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  • From: <Stephen.Finlan AT durham.ac.uk>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Paul and homosexuality?
  • Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2002 19:36:11 +0100


Bob MacDonald wrote:

Asceticism does not imply sexless being.

It does imply that if one says that it's alright
to get married if you are burning with desire,
but "I would prefer that men were as myself."

>What about 'if you by
> the Spirit do put to death the deeds of the body, you will live'

I do think that that statement from Colossians
implies encratism/celibacy.

> I would take 1 Cor 7:7 as I quoted in a prior post as referring to
Paul's
> own sexual experience. Is there anyone else out there who reads it
this way?

Quite possibly, but that in no way negates the
suggestion that he became a dedicated celibate,
as an act of religious purity. People with a sexual
history are just the people who often do that.

> This is to say nothing of the positive attitude towards incarnation

I do not suggest that Paul's position is hostile to
the fundamental doctrine of the Incarnation.

>"body is the temple of the Holy Spirit"[is] very positive

Yes, indeed. Paul, unlike many other ascetics,
could say things in a way that would be very
meaningful to non-ascetics. He could state a
universal truth (and I don't care if that is
nowadays a political incorrect term).

Stephen Finlan
University of Durham




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