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Homosexuality in the Christian Scriptures
The "clobber passages"
1 Timothy 1:9-10
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The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible translates verse 9 and 10 as:
"Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but
for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for
unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers,
for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves
with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there
be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."
The emphasized term translates the Greek word "arsenokoitai."
The ambiguous term "arsenokoitai:"
The original Greek word "arsenokoitai" was apparently
created by Paul when he wrote 1 Corinthians about 55 CE. No
record remains of any writer using the term before that time. The word is often translated
in English versions of the Bible as "homosexual." That is, a men or
women who is sexually attracted only to persons of the same sex. Some
theologians are fairly certain that this is not the meaning that Paul wanted to convey,
since the idea of a homosexual sexual orientation only surfaced in the 19th century after
the start of the scientific study of human sexuality. Also, "arsen"
in Greek means "man." Thus, it is most unlikely that
"arsenokoitai" could refer to both male gays and lesbians. Various commentators have suggested that "arsenokoitai" means masturbators,
pimps, prostitutes, boy sex slaves, male prostitutes, or abusive pedophiles.
See a more detailed study of "arsenokoitai."
Interpretations that Bible translators have used:This passage and 1 Corinthians 6:9 -- another anti-homosexual "clobber passage" --
both contain the Greek phrase "arsenokoitai," This has been
translated in diverse ways:  |
As noted above:
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"them that defile themselves with mankind," King
James Version, 21st Century King
James Version, Tyndale's New Testament, & Rheims New Testament.
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"those who are immoral with...boys," The Jerusalem Bible.
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"practicing homosexuals" New American Bible.
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Bible translations which expand the Greek text to include females:
As noted above,"Arseno" in Greek means "male." Thus the original Greek word "arsenokoitai,"
obviously refers to some activity by males, not females.
However, it seems that many Bible translators could not resist the urge to
make the term more inclusive by condemning lesbians as well as male gays. These are
obviously inaccurate translations which have done incalculable harm to
lesbians:
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"homosexuals" New American Standard Bible, New Living
Translation, The Living Bible, Schonfield's The Authentic New Testament,
Holman Christian Standard Bible, & Plain English Bible. This is an ambiguous
term.
 |
Religious conservatives
often define "homosexual" as a person who engages in sexual activity with persons of the
same sex.
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Most religious liberals, therapists, gays, lesbians, etc. define
"homosexual" as a male or female person whose sexual attraction is directed solely
to members of the same sex. They may be celibate or sexually active.
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"those practicing homosexuality," Today's New International
Version. This is a notable improvement over using the word "homosexual" by
itself, because it excludes celibate persons with a homosexual orientation. However, it still implies
that the passage condemns sexually active lesbians.
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"people...who live as homosexuals," Contemporary
English Version.
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"...people...who have sexual relations with people of the same sex..."
New Century Version.
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Bible translations which greatly expand the original Greek text:
Some Bible versions translate "arsenokoitai" with a generic term
that covers a multitude of unusual sexual activities that are frowned
upon by the majority:
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"perverts" New International Version, New
English Bible, & Revised English Bible.
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"sexual perverts," Today's English Version & Modern
Language Bible.
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"sexually immoral," The New Testament and Psalms -- An
inclusive version.
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"sexually perverted," Phillips Modern English.
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"sin against nature," The New Testament (Ronald Knox).
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"sodomites" Revised Standard Version, Young's
Literal Translation, & New Revised Standard Version. "Sodomite" used to
refer to residents of the city of Sodom. More recently, it has been used
in legislation to criminalize a wide variety of sexual activities.
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Other Bible versions:
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"men who lie with males," New World Translation. This is slightly
ambiguous, because it is not obvious who is doing what to whom.
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"...men who sin sexually....with other men..." An
American Translation. There are many forms of sexual sin.
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"men who practice homosexuality," English Standard Version. If
the term is going to be interpreted as referring to homosexuals, this seems
to be the best translation, because it limits itself to homosexual males who
are sexually active.
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Typical meanings given to 1 Timothy 1:9-10:
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Conservatives: Paul is repeating here his condemnation of all homosexual activity which he first
wrote of in 1 Corinthians 6:9.
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Liberals: The book of 1 Timothy was one of the series of "Pastoral Letters" written by
an unknown author perhaps half a century or more after Paul's death, and falsely attributed to
Paul. The text would appear to have no relationship to homosexuality in the
modern sense of the term: consensual sexual activities by persons of the
same sex.
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Author and date of 1 Timothy:
As usual, liberal and conservative theologians differ greatly: Author:
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Liberals generally believe that this Epistle
was not written by St. Paul, but was composed by an anonymous author who
was a student of Paul's theology and wrote as a follower of Paul. If done in modern
times, this would be considered a forgery. However, it was routine practice
in Palestine during the first and second century CE.
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Conservatives generally believe that 1 Timothy was written by Paul. 1
Timothy 1:1 actually states this. For almost all of its history, the
Christian church has taught that Paul wrote 1 Timothy. |
Date written:
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Liberals suggest that the Epistle was written circa 100 to 150
CE by an unknown author, up
to 85 years after St. Paul's execution by the Roman Empire.
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Conservatives generally believe that it was written at a much earlier date. The Schofield
Reference Bible says that Paul wrote the Epistle in 65 CE, during the
interval between his two
imprisonments by the Roman government. |
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Copyright © 1996 to 2011 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2011-SEP-19
Author: B.A. Robinson
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