Thursday, February 4, 2010

Vickie Gene Escapes "The Pretzel Hold"

When I was younger, I remember the joke about a wrestler who was undefeated because he used the "Pretzel Hold". Only one wrestler ever escaped from it and, if you want to know how, you can google it.

Vickie Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, recently came out with an interesting pronouncement. Apparently, when Saint Paul wrote of homosexual actions in Romans 1, the Apostle was referring to heterosexuals engaging in homosexual behavior.  According to Bishop Robinson, Saint Paul had no way of knowing that there are people who are born with a genetic predisposition to same-sex attractions. So, therefore, there was no way that the Apostle could have known about homosexuality as we understand it today.

I'm not going to address Bishop Robinson's logic, there are others who will do that. What I do think is important is that we need to remember that Scripture is not bound or limited by its human authorship. There is a Divine author in every verse of Scripture.  What this means is pretty straightforward: No matter what was in or not in Saint Paul's awareness, every word of Sacred Scripture can claim authorship from God.

Bishop Robinson can make whatever argument he likes regarding same-sex behavior. When he chooses a theological realm, he should be a little more careful about his understandings of inspiration and inerrancy.

Here's the link:

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/60952