Many people site scripture in order to prove that their ideas about what is and is not right concerning homosexual behavior are supported by the Biblical text. In doing so, many will turn to Romans 1:26-27, "Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. In the same way the man give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing."
             As a way to compare interpretations of this particular text I would like to compare the exegesis of John Boswell in his book,
             Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality and Richard B.
             Hays', Relations Natural and Unnatural: A Response to John Boswell's Exegesis of Romans 1 using reference to an article by Peter J. Leithart, Natural Law: A Reformed Critique.
             Through his exegesis of Romans 1:26-27 Boswell first makes two contentions. First, he believes that the interpretation that Paul is addressing pagan worship rites through prostitution is "inadequate" (108). He addresses three reasons for making this assertion. The first reason, there is no reason to believe that homosexual temple prostitution was more prevalent than heterosexual or that Paul, had he been addressing himself to such practices, would have limited his comments to the former. The second reason, it is clear that the sexual behavior itself is objectionable to Paul, not merely its associations. And the third reason, Paul is not describing cold-blooded, dispassionate acts performed in the interest of ritual ceremony: he states very clearly that the parties involved burned in their lust one toward another" (108).
             The second contention that Boswell makes is as follows, "the passage is not to stigmatize sexual behavior of any sort but to condemn the...