Phil Robertson and the Catholic Bishops on Homosexuality: St. Paul vs. Civil Law

 

ST. PAUL'S VIEWS ABOUT INHERITING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

 

 

Now, in a widely known passage in 1 Corinthians (6:9-11), St. Paul the Apostle seems to refer to teenage slave boys as male prostitutes and the older men involved as sodomites:

 

"(9) Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, (10) thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers -- none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (New Revised Standard Version).

 

Whew! According to St. Paul, it doesn't look like many Americans will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

Now, if St. Paul in 1Cor. 6:9 is taking aim at pederasty as it was practiced in ancient Roman culture, should this make any difference in how we today understand this passage? For example, what if there were no male prostitutes involved, but two consenting adults? Or does the inclusion of sodomites in the list mean that sodomy as such is the real target, even if the two people involved were consenting adults?

 

As a thought experiment, I would like to paraphrase the points in 1Cor. 6:9-11.

 

(1) No fornicators will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

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