“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God cheap viagra? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God,” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
“But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,” (1 Tim. 1:8-11).
There may not be two sets of verses more universally misrepresented than these order cialis. Countless scholars and theologians have mistranslated and misinterpreted these passages, incorrectly concluding that they both condemn homosexuality cialis. The antigay misinterpretation of both these passages is that they condemn homosexuality and that sexual minorities are not worthy of God’s love and will never enter the kingdom of God. Generations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons have been misled by these aberrant conclusions to believe that they are lawless, immoral, and sinful – unholy in the eyes of God, and ‘cut off’ from the kingdom of God. A more careful investigation of all the clues in these cases – two key words in the passages, as well as the cultural and historical contexts within which these passages were written – will lead us all to a more solid understanding of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:8-11 cheap cialis.
The antigay interpretations of these passages are reinforced by common mistranslations of two key words found in both these verses . Those two words are “malakoi” and “arsenokoitai” and we will find it much easier to establish what these words DON’T mean. Numerous scholars have pointed out that ancient peoples did not share our modern understanding of sexual orientation . In fact, they didn’t even have a word for homosexuality or homosexual. Yet several translations of the Bible render either “malakoi”, “arsenokoitai”, or both as “homosexual”. In his fantastic word study, Dr . Rembert Truluck, author of Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse, writes: “Our understanding of sexual orientation … did not exist 50 years ago, much less in biblical times. Only in 1973 did the American medical, psychiatric, and legal professions begin to recognize that homosexuality is an orientation … The original Bible languages of Hebrew and Greek have no word for homosexual … ‘homosexual’ as an adjective was first used in 1969 … The translation of any Bible word as ‘homosexual’ is a mistake,” (P.P. 451-453). I would further suggest that the many translators who continue to overlook recent research and render either “malakoi” or “arsenokoitai” to mean “homosexual” are intellectually dishonest and misleading their readers.
One difficulty associated with the accurate translation of “malakoi” and “arsenokoitai” is that they are both very obscure. The more often a word is used throughout Scripture, the more easily translators can determine its meaning based on its various contexts and usages . Both “malakoi” and “arsenokoitai” are used only four times throughout the entire New Testament . “Malakoi” is used in reference to soft clothing three times in Matthew 11:8 and Luke 7:25: “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?” Only once, does “malakoi” refer euphemistically to a “soft” or “effeminate” person – in 1 Corinthians 6:9. The illogical leap of some translators from “effeminate” to “homosexual” is tenuous at best.
And what did “arsenokoitai” (literally, “men-lyers”) really mean? Paul may have personally coined “arsenokoitai” to refer to the male temple prostitutes of Corinth’s ancient fertility cults. Scholars have noted that Septuagint translations of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 used “koitai” for “to lie” and “arsen” for “male” where the Hebrew translations of these verses used “shâkab” for “to lie down” and “zâkâr” for “male”. We’ve already established that these sexual proscriptions from Leviticus were concerned with what ancient Israelites considered “ritually impure” worship practices of the Canaanite fertility cults. But didn’t Paul also pen Galatians, where he wrote, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery … you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace,” (Gal. 5:1-5)?
While 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:8-11 might also have been references to Greek male-male, adult-adolescent pederasty or same-sex prostitution, these conclusions remain speculative and uncertain. Most likely, these passages were written to either discourage participation in the many other religious cults then present throughout the Hellenistic world or to condemn abusive male-male sexual practices common throughout parts of ancient Greece. While we can certainly find solid moral ground to condemn pedophilia and all forms of prostitution we can also be equally certain that these texts simply weren’t concerned with the ethical or moral behavior of mutually-consenting adults engaged in committed, same-sex relationships.
References:
-What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality (Millennium Edition). Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D. (2000) Alamo Square Press.
-Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times. Dr. Tom Horner, Ph.D. (1978) Westminster John Knox Press.
-Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse. Dr. Rembert Truluck. (2000) Chi Rho Press, Inc.
-The Bible and Homosexuality, Fifth Edition. Rev. Michael E. England. (1998) Chi Rho Press, Inc.
-Openly Gay, Openly Christian: How the Bible Really Is Gay Friendly. Rev. Samuel Kader. (1999) Leyland Publications.
-The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-Sex Relationships. Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley. (2002) Jesus Metropolitan Community Church.
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