Editing Epistle to the Romans (section)

===== The judgment of God (1:18–32) =====
Paul begins with a summary of Hellenistic Jewish apologist discourse.<ref>J. C. O'Neill, ''Paul's Letter to the Romans'' (Penguin, 1975); E. P. Sanders, ''Paul, the Law, and Jewish People'' (Fortress, 1983); Calvin Porter, 'Romans 1.18–32: Its Role in Developing the Argument (New Testament Studies, Cambridge University Press, 1994); Scot McKnight, ''Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire'' (Baylor, 2019)</ref> His summary begins by suggesting that humans have taken up ungodliness and wickedness for which there already is [[Divine retribution|wrath from God]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Rom|1:18||1:18}}</ref> People have taken God's invisible image and made him into an [[Idolatry and Christianity|idol]]. Paul draws heavily here from the [[Wisdom of Solomon]].<ref>for all of these comparisons see Ben Witherington's commentary on Romans, p. 63 which is available on a limited preview basis from Google books.</ref> This summary condemns [[Non-traditional sexual relationships|"unnatural sexual behavior"]] and warns that such behavior has already resulted in a depraved body and mind ("reprobate mind" in the [[King James Version]]) <ref>{{bibleverse|Rom|1:26–27||1:26–27}}</ref> and says that people who do such things (including murder and wickedness <ref>{{bibleverse|Rom|1:29||1:29}}</ref>) are worthy of death.<ref>{{bibleverse|Rom|1:32||1:32}}</ref> Paul stands firmly against the [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|idol worship system which was common in Rome]]. Several scholars believe the passage is a non-Pauline [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|interpolation]].<ref>Percy Neale Harrison, ''Paulines and Pastorals'' (London: Villiers Publications, 1964), 80–85; Robert Martyr Hawkins, ''The Recovery of the Historical Paul'' (Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 1943), 79–86; Alfred Firmin Loisy, ''The Origins of the New Testament'' (New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1962), 250; ibid., ''The Birth of the Christian Religion'' (New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1962), 363 n. 21; Winsome Munro, ''Authority in Paul and Peter: The Identification of a Pastoral Stratum in the Pauline Corpus and 1 Peter'', SNTSMS 45 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 113; John C. O'Neill, ''Paul's Letter to the Romans'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1975), 40–56; William O. Walker, Jr., "Romans 1.18–2.29: A Non-Pauline Interpolation?" ''New Testament Studies'' 45, no. 4 (1999): 533–552.</ref>