Since I believe that the attack on Phil Robertson was primarily about the media’s distaste for Paul’s message about sin in 1st Corinthians I asked the rhetorical question, What would Paul Do? Discussing homosexuality is a tough subject but I doubt Paul would shy from the task at hand. He died as a martyr for his faith. I believe that Paul sensed that there were some “homosexual offender problems” in the church of Corinth because the NIV and NKJV translations say so in pretty definite terms. Churches seek out the broken and those overwhelmed with guilt so why is anyone surprised if a church seems to get more than its fair share of adulterers, prostitutes, drug addicts, drunkards, and people with homosexual issues. The Message and Voice interpretations of this chapter focus more on sin and less on naming names. In the context of that time in history I don’t know what homosexual offender means. Although we are probably more tolerant to homosexual lifestyles than at any time in history, we still have homosexual problems that need to be addressed. Some of the problems are pretty complicated and uncomfortable. Was Ted Haggard a heterosexual with a homosexual obsession? On the other hand New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife is complicated and comfortable with her past. She is a former lesbian who is happily married. There is probably something a church leader can learn from her.
