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Previous - this entry written on August 30, 2001 at 4:20 am - Next >I read on a website(www.truluck.com/index.html) earlier that the Bible doesn't mention homosexuality in the New Testament in 1 Corinithians or 1 Timothy. Those two verses were translated wrong. So I did some research. I own greek/english Bible and a lexicon so I can look up the original words in Greek and find out their meaning. >Both verses have the word �homosexual� which comes from the greek word �arsenokoytase� meaning: one who lives with a male as with a female, a sodomite. And just for clarification the dictionary gives the definition of a sodomy as �sexual intercourse with a member of the same sex or with an animal�(merriam webster dictionary, 1994). So they translated the word correctly. Re: arsenokites -> From http://www.truluck.com/html/hebrew___greek.html The Greek word in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and I Timothy 1:10 that is translated �homosexual� is arsenokoites, which is formed from two words meaning �male� and �bed.� The word is not found anywhere else in the New Testament and has not been found anywhere in contemporary Greek of Paul's time. We are not sure what it means. It only appears in these two lists. The word is of obscure origin and uncertain meaning. It probably refers to male prostitutes with female customers, which was a common practice in the Roman world. When early Greek-speaking Christian preachers condemned homosexuals, they did not use this word. John Chrysostom (A.D. 345-407) preached in Greek against homosexuality, but he never used this word for homosexuals. When he wrote homilies and preached on 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10, he did not mention homosexuals. <- Re: sodomite -> From http://www.truluck.com/html/six_bible_passages.html Genesis 19:5: �Bring them out to us that we may know them.� (text omitted) �SODOMY� is not a biblical word. (text omitted) A �Sodomite� in the Bible is simply a person who lives in Sodom, which included Lot and his family. The term �sodomite� in the King James Version of Deuteronomy 23:17 and I Kings 14:24 is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew word for �temple prostitute.� (See the recent book by Mark D. Jordan: The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology. University of Chicago Press, 1997.) No Jewish scholars before the first Christian century taught that the sin of Sodom was sexual. None of the biblical references to Sodom mention sexual sins but view Sodom as an example of injustice, lack of hospitality to strangers, idolatry and as a symbol for desolation and destruction. See Deuteronomy 29:22-28; 32:32; Ezekiel 16:49-50; Jeremiah 49:18; 50:41; Isaiah 13:19-22 and Matthew 10:14-15. In Jude 7, the term �strange flesh� is Greek hetero sarkos (�different flesh� and from which the word �heterosexual� comes) and refers to foreign idols or people. It is not homo (�the same�) flesh or people. Sarkos is never used in the New Testament as a word for �sex.� <- >Second was the statement that Romans 1 is about prostitution at the temple shrine. I looked up the word �lust� because the verse says the men were filled with lust for other men(see previous entry for verse). The word in greek is �orexis� meaning desire or lust. The lexicon* defines the Greek word as �it is used both in good and bad sense, >as well of natural and lawful and even of proper cravings(as of the appetite for food) and as also of corrupt and unlawful desires.� Well this still wasn't clear enough as it could mean it was right or wrong so I looked it up in my afore mentioned dictionary. -> From http://www.truluck.com/html/six_bible_passages.html The word �passions� in 1:26 is the same word used to speak of the suffering and death of Jesus in Acts 1:3 and does not mean what we mean by �passion� today. Eros is the Greek word for romantic love, but eros is never used even once in the New Testament. �Passions� in 1:26 probably refers to the frenzied state of mind that many ancient mystery cults induced in worshipers by means of wine, drugs and music. <- �Orexis� is usually translated as �appetite� and occasionally as �desire�. Comes from the older word �Oregomai� meaning �to stretch oneself, i.e. reach out after (long for):--covet after, desire.� >Lust- intense or unbridled sexual desire: lasciviousness >lasciviousness- lustful, lewd >lewd- sexually unchaste >chaste- innocent of unlawful sexual intercourse >Through these definitions given by a non-biased dictionary, we can determine that the lust is sinful. No, based on these modern definitions, we can determine that lust is considered sinful in our current culture. Determining what was meant in the Gospels by the word would require study of how the word is used elsewhere in the Bible and other writings of the time. Secondly, the dictionary is biased. It has an overwhelmig bias towards _CURRENT_ usage of words. In this case it tells us what people understand the word to be used for in 1994. However whatever this word means it does not answer the question of what the passage is speaking about. The full treatment from the website is at http://www.truluck.com/html/six_bible_passages.html#Romans1:26-27 and is worth reading. It also points us to this: -> Peter 3:16-18 �Paul wrote things hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable distort, as they do the rest of scripture, to their own destruction! You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled people, you fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory, both now and to the day of eternity Amen.� <- >The third point made was concerning Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. It was said that they refer to shrine prostitution. If you study the surrounding verses you notice it is talking about plain old sex that everyone has at home in their tents. It is not referring anywhere in that passage to shrine prostitution. If you want that you would have to look in Deuteronomy 23:17. To show this I'll give examples of what the verses before and after contain and if you want you can look them up so you can have them word for word. >verse- no sexual relations with: > >7- your mom >8- your stepmother >9- your sister or stepsister >10-your grandchildren >11-your stepsister >12-your aunt on your dad's side >13-your aunt on your mom's side >14-your uncle's wife >15-your daughter-in-law >16-sister-in-law >17-a woman and her daughter or a woman and her granddaughter >18-wife's sister >19-during a woman's period >20-your neighbor's wife >22-with a same sex >23-an animal >As you can see these verses deal not with shrine prostitution, but with sexual immorality. First, Leviticus is probably not the best place in the Bible to look for guidance. For example Leviticus 4:27 which demands that you sacrifice a goat any time you unintentionally sin. Or 24:13-15 that demands that the whole community stone to death anyone who curses God (even just once in the heat of an argument). Similarly 20:9, which demands death for cursing your parents. There is a good reason that the ONLY time Jesus referred directly to Leviticus was the ONE SENTANCE �Love your neighbor as you love yourself.� >My sources were: >�The Interlinear Bible,� Hendrickson Pubublishers,1986. >�Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible� by James Strong. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. >�Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament� by Joseph Thayer. Baker Book House, 1977. A second reference on greek would be a good idea. There is likely to be a certain bias towards the authors' beliefs in any lexicon written specifically with the Bible in mind - this doesn't invalidate the whole thing, it just requires some extra research on some issues. Hosted by Diaryland - All Rights Reserved - Image, Layout, and Content copyright Jax Raven - - Do Not Feed The Moose - |
