The assumption of male gender superiority is a significant aspect of the historical and cultural context of the biblical passages that seem to discuss homosexuality. Old Testament scholar Martti Nissinen has concluded from his cross-cultural research that “ancient Near Eastern sources in general are concerned with gender roles and their corresponding sexual practices, not with expressing a particular sexual orientation.” Thus, generally in the ancient Near East, sexual contact between two men was condemned as a confusion of gender roles. The cultural emphasis on male gender superiority also appears in Old Testament narratives and laws. Old Testament scholar Phyllis Bird concludes, “In the final analysis it [prohibition of homosexual behaviour] is a matter of gender identity and roles, not sexuality.” The same attitude is present in the New Testament, reflecting its Greek and Roman cultural context. New Testament scholar Victor Paul Furnish states that Romans 1:26–27 presupposes “that same-sex intercourse comprises what patriarchal societies regard as the properly dominant role of males over females.

Rogers, Jack. (2006). Jesus, the bible, and homosexuality. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Pr.