to be able to provide the evidence for why we believe what we believe.
Rice’s first point is the crux of this matter. Until evidence is brought forward which successfully supports his position, the countering evidence produced by the HSR is what is on the table for the Christian Reformed Church to consider. As it currently stands this video does not pose a challenge to the HSR. If you disagree with this assessment, please provide your reasons for doing so in the blog provided below.