Women with Women?

Romans 1:26
For this cause, God gave them up to dishonorable affections. For even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature.
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another; males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was fitting for their error.

The question could just as well be, "Does Romans 1:26 teach against what everyone thinks it does?" There are two reasons why I questioned this teaching.

The first reason is that we find absolutely nothing in the Old Testament concerning the subject. When the scripture says that God does not change I understand that to mean that God's morals also do not change. The idea that an act might be sin, but is never mentioned until the book of Romans was written and also never mentioned again made me question the concept.

The real confirmation came upon a very close examination of the Greek behind the verse. The translations do not accurately reflect the true meaning of verse 26. Here is how the verse might read with an explanation based on the Greek.

For this cause, God gave them up to dishonorable affections. For even their women exchanged the physical use, [that is normal penile-vaginal intercourse], into that which is against natural production, procreation.

Verse 27 starts with the very important word "Likewise". However most people take it that since verse 27 is forbidding men to have sexual intercourse with men that verse 26 is forbidding women to be with women. However women can not have sexual intercourse with one another. Verse 27 is forbidding the only type of sexual intercourse a man can have with another man. Verse 26 is forbidding the same behaviour between a man and a woman. The act that is against procreation therefore must be anal intercourse. The act that can be accomplished with both women and men, that is penile-anal intercourse, is the subject of the warning of bad health at the end of verse 27.

While the scripture very obviously teaches against sodomy, men with men, there is no similar scripture directed at women. This does not however promote what we know as Lesbianism as it relates to Feminism. My take on the subject may be mislabled so I will explain. I do not support the idea of women living with other women and bringing up children with a deep hatred of men.

While men, these days, may not behave as the ideal scriptural model, one must realize that God's model has men as the head and spiritual guide of the family. Inside that structure, in the situation of plural marriage for example, wives might very well enjoy time with each other and build a bond of friendship that is based on their love for their husband.

Tim