"Since pederastic relationships were so common and accepted in the ancient world of Jesus, it is likely that, as the story indicates, Jesus himself had no problem with the practice of pederasty."

My dear, the author of this piece blithely ignores the fact that Jesus was a Jew. Jews most certainly had a problem with the practice of pederasty. One of the harshest passages in classical literature against pederasty comes from the Jewish philosopher Philo, who was contemporaneous with St. Paul, and who had no "break away from the old religion" motives for holding the view he did.

Some of the pro-gay and pro-BL analyses of this passages (including the one you cite) oversimplify a complex linguistic, historical, and theological subject. So you'll excuse me if I go off and discuss this with CliveStaplesLewis, as he seems to have been reading the more sophisticated analyses. :)

Dusk