For even though they knew God, they did not honor God as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 

and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful....

Romans 1:21-21 (New American Standard, inclusified, emphases mine)

In context, this passage says that those who know God and do not give God credit, God gives over to all kinds of depravity: they become lustful and unloving and gossips, among other things. But funny thing, only one part of this passage is pulled out.

You cannot take one or two verses out of a whole story and interpret them apart from the story. Yet verses 26 and 27 are nearly always used out of context against all gay and lesbian people.

Just as when we've looked at the other passages in scripture, we need to really look at what words were used, how the words are used, then at the cultural context (in other words, what activity was Paul trying to address when he wrote this letter).

First, in Romans 26, Paul uses the term "para phusin," which means "against nature." It is this phrase that gave its name to the "Crimes Against Nature" laws. But Paul also uses the same phrase in other places.

For example, in Romans 11:24, where God grafts the gentiles "contrary to nature" onto the Jewish olive tree; Galatians 2:15, where he says Jews are Jews "by nature"; and 1 Corinthians 11:14, where he says that nature teaches that "...if a man has long hair, it is a shame unto him," in spite of the fact that Leviticus says for a man never to cut his hair or round the corners of his beard (Leviticus 19:27).

By Paul's use of this phrase, it appears that "nature" to him is "a matter of training and social conditioning," in other words, what is proper according to custom (McNeill, p. 55).

The reality is that "unnatural" usually means something you don't want to do, rather than something that is really UNnatural. It's unnatural to shave. It's unnatural to eat popcorn from the microwave. It's unnatural -- isn't it? -- to fly in big metal tanks (I mean, if God wanted us to fly, God would've given us wings.) But it sure would be unnatural to give it up now, wouldn't it? Is it unnatural for a certain number of people in every culture and time to fall in love with members of their own sex? Actually, no.

Another of the words used, in Romans 1:27 is the Greek word katergazomai. According to Rev. Bob Arthur, former Assistant Dean of Men at Bob Jones University, and Greek and Semitic language scholar, "The work ergazomai alone means to work or accomplish. But when the preposition kat is put with it, the extreme energy required to accomplish that deed is referred to.

"This would indicate a violation of the natural tendencies of that man who has sex with another man. Could the act of rape be indicated by selecting this particular verb? At any rate, for a gay man, whose natural preference is for other men, it would certainly not require katergazomai to accomplish a sexual act with another man" ("Homosexuality and the Conservative Christian," p.11).

Other scholars as well have interpreted the passage in Romans 1:26 to refer to people who have consciously chosen to have sex in some manner which is not normal for them. (And certainly, there are people who do so choose, even today. Most gay or lesbian people have never consciously chosen to be attracted to a member of the same sex.)

The use of another Greek word aphentes, according to Father McNeill (p. 55) "...strengthens the image of a conscious choice...."

Paul in this passage appears to believe that this unnatural homosexual activity was a result of idolatry ("Therefore God gave them up..."). God punished the idolator by allowing them the consequences of their own choice, giving up on them, if you will.

The whole point of the first chapter of Romans is that God's power and reality are obvious to anyone who looks around and that people must consciously choose to turn from God. God's anger is directed against those who deliberately choose to turn away from worshipping God to worshipping or giving magical power to objects, animals, other people, or even to "self."

Things haven't changed.

Anything one loves more than God is an idol. Lust is love so misdirected.

According to Bob Arthur, Paul talks about three kinds of lust in this chapter. Verse 22 involved the lust for wisdom, which results in foolishness.

Verse 26 talks about women's lust for sex, and the natural result is a perversion of natural love into something unnatural for that individual ("Paul does not specify what the unnatural sexual conduct is. For different people it could be different things" (p.10)).

Verse 27 talks about men allowing sex to become god which leads to them abandoning normal sex for katergazomai.

"Especially for Christian lesbians and gays, "Arthur continues, "This passage should not apply. For to a Christian, God is first in our lives, and all other desires fall into second place. Therefore sex is not a god, and we do not fall under the condemnation described in Romans 1" (p.10).

Even to a non-Christian gay or lesbian, who is simply doing what is perfectly normal and natural, "by nature," verses 26 and 27, by themselves do not apply.