Should We Translate St Paul's παρα φυσιν as Contrary to Nature? Text versus Received Dogma in the Translation of St Paul

It is indefensible to translate Paul's παρα φυσιν (para phusin) at Rom. 1:26 and 11:24 as “contrary to nature” (contra naturam) and to imply the unspoken rider “and therefore uniquely hateful to God.” Yet the tradition that does so is almost as old as the Greek text itself. There is a plethora of subtle nuances to παρα + acc., but a flat negative is not one of them. When Rom. 11:24 is so translated, it is reduced to nonsense. Plato's The Laws supplies a clear, cogent and directly relevant distinction between μη (not) and παρα (beyond, beside, etc.) in relation to sexual behaviour. Naturalness is a multivalent concept, not bivalent. The naturalness of a behaviour is a question of degree. Unnatural behaviour is impossible. The argument here is lexicographical, textual and philosophical. Theology must follow the text, not drive it.     

Queering “Straight” Preaching

Abstract

Well-meaning straight preachers may approach the issue of LGBTQ equality in the church from a standpoint of compassion, but queer theorists such as Lee Edelman have critiqued “compassion-compulsion” as a subconscious selfprojection, requiring that others become just like us. This article presses straight preachers to go further than simply preaching to include “others,” instead challenging such preachers to open themselves and their congregations to the risk of transformation. Drawing from the philosophical hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur, this article suggests that preachers move towards others in a gesture of “recognition” that resembles gratitude, and by such a gesture to receive the risky gifts others have to offer. This gratitude for the gifts of others becomes a motive for engaging in queer theory and queer theology, but this motive also puts us at risk. The risk of preaching that seriously engages the gifts of others includes queering ourselves, allowing ourselves to be scandalized by the risk of transformation asked of us by the gospel we preach.     

Conservation or conversation? Contextual facilitation of inappropriate conservation judgments

Recent studies have shown that children who fail Piagetian conservation tasks may succeed if the transformation of materials is made to seem accidental, or incidental to some other activity. In the present study, 46 children, mean age 6 years, were randomly assigned to either a standard or a modified testing condition. In both, the child first made a judgment as to the equality in area of two square fields, each made up from eight interlinked fence sections. Then the child saw one of the fields transformed into a rectangle, without the fences being disconnected, and was asked for a second judgment as to the equality of the fields. In the modified condition the transformation made sense in terms of creating a space for the farmhouse. Significantly higher levels of “conserving” judgments were obtained in the modified than in the standard condition. However, it should be noted that area is not in fact conserved in this case. The implications of this for the status of precociously correct conservation judgments are discussed.     

VOCATION AND CREATION: BEYOND THE GENTILE‐HOMOSEXUAL ANALOGY

One strand of the church's conversation about homosexuality compares present‐day acceptance of homosexuals to the church's acceptance of Gentiles in Acts 15. In a previous article, “Gentiles and Homosexuals,” I presented the history of that strand. In a reply to my article, Olson proposes to reimagine the analogy via the “radical new perspective on Paul” and argues that doing so exposes problems with my original analysis. I defend myself against these criticisms, while also entering into the spirit of Olson's reimagined analogy. Expanding the scope beyond Acts to Paul opens up important facets that might otherwise be obscured. In particular, it includes voices that are sometimes silenced, and presses both sides for an account of sexuality grounded in vocation and God's purposes in creation.     

Mystical Experience: Unveiling the Veiled

Mystical experience is not unusual. Nearly half of all Americans report having had one or more mystical experiences. The author looks at how these experiences are moments of knowing—Do they unveil what is hidden?—and at how pastoral theologians and clinicians may help others come to understand their experience. Some thoughts on what this area of study may contribute to pastoral theology and pastoral counseling are also provided.     

Respecting Nature?

This paper considers whether respect is a concept that can be applied fruitfully and cogently to nature and the environment. Through an examination of the idea of nature, respect and an analysis of Paul Taylor’s book Respect for Nature, it argues that, despite the attractiveness of the idea, the concept of respect cannot be coherently and systematically applied to the natural world and that, if a reasoned justification for a non-instrumental view of nature is to be sought, it must be sought elsewhere, perhaps in the notion of care rather than respect per se.