Thread by @Jonathan_Tallon

In advance of synod & #LLF discussions, some have tweeted this argument (summarised): Jesus condemned sexual immorality. Then, homosexuality was seen as sexually immoral. Therefore Jesus condemned homosexuality.
Settle down for a thread on why this argument is problematic. 1/

First, did Jesus refer to sexual immorality? Yes, Jesus did this a number of times. Matt. 5:32; Matt. 15:19 (parallel to Mark 7:21); Matt. 19:9; Mark 7:21. The Greek word being translated as sexual immorality (or fornication) is porneia (or its plural form). 2/

What does porneia mean? The roots of the word are linked closely to prostitution. For example, in Matt. 21:31, when Jesus refers to tax collectors and prostitutes, the word for prostitutes is pornai. For more information on the history of the word, see Harper (2012). 3/

But the word isn’t tied just to prostitution. It became used more widely within Judaism to mean intercourse that was wrong. 4/

And, generally, porneia meant sleeping around, particularly with prostitutes, although without a precise definition. Outside the gospels, we sometimes see porneia paired with moicheia – adultery. This might be surprising. Why do you need both? Surely either one would do. 5/

But moicheia had a tight, legal definition: violating the honour of a respectable woman. Honour was a legal concept: enslaved people, gladiators, actors, bar staff and prostitutes had none. So sleeping with a prostitute was not adultery – they had no honour to violate. 6/

So, if you wanted to cover the main forms of sexual immorality within the culture, which made heavy use of prostitutes, you would use both: don’t commit moicheia = don’t violate other people’s spouses; don’t commit porneia = don’t sleep around with prostitutes. 7/

Could porneia cover more than sleeping with prostitutes? Yes, and we see this in 1 Cor. 6 where it is used for incest. It could be used for any sexual sin. 8/

Some argue that porneia refers specifically to Lev. 18 and the list of forbidden sexual practices. I haven’t seen any evidence that it was used particularly as a technical term for this list. It is often asserted, but there appears to be no evidence for this claim at all. 9/

In particular, if porneia was a technical term for this list, it would be strange, as this list does not forbid sleeping with prostitutes, which is the root of the word. In short, my opinion is that this assertion is plain wrong. 10/

But this doesn’t address the broader argument. If first century Judaism saw homosexuality as sexually immoral, and Jesus said don’t be sexually immoral, then the overall argument still appears to work. 11/

First, let’s notice that faithful, loving, committed gay relationships of the type we are talking about today were not part of the mainstream discourse then. Same-sex intercourse between males meant a man and a boy, in an abusive (and in first century Rome) violent encounter. 12/

Secondly, when Jewish writers of the time such as Philo referenced Lev. 18:22 (you shall not lie with a male as with a woman), they were talking about men being abusive to boys (usually boy prostitutes). 13/

But, let’s assume that every possibility of male-male intercourse is covered by Lev. 18:22, and that the Judaism of the time would have considered that immorality. And a strand was developing at the time that porneia could mean any type of illicit sexual activity. 14/

Let's be consistent in our approach. Because the argument being made by conservatives falls prey to confirmation bias. The argument picks out the bits that supports the point they want to make, but ignores points which challenge the whole logic. 15/

Because if we are going to use 1st century Jewish morality as our standard, then let’s be consistent. This means that the following practices are sexual immorality (porneia):
Any married couple having oral intercourse.
Any married couple having intercourse during a period. 16/

Any married couple having any form of intercourse using contraception.
And there’s more. For many Jewish people of first century times, marrying someone you knew couldn’t have children was wrong, and any intercourse would come under this encompassing definition of porneia. 17/

This is why the argument fails. If you do want to argue for an encompassing Jewish first century morality, then be consistent about it. Because if you aren’t, it looks suspiciously like hypocrisy: ignoring things that heterosexual couples do but condemning gay couples. 18/

But there’s another strand to the way that the word porneia was developing. It was used as a contrast to the surrounding pagan world. Within the Greco-Roman world of the first century, use of prostitutes and enslaved people was acceptable (as no-one’s honour was violated). 19/

Porneia was a handy catch-all term to distinguish Jewish sexual morality from the practices of the world around them. Pagans are the people who use prostitutes and enslaved people. Jewish people don’t do that. We don’t commit porneia. 20/

This is why in the Didache, an early Christian teaching manual, you see the combination of three commandments:
don’t commit adultery,
don’t corrupt boys,
don’t commit fornication.
Or, to put it another way:
don’t violate women;
don’t abuse boys;
don’t sleep around. 21/

My approach? Jesus was speaking generally and not trying to define every situation. What is sexually immoral? It's actions like violating others, sleeping with prostitutes, abusing or betraying others. Is being in a faithful, committed relationship immoral? No. 22/

Summary: the conservative argument doesn't work. There are other ways to interpret what Jesus was saying, and if you do follow their logic, then you should be consistent in applying it (which they aren't). 23/

Hope people have found this helpful. As many of you know, I have a new book out – Affirmative: How you can say yes to the Bible and to LGBTQI+ people. For the rest, you can get it for just 99p/99c for the next few days. 24/
amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BT8F5ZCZ