Bibliography
| Title: An investigation of the Jewish theology of sexuality influencing the references to homosexuality in Romans 1:18-32 Type: Thesis Year: 1986 Abstract: "The purpose of this dissertation was to explicate the background of Paul's reference to homosexuality in Rom 1:18-32. The first chapter contrasted the approaches of major commentators on the epistle to the Romans with those of writers outside of New Testament scholarship. The second approach was explained as inadequate for three reasons: (1) Paul's background in Judaism is not sufficiently acknowledged. (2) The specifically Jewish content in Paul's use of the phrase para physin is not recognized. (3) The implications of Paul's reference to female homosexuality are not developed. Part one consisted of five chapters which surveyed selected Jewish literature of 200 B.C. to A.D. 200, including the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Josephus, Philo, and Mishnah and Tosefta. Three questions were asked of these documents: (1) What was prohibited sexually? (2) What was permitted sexually? (3) What were the roles of the sexes? Chapter seven summarized the conclusions. The second part related Paul's teachings to those of the surveyed literature. Chapter eight imposed the three questions upon the thirteen-epistle Pauline corpus. Paul was found to be consistent with the sexual ethic of Judaism with two exceptions. First, Paul allowed women to participate fully in worship. Second, Paul did not emphasize marriage to the degree Judaism did. Both of these differences can be related to Paul's eschatology. Chapter nine examined the forms of homosexual expression which could have influenced Paul's references to homosexuality. Pederasty was decided to be the main object of Paul's prohibitions in 1 Cor 6:9 and 1 Tim 1:10. Lesbianism was demonstrated to be commonly recognized in the culture. The final chapter presented a survey of the role of Rom 1:18-32 in the epistle and its relation to Wisdom of Solomon. Included was an exegesis of Rom 1:18-32. The chapter ended with the study's conclusions: (1) Paul's reference to homosexuality was an illustration of the reversals in human existence that occur when humanity turns from God. (2) Para physin was grounded in creation theology. (3) Paul's reference to homosexuality in both sexes indicated his opposition same-sex intercourse as a concept". Keywords: New Testament / Early Christianity |