Saturday, June 29, 2019

McKnight on Jesus on same-sex relations

"when the term porneia is used in a general sexual immorality sense, it refers for the Jew to Leviticus 18, which means it includes same-sex relations as one kind of sexual relation prohibited. In other words, it can mean 'sexual immorality' in general, with no particular boundaries in mind, but for a Jew it is more likely it has a Leviticus 18 context in mind....
"The categories at work in what a Jew in the 1st Century meant by porneia were shaped by the Torah, and that means Leviticus 18.
"For Jesus, then, there are no instances where a reference to same-sex relations is certain; there are two texts that are possible, but with the term porneia same-sex relations are undoubtedly entailed if the term is general and refers to Leviticus 18."

     Scot McKnight, "Did Jesus talk about homosexuality?," Jesus Creed, 6 April 2015, underscoring mine.