What does the original bible say about homosexuality
Homosexuality & the Bible
The word ‘homosexual’wasneverin theoriginal Bible. In the original Greek and Hebrew texts, the word that is now translated to ‘homosexual’ actually accurately translates to ‘pedophile; or ‘boy abuser’ or ‘boy molester.’
That is, according to the bible, homosexuality is NOT a sin. Child molesting is.
The ancient world condoned and encouraged systemic pederasty – sexual relationships between an adult (old) man and a young noun, usually years old.
According to theologian Ed Oxford, “Ancient Greek documents show us how even parents utilized this abusive system to help their sons advance in society.” For most of history, these verses were interpreted to be obviously referring the pederasty, not homosexuality!
In summary, the original bible condemned pederasty, not homosexuality. The shift to attack homosexuality in the s is not only a calculated attack on queer folks that came during a critical period for us (think: the AIDS epidemic) but is also disgustingly ironic coming from an institution with nearly 6, (old) clergy men charged with
Leviticus
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that gay male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids same-sex relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible to condemn homosexuality. This essay first looks at the various ways the verse is translated into the English Bible and then explores some of the strategies used to create an affirming interpretation of what this passage means for the LGBTQ community. More specifically, it presents the interpretation of K. Renato Lings in which Lev. refers to male-on-male incest.
While Lev. is used to condemn homosexuality, we must realize that the term “homosexuality” was only recently coined in the English language. So did this term exist in ancient Israel? Charles D. Myers, Jr. confirms that none of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible mention homosexuality.[2] He also contends that in ancient Israel same-sex relations were viewed as an ancient Near East obstacle. The anc
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to listen to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules like the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Antique Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to help understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I verb to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to guard me. In fact, it would now do me more hurt than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding govern. The rea
Was it a mistranslation to insert the word homosexual to the Bible in ?
Answer
Terms such as homosexualdid not appear in English Bibles until the twentieth century. Those who claim Scripture fails to condemn same-sex intercourse record this with emphasis. Some, such as the creators of the film The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, point to as the year the word homosexualwas first used; those translations eventually became the Revised Standard Version. A form of this criticism suggests Christians came to condemn same-sex intercourse only afterwords appreciate homosexualwere published in Bibles. The implication is that modern translators inappropriately inserted the concept: that prior to no one thought Scripture criticized homosexual sex.
Such arguments are deeply flawed. The interrogate of which wordcirculated in the ancient world is distinct from whether ancient people understood the actionsin question. Language and history both provide consistent, strong evidence that Scripture was always understood as condemning physical acts associated with the modern term homosex