Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

(I wrote the piece for another project and it just wasn't a good fit. Honestly, if you are well read on the issue of the Bible and its take on homosexuality or lack thereof!, there is little new in here. "or you, I hope this can be a #uick reference. If you are not well read on such things, this may be a bit of a bumpy ride, but bumpy rides can be a lot of fun. $ither way, I hope I was able to take what is sometimes thick reading, albeit important reading, and make it at least bearable and mostly straight forward%.

Christianity and Biblical Hatefulness

We Christians are good at a lot of things. Helping others. Dressing up on Sunday. Quoting scripture. Pot luck eals. !aking care of church e "ers. Weddings. #unerals. Worship. $ut perhaps the thing at %hich %e are the ost persistently e&ceptional is isinterpreting the $i"le then running a uck in the %orld "ecause of it. Honestly' ad skills. And history "acks e up on this one. We have used the $i"le to support' pro ote and act upon so e pretty un(Christian things) slavery' holocaust' segregation' su"*ugation of %o en' apartheid' the Spanish +n,uisition -%hich' no one ever e&pects . sha eless Monty Python reference/ there %ill "e another0' do estic violence' all sorts of e&ploitation and the list could go on and on. 1ddly' if you ask theologians to pick one "i"lical the e to rule the all' ost of the %ould say 2love3... %ell' love and grace. 1kay' love' grace and forgiveness. #ine. !hey pro"a"ly %ould not specifically agree on a single ter ' "ut they %ould ost likely na e so ething that is' in every %ay' the opposite of the oppression' "elittle ent' hatred and arginali4ation represented "y the nu erous atrocities co itted "y the Christian Church. More ti es than not' these atrocities are the result of trying to play 5od' pretending as if one group of people has co plete kno%ledge of 5od6s %ill and is ore "lessed or chosen "y 5od. 7ot surprisingly' the people %ho see the %orld this %ay are al%ays e&actly the people %ho also happen to "elong in the group they "elieve to "e the u"er("lessed. 8ucky the . !i e and ti e again' 9esus ade it clear that %e should not put ourselves in the place of playing 5od and that' unlike far too any hu ans' 5od %elco es and loves us all e,ually. Period. $ut %e keep doing it. We keep doing it even though each ti e after %e argue' na e(call' suppress others and fight for centuries' falsely playing the role of heavenly *udge and *ury' %e slo%ly reali4e that %e got it %rong. We reali4e that' in fact' Paul %as not pro oting slavery. We learn to conte&tuali4e his state ents and letters. We "eco e ore skilled at interpreting the original 5reek and' over ti e' %e decide to stop ,uoting the $i"le to support slavery -or the su"*ugation of %o en' or racis ' etc.0 "ecause %e finally co e around to reali4ing that' as Ro" $ell6s "ook points out' "i"lically love %ins. Al%ays. And so %e find ourselves here again. Doing the thing %e do "est) isinterpreting the $i"le and ruining lives %ith it. We are' once again' ignoring the "i"lical "ias for those %ho are arginali4ed' a"used' "elittled and negatively *udged. +gnoring the "i"lical directive to sho% all the children of 5od love -and grace... and forgiveness0. :

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Hate By Any Other Name

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

1h sure' this ti e around %e have 2softened3 our approach' saying things like 2hate the sin' love the sinner'3 "ut %e fail to recogni4e that %hat %e are calling a 2sin3 and the person %e are calling a 2sinner3 are one and the sa e. A person %hose se&ual orientation is ho ose&ual' or "i(se&ual' or ,ueer can no ore separate the selves fro their se&uality than a heterose&ual person can. +t6s like saying 2hate the toppings' love the pi44a.3 +t6s *ust not the pi44a %ithout the toppings. We *ust aren6t loving the person if %e don6t love the %hole person. + suspect the 2softening3 of the language %e use has everything to do %ith aking us feel "etter and very little %ith aking 85$!Q folk feel "etter' "ecause it certainly doesn6t ake the feel any "etter. As a atter of fact' the love;hate -e phasis on hate0 relationship that the Church continues to push on this group of people only serves to push the into closets and into even darker places' %hich so eti es leads to suicide. !he Church and its approach to this issue are at fault for ost of the hurt' anguish' self(dou"t' a"use and death associated %ith "eing 85$!Q. 7ot very loving. 7ot very grace filled. $ut it certainly leaves us in need of forgiveness. Many Christians have lost their %ay in this t%isty(turny a4e of ho% to practice our faith. We %ould uch rather reinforce the things %e %ant to "elieve than "elieve the so eti es difficult teachings of 9esus. Who' on a side note' never said a %ord a"out ho ose&uality "ut did tell us to gouge out our lustful eyes. Which see s to e is ore likely to leave us all "lind than the 2eye for and eye3 thing.

The Bible As A Sex

anual

So' as others have pointed out "efore' %e use the $i"le as if it is a se& anual' telling us %hat is and isn6t accepta"le in the eyes of the 8ord your 5od. !here"y delineating out those %ho it is okay for us to *udge' and to%ard %ho it is okay to direct all kinds of nastiness and holier(than(thouis s. !he reality is that the $i"le is not a se& anual. + kno%' shocker. Right< Actually' it6s a good thing -depending on your particular level of se&ual prudishness . personally' co pared to the $i"le' ine is pretty high0. =ou see' the $i"le not only pro otes arriage "et%een a an and a %o an' "ut it insist that that arriage "e %ithin the sa e faith. 7ot only should a %ife "e su"ordinate ->phesians ?)@@0' "ut she should also prove her virginity... lest she "e stoned -Deuterono y @@)@A(@:0. 1h' and the %hole thing %ould pro"a"ly "e uch "etter if it %ere arranged -5enesis @B)CD(CE0. And that6s *ust the %ar up act. According to the $i"le' if a %o an6s hus"and dies and she hasn6t had a son' she ust arry his "rother and have intercourse %ith hi until she has a son -Mark :@):E(@D0. So eti es' "i"lically %ives are good' "ut concu"ines are "etter. Many of the 2 en of 5od3 %ere not only arried' "ut at least three of the had ore than one concu"ine -A"raha ' Cale"' Solo on0 and they re ained 2 en of 5od.3 $ut like + said' 2"i"lically %ives are good3 and there6s no such thing as too uch of a good thing. Right< So' %hy not have ay %ives< 5od fre,uently "lessed polyga ists ->sau' 9aco"' 5ideon' David' Solo on' $elsha44ar0. As far as se&uality and the $i"le6s perspective on %o an as property and as slaves... %ell' as you can i agine' it does not get any "etter. @

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

a!ing Choices

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

!he point is this) ost of us have atured enough theologically to recogni4e that %e need to conte&tuali4e the %ritings of the $i"le' and "ecause of it %e have oved passed using these e&a ples as the end(all("e(all on accepta"le practices of se&uality. Ho%ever' so eho%' %e have not anaged to apply the very sa e understanding to the $i"le verses that have "eco e kno%n as the 2clo""er verses3 in the $i"le. 2Clo""erF "ecause they are the verses ost used to clo""er people %ho are gay or %ho support gay rights. !hat is really interesting %hen you consider that' of all the topics + *ust entioned' se&ual orientation is the only one that is not a choice. Polyga y' concu"ines' arrying your "rother6s %ido%< All choices' and %e have decided to 2get over3 the "i"lical directives for the . Se&ual orientation< 7ot a choice. -!here are those %ho still argue other%ise' "ut the science is clear' so +6 not even having that discussion0. So any Christians *ust aren6t a"le to get past that one. >,ually interesting to consider) it is actually ore of a choice to *udge and arginali4e people over "eing ho ose&ual' or' "i(se&ual' or ,ueer/ than it is a choice to "e ho ose&ual' or' "i(se&ual' or ,ueer. =et %e *udge the and not ourselves. Since %e clearly have a difficult ti e letting go of the clo""er verses' let6s take the one "y one and very "riefly consider %hat is really going on in the . +t should help us arrive at a clearer picture of %hat the %riters of these scriptures %ere trying to tell us. What %e %ill find is this) as %e get caught up in *udging others over %hat %e %ant the verses to say' %e iss the opportunity to understand ho% to "e the people 5od is calling us to "e. As %e get started' %e all need to "e on the sa e page on one thing. When the $i"le %as %ritten' the earth %as flat' the sun or"ited the earth and the idea of a person having a se&ual 6orientation6 %as co pletely foreign. !here is so e de"ate a"out %ho actually kick(started the understanding of se&ual orientation -Heinrich Hoessli or Garl Heinrich Hlrich ( personally' + a on !ea Heinrich0' "ut it is clear that the concept of people having a se&ual orientation %as first introduced in the :EAA6s aking it a thoroughly odern construct. Clearly' there are a fe% $i"le verses that involve sa e(se& acts -and of those' al ost all of the are ale( ale se&0' "ut given the odern advent of recogni4ing the e&istence of se&ual orientation' %e ust accept the reality that the %riters of those verses %ere in no %ay trying to' let alone capa"le of' ackno%ledging' understanding and addressing ho ose&ual orientation. What then' ight they have "een trying to tell us in the clo""er verses< 8et6s take a look.

The Clobber "erses

8et e *ust say right off the top' three of the verses that are so eti es considered clo""er verses have nothing to do %ith the ,uestion of ho ose&uality. Putting 5enesis @)@:(@?' Deuterono y @C):D and 9ude :)I(D in the category of anti(gay verses is nothing ore than an atte pt to "eef up the nu "er of verses that are supposedly 2against3 ho ose&uality. !hey have nothing to do %ith it. So' + a si ply going to ignore the . +f so eone atte pts to use the as proof of the 2a"o ination3 of ho ose&uality' + suggest you si ply ignore the as %ell.

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Genesis 19:1-11

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

!he great thing a"out defending the $i"le against people %ho %ant to use 5enesis :J):(:: to gay "ash is that you really don6t have to do any %ork. !he $i"le does it for you. #or "etter or for %orse' this is also the verse %ith %hich the general population is pro"a"ly ost fa iliar in ter s of %hat they think of as verses a"out ho ose&uality. >ven the ter 2sodo y3 is linked to this $i"le passage. +t is the story of t%o travelers - essengers fro 5od0 "eing given shelter "y 8ot and his fa ily. Hospitality %as a very "ig deal in those days. +n this story' the en of Sodo decided to approach 8ot6s ho e and to ake less than hospita"le de ands on hi and his guest. !o get a sense of ho% i portant hospitality %as' %hen the en of the to%n say they %ant to force the selves - ost likely se&ually0 on 8ot6s guest' 8ot actually offers up his daughters instead. Despica"le' deplora"le' a great %ay to per anently da age your relationship %ith your daughters and the rest of your fa ily -to say the least0' "ut a sure sign that hospitality %as a "ig deal. +n the end' the en of the to%n did not get %hat they %anted. !hey %anted to e&ert their do inance of the guests. !hey %anted to hu iliate the ' as %arriors after con,uering a foe ight do in those days' se&ually putting another ale into the position of a %o an -%ho after all %as thought of as property' as %eak' and as soft and therefore less than a an0. >ven though the en never actually e&erted their po%er over 8ot6s guests in a ale( ale se& act' people still insist on using this te&t as proof that ho ose&uality is an 2a"o ination.3 Well' like + said' 2the great thing a"out defending the $i"le against people %ho %ant to use 5enesis :J):(? to gay "ash is that you really don6t have to do any %ork. !he $i"le does it for you.3 Sodo is referenced sin "e< ultiple ti es in the $i"le as an e&a ple of great sinning. And %hat ight that

+n +saiah :):A(:D it is thought to "e in*ustice' not rescuing the oppressed' defending the orphan' pleading for the %ido%. +n 9ere iah @C):B it is adultery. +n >4ekiel :I)BE(BJ it is the sin of not aiding the 2poor and needy.3 +n Kephaniah @)E(:: the sin is "ullying' "oasting and pride. +n the Wisdo of Solo on it is 2the "itter hatred of strangers.3 !he sin is not a"out "eing gay. +t is not a"out non(straight se&ual orientation. !he sin of Sodo %as lacking hospitality' not "eing *ust' "ullying' hating strangers' not caring for those arginali4ed. #unny' they are all things Churches -and individuals for that atter0 sorely need to keep in ind and "e "etter at practicing %hen it co es to ho% %e do or do not %elco e 85$!Q folk into our lives. After all' in today6s society' %ho is ore arginali4ed' ore "ullied' ore treated like a 2stranger'3 than the < Co e to think of it' not so funny. Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 +f so eone %ere to canoni4e a "u44(kill' it %ould look re arka"ly' and unco forta"ly' like the "ook of 8eviticus. Honestly' this three(thousand plus year old holiness code is not e&actly a "ig "all of fun. #or starters' *ust try reading it. 1n second thought' + like you' so don6t. #ortunately for you' +6ve done it for you. -+ kno%' nice. Right< +6 *ust that kind of guy0.

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

A ong the *e%els you6ll find in it are a andate to kill diso"edient children' a dietary restriction to not eat shellfish -5od Hates Shri pL0' a la% that %ould prevent "o%l(cuts -or 2rounding off the side( gro%th of your heads3 . and to think + liked the $eatles0' direction to not touch or eat the flesh of a pig -no "acon and cheddar soup for youL0' and a prohi"ition on the rhyth ethod of "irth control -you kno% %ho you areL0. 1h' and presu a"ly' gay se& -%hich' of course' is %hy + "ring it up0. !he section of 8eviticus %here %e find the clo""er verses is often called the Purity Code. 2Purity3 %as ostly a"out t%o things. #irst' it %as a"out keeping things the %ay they 2should3 "e. 2Should3 is in ,uotes "ecause the guidelines they used for %hat should and shouldn6t "e %ere ostly ade up. Said differently' they arrived at their conclusions in a ti e that didn6t have any science or at least not science like %e have today. Which is to say' they didn6t have any science. What they had %as ostly superstition "ased on o"servation. A "ig part of this purity code %as the idea that the %orld is consistent or follo%s particular preset rules. #or the +sraelites this eant things like) all fish have fins' ani als %ith divided hooves che% cud' and ale sper contains the %hole of life -%o en provided the incu"ation cha "er0. When things didn6t adhere to this particular three(thousand year old %ay of understanding the %orld' they %ere considered an a"o ination or ore precisely i pure. !he second thing the purity code did %as define the +sraelites as purely not Canaanites. !hat is' uch like any Christians receive the ark of a cross on their forehead on Ash Wednesday or give so ething up for 8ent' the codes in 8eviticus helped define the people of +srael as the people of +srael. #or the +sraelites it %as particularly eant to define the as not Canaanites. $asically' it6s a %ay of sho%ing 2%e are not the .3 +t is true that there are other reasons for any of the la%s -*ust like there are any other reasons to give so ething up for 8ent0' "ut these are t%o of the larger ones' and they are ones that ost directly apply to these clo""er verses. So %hat do %e' presu a"ly enlightened Christians of a scientific age' do %ith this code< Clearly shri p are good to eat -for ost of us0. #or that atter' as far as +6 concerned' to "orro% fro an old $en*a in #ranklin ,uote' they are proof that 5od loves usM . that6s *ust ho% darned delicious they are. What %e do is recogni4e 8eviticus for %hat it %as) a good thing for the people of 5od "ased on ho% they understood the %orld so e three(thousand years ago. +nterestingly enough' %hen it co es to things like shellfish' eating and touching pigs' cutting our side"urns and "eards' and stoning children %ho outh off to their parents' %e have already anaged to do e&actly that. Why< $ecause %e understand that they are *ust flat out silly la%s. 7ot all 2fish3 have fins. So e co e in the shape of pink co as and are delicious %ith a nice Riesling. $ecause not all split hooved ani als che% cud. So e roll around in the ud and ake "reakfast *ust that uch "etter. #or that atter' %rap the around a shri p' thro% the on the grill. + pro ise you' 5od %ill not s ite you and once you "ite into the you6ll agree' they are not an a"o ination -they ight' ho%ever taste slightly 2i pure3 if you do not devein the %ell0. What any people have not "een a"le to do is e&tend that si ple understanding to these clo""er verses. We have already esta"lished that it %ould have "een i possi"le for these te&ts' or any "i"lical te&t' to "e a"out se&ual orientation. Ho%ever' they do clearly descri"e a ale( ale se& act -sorry ladies' this ?

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

one6s *ust for the guys0. $ut %hat %e have to "egin to understand is that the issues %hich these specific la%s presu ed to address %ithin their society' uch like the other la%s +6ve entioned here' are no longer recogni4ed as true. Scholars have pointed to various reasons for ancient +srael6s seeing ale( ale se& as ta"oo in 8eviticus. +t ay "e the sa e reason the rhyth ethod %as thought to "e %rong in the eyes of 5od' %hich presu a"ly is that' as + have entioned' they thought sper contained the %hole of life -ho% typically ale(do inated(society of the 0. !herefore' in their %ay of seeing it' 2>very sper is sacred. >very sper is great. +f a sper gets %asted' 5od gets ,uite irate.3 1n the other hand' it ay "e that they thought it %as ta"oo "ecause it %ent against their understanding that i&ing of kinds' *ust like the i&ing of t%o kinds of cloth %as ta"oo. Male( ale se&ual relationships' in that %ay of seeing things' i&es up their understanding of gender roles. Whatever the reason' the perspective in these clo""er verses %ere "ased on an understanding of se& and se&uality that %as *ust as isinfor ed as their understanding of the earth in relationship to the sun' of fish' of pork and of reasons for stoning children. +n our scientific age' it is ti e to let go of archaic perspectives and start recogni4ing the things that are truly an a"o ination in the eyes of 5od) lacking in co passion and love' e&ercising *udg ent against others' and practicing and encouraging hate. -M!he actual ,uote attri"uted to $en*a in #ranklin is' 2$eer is proof that 5od loves us and %ants us to "e happy.3 Sadly' %hile $en ost pro"a"ly en*oyed a ug of "eer fro ti e to ti e' the actual ,uote is' 2$ehold the rain %hich descends fro heaven upon our vineyards' there it enters the roots of the vines' to "e changed into %ine' a constant proof that 5od loves us' and loves to see us happy.3 +n a happy coincidence' the sa e rains nourish the "arley and hops that are changed into "eer. +n an even happier coincidence' %ine and "eer "oth pair e&ceptionally %ell %ith shri p. 5od is good0. Romans 1:26-28 5ood ne%s ladiesL Hp until no%' all of this clo""ering has "een a"out the guys. +n Ro ans' you get to *oin in. 8ucky you. Ro ans is the one place the $i"le speaks specifically a"out a fe ale(fe ale se& act. +f you listen to $i"le !hu pin6 5ay $ashers' you6d "e surprised to learn that' %hile the counts vary on ho% any places the $i"le directly address heterose&ual relationships' it is a lot. !hen again' co pared to the precisely one verse the $i"le has a"out fe ale(fe ale se&' even t%o is one hundred percent ore. !he nu "er of heterose&ually oriented verses isn6t e&actly clear. 1ne thing is really clear' there6s plenty of the and' uch like the 8evitical purity code' %e6ve anaged to ignore any of the . So' if you aren6t also denouncing the divorced' then get off your les"ian *udging high(horse' "ecause other%ise you are *ust picking and choosing %ho to *udge out of your o%n accord' and then ,uoting the one $i"le verse that see s to support your choice. And even then' as %e %ill see' it doesn6t actually support your argu ent. +t actually does *ust the opposite. +n Ro ans' %e have the ost e&tensive discussion of sa e(se& intercourse in the $i"le' a %hole t%o see ingly specific verses . astounding.

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

!here are plenty of approaches to understanding %hat Paul is trying to teach us in these te&ts. Any good e&egesis ulti ately points to the reality that %hat Paul is talking a"out and %hat people %ho use these verses as clo""er verses %ant Paul to "e talking a"out aren6t the sa e thing. !hat is' this is not a"out ho ose&ual people having consenting ho ose&ual relationships. 1ne convincing analysis of these te&ts looks at the fact that one of the ost prevalent for s of sa e( se& se& in the 5reco(Ro an %orld %as ale prostitution %hich fre,uently involved "oys. +n that analysis' the te&ts "eco e a conde nation of pederasty and prostitution' things of %hich ost Christians -conservative to li"eral0 disapprove even today. !here is also the perspective that Paul6s pointing to sa e se& intercourse as "eing idolatrous could "e referring to the practices of priests and priestesses of Mediterranean fertility gods %ho regularly practiced that type of prostitution "ut elevated it' %ithin a religious conte&t' to the state of idolatry. !hose approaches are valid and ostly convincing perspectives' "ut they do re,uire a s all leap of logic to arrive at their conclusions. Much less of a leap of logic' ind you' than "elieving that these te&ts are a"out so ething of %hich people at that ti e had a"solutely no co prehension' "ut slight con*ecture all the sa e. !he analysis that + find the ost convincing concerns itself %ith the %ord 2natural.3 +t is the %ord that has led any to speak of 85$!Q "ehavior as 2unnatural3 acts even though they occur throughout nature -in one study they %ere found in ore than fifteen(hundred species0. As it turns out' the %ord is actually not 2natural.3 7ot surprisingly' Paul did not speak >nglish. While Paul perfor ed a nu "er of iraculous things' speaking >nglish -%hich %asn6t around even in its earliest Prehistoric 1ld >nglish for yet0 %as not one of the . 7ot to "ore you too uch' "ut the %ord Paul used %as the 5reek %ord' physikos. -7o% that didn6t hurt too uch' did it<0. +t6s i portant to kno% the %ord in 5reek "ecause %hen it is translated into >nglish' it loses a little of its original eaning. Without even kno%ing it' 8ady 5a5a has provided a "etter odern and conte&tual translation of physikosthan the fre,uently used translation of 2nor al.3 We %ill get to that in a inute. +t doesn6t ean 2natural3 or 2nature3 so uch as it eans 2produced "y nature.3 !hose %ho use these verses as clo""er verses tend to understand 2natural3 to ean so ething closer to 2nor al3 than 2produced "y nature.3 7ot surprisingly' they also then define %hat is and isn6t 2nor al3 "ased on their personal "iases rather than on science or the reality of the %orld around the -e.g.) 2+ think gay people ake e feel creepy' so + henceforth do here"y du" it as an act of not(natural.30. +n reality' physikos has ore to do %ith ho% things naturally occur in 5od6s Creation. At this point' you ay have "egun to guess that physikos is "ased on the sa e root %ord fro %hich %e get the %ord 2physics3 %hich is' of course' the study of the realities of nature. Conveniently' the %ay Paul uses physikos here in Ro ans' it also eans so ething very si ilar to 2the realities of nature.3 +t is concerned %ith %hat is of our nature and not %ith %hat is defined as accepta"le. !hat is to say' Paul is concerned %ith ho% 5od created so ething or so eone to "e. He is concerned %ith people going against their nature or in the %ords of 8ady 5a5a herself' if they are 2"orn that %ay3 he6s concerned %ith the "ehaving as if they %ere not. !hat is the sin here in Ro ans' acting against the very nature of %ho 5od created you to "e. +n this case he see s to "e addressing the idea of a sa e(se& se& act in %hich at least one of the t%o are not attracted to so eone of the sa e se&/ they *ust are not "orn that %ay.

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

Hnderstood this %ay' it %ould "e e,ually sinful for so eone %ho is only attracted to so eone of the sa e se& to have se& %ith so eone of the opposite se&. +t goes against their nature/ they *ust %eren6t "orn that %ay. +ronically' those telling 85$!Q folk that these verses ean they have to stop "eing 85$!Q folk are actually telling the to co it the very sin against %hich these verses %arn' going against their nature. 5od has a %icked sense of hu or. $ecause these te&ts have "een used so uch to address ho ose&uality' it %as i portant to address the issue directly' "ut the %orst thing %e could do is to think it is pri arily a"out ho ose&uality. +t is not. + ediately follo%ing verse @E' Paul provides an e&tensive list of sins. +t is so e&tensive that %e all fall into at least one of the categories. 2So there you have it'3 says Paul' 2%e all sin. Don6t try to deny it.3 And let6s face it' %e all go against %ho %e kno% %e %ere created to "e. Ho% any ti es have you done so ething' felt guilt or sha e' and then said' 2+ shouldn6t have done that. !hat6s not %ho + a .3< As Paul says in the very ne&t chapter' FAll have sinned and fall short of the glory of 5od.3 As he also says to start that chapter' 2!herefore you have no e&cuse' %hoever you are' %hen you *udge others/ for in passing *udg ent on another you conde n yourself' "ecause you' the *udge' are doing the very sa e things.3 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 & 1 Timothy 1:9-10 So' re e "er "ack a fe% paragraphs ago %hen %e talked a"out a 5reek %ord< And re e "er ho% it didn6t even hurt one little "it< 5ood. We are going to do it again. + have put the : Corinthians and : !i othy clo""er verses together "ecause they "oth use a particular 5reek %ord in a particularly si ilar %ay. !he %ord is arsenokoit&s and it eans 2 ale prostitute.3 -$ehold the 5reek scholarship. See that it is good and re*oice0. Actually' it could also ean 2the custo er of a ale prostitute'3 or 2"oy olester3 or 2so eone %ho a"uses the selves %ith a an3 or 2using se&ual anipulation to ac,uire oney3 or N -eh he ' 2$ehold the great and po%erful 5reek +nterpretationL3 Oinsert flashing light and crashing thunderP0. So' the %ord in these t%o verses' that is fre,uently interpreted as 2ho ose&ual3 -%hich is a"surd "ecause' in 5reek' it is clearly only a %ord referring to en0 or 2sodo ite3 -%hich is a"surd' a ong other reasons' "ecause that %as not the sin of Sodo ' as %e have already discussed0' is really difficult to translate. Why< +n part' "ecause it is only found in these t%o places and also' in part' "ecause it is entirely possi"le that it is a ade up %ord. +t is very likely that 5reek speaking 9e%s created this %ord to port a He"re% %ord to 5reek and over ti e the eaning has "een lost. So' it is *ust hard to translate. So difficult' in fact' that scholars can6t agree on a single "est translation. What ost "i"lical 5reek scholars can agree on is that it is not eant to "e a "lanket state ent a"out a ale( ale se& act. Moving on. !here is another %ord used in : Corinthians I)J) malakos. !he good ne%s a"out this %ord is that it is found in lots of literature' so there are plenty of references a"out its typical intended eaning. +t literally eans 2soft.3 So e say it eans 2soft3 as in 2effe inate' "ut not in ter s of se&ual orientation.3 1thers' say it is connected %ith "eing %asteful of se&ual and financial resources. Still others convincingly point to it singling out a particular type of ale prostitution involving young "oys. E

Clobbering Biblical Gay Bashing

Rev. Mark A. Sandlin

Also in the list of contenders) se&ual perverts' sodo ites' %eaklings' the self(indulgent. -2$ehold the great and po%erful 5reek +nterpretationL3 Oinsert flashing light and crashing thunderP0. 8ike %ith arsenokoit&s there really is no e&pert consensus on this. 'alakos %as a %ord that could "e used to refer to things as diverse as en %ho %ere %eak in "attle -or %ho %ere 2soft30' to en %ho lived e&travagant and pa pered lives -or %ho %ere... %ell' 2soft30. +t %as not specifically a"out se&ual relationships. +f Paul %as actually trying to descri"e so ething a"out a su" issive ale in a ale( ale relationship -%hich is still not the sa e as ho ose&uality as %e understand it today0' it6s very likely that he %ould have used kinaedos' %hich %as fre,uently used to descri"e that very relationship. $ut he didn6t. So' stop acting like he %as.

Clo ere!
+n su ary of y look at the Christian Church6s use of the clo""er verses' the "otto line is this' if %ant to call ho ose&uality a sin' go ahead. $ut you are going to have to ad it that it is not "i"lically a sin. Which eans you are also going to have to ad it that you are calling it a sin si ply "ecause that6s %hat you %ant to do. $ecause of that' you are going to have to ad it that you are a sinner for using 5od6s na e for false pretenses -it6s a little thing %e like to call using 5od6s na e in vain0. And then' Paul has so ething to tell you' 2...you have no e&cuse' %hoever you are' %hen you *udge others/ for in passing *udg ent on another you conde n yourself' "ecause you' the *udge' are doing the very sa e things.3 -Ro ans @):0.

Clobbering 'Biblical' Gay Bashing Written by: Rev. Mark A. Sandlin Originally Published on The God Article http: !!!.thegodarticle.co" http: !!!.#acebook.co" thegodarticle
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