I Corinthians 6:9:
The passage: In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul lists many activities that will prevent people from inheriting the Kingdom of God (heaven). Robertson's Word Studies refers to this passage as: "a solemn roll call of the damned even if some of their names are on the church roll in Corinth whether officers or ordinary members." 1
The King James Version of the Bible translates verse 9 and 10 as:
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (Emphasis ours)
This verse has been translated in many ways among the 25 English versions of the Bible that we have analyzed. The two activities of interest here have been variously translated as:
effeminate. In the English language, this covers a wide range of male behavior such as being unmanly, lacking virility. One might think of the characters "John," the receptionist on NYPD Blue, or "Jack" on Will and Grace.
homosexuals, variously described as: "men who practice homosexuality," (ESV);
"those who participate in homosexuality," (Amplified);
"abusers of themselves with men," (KJV);
"practicing homosexuals," (NAB);
"homosexuals," (NASB, CSB, NKJ, The Great Book: The New Testament in Plain English);
"homosexual perversion," (NEB);
"homosexual offenders," (NIV);
"liers with mankind," (Rhiems); and
"homosexual perverts." (TEV)
Although "homosexual" is a very common translation, it is almost certain to be inaccurate: If Paul wanted to refer to homosexual behavior, he would have used the word "paiderasste." That was the standard Greek term at the time for sexual behavior between males.
The second term is "arsenokoitai" in Greek. The exact meaning of this word is lost. It seems to have been a term created by Paul for this verse. "Arsen" means "man" in Greek. So there is no way that "arsenokoitai" could refer to both male and female homosexuals. It seems that the translators gave in to the temptation to widen Paul's condemnation to include lesbians as well as gay males.
Unfortunately, the term "homosexual" is commonly defined in two different ways: as a behavior (engaging in same-sex activity) or as a sexual orientation (being sexually attracted only to members of the same sex). Most of the biblical translations appear to refer to behavior rather than orientation.
male prostitutes, also described as "men kept for unnatural purposes." It is not clear whether the term "male prostitutes" (NIV, NRSV, CSB) is restricted to homosexuals or may also include men who are heterosexual prostitutes.
catamites, or boy prostitute. This is a young male who is kept as a sexual partner of an adult male. (Jerusalem Bible, NAB, James Moffatt)
pederasts: male adults who sexually abuse boys; an abusive pedophile (an adult who molests young children) or abusive hebephile (an adult who molests post-pubertal teenagers).
perverts: a person engaged in some undefined activity that is one of the dozens of sexual perversions. (Phillips, The Great Book: The New Testament in Plain English)
sodomites: a name derived from the city of Sodom which is described in Genesis 19. (NRSV, NKJ). The men of the city are described as wanting to rape male visitors; many Christians interpret this as a blanket condemnation of all homosexual behavior.
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL VIEWS
Yesterday while reading Awake which is an periodical from the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, I came across an issue of concern in regards to homosexuality. I would be a liar to say that it didn't bother me, but it did and to be perfectly honest it still does. I did a little research on a specific article in the bible referenced above. The article in the magazine stated that being 'gay' was immoral and pretty much stated that homosexuals would not see the Kingdom of Heaven. It was a little one sided since it wasn't inclusive of lesbians just effeminate men, and the best part is that this translation is loosely dissimilar in various versions of the King James version of the bible. I leave you to form your own opinion and judgement here since it seems very vague to me, I do believe that God made all of us and I'm not quite sure his grand purpose for us all. I don't know why there seems to be an attack on homosexuality by the Christian agenda as an immoral thing when there are greater issues for concern. I believe Jesus loves all of us and as a result he died because we are all sinners. I'll leave this to your own interpretation and point of view, it would be great to get some feedback on this topic.
The passage: In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul lists many activities that will prevent people from inheriting the Kingdom of God (heaven). Robertson's Word Studies refers to this passage as: "a solemn roll call of the damned even if some of their names are on the church roll in Corinth whether officers or ordinary members." 1
The King James Version of the Bible translates verse 9 and 10 as:
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (Emphasis ours)
This verse has been translated in many ways among the 25 English versions of the Bible that we have analyzed. The two activities of interest here have been variously translated as:
effeminate. In the English language, this covers a wide range of male behavior such as being unmanly, lacking virility. One might think of the characters "John," the receptionist on NYPD Blue, or "Jack" on Will and Grace.
homosexuals, variously described as: "men who practice homosexuality," (ESV);
"those who participate in homosexuality," (Amplified);
"abusers of themselves with men," (KJV);
"practicing homosexuals," (NAB);
"homosexuals," (NASB, CSB, NKJ, The Great Book: The New Testament in Plain English);
"homosexual perversion," (NEB);
"homosexual offenders," (NIV);
"liers with mankind," (Rhiems); and
"homosexual perverts." (TEV)
Although "homosexual" is a very common translation, it is almost certain to be inaccurate: If Paul wanted to refer to homosexual behavior, he would have used the word "paiderasste." That was the standard Greek term at the time for sexual behavior between males.
The second term is "arsenokoitai" in Greek. The exact meaning of this word is lost. It seems to have been a term created by Paul for this verse. "Arsen" means "man" in Greek. So there is no way that "arsenokoitai" could refer to both male and female homosexuals. It seems that the translators gave in to the temptation to widen Paul's condemnation to include lesbians as well as gay males.
Unfortunately, the term "homosexual" is commonly defined in two different ways: as a behavior (engaging in same-sex activity) or as a sexual orientation (being sexually attracted only to members of the same sex). Most of the biblical translations appear to refer to behavior rather than orientation.
male prostitutes, also described as "men kept for unnatural purposes." It is not clear whether the term "male prostitutes" (NIV, NRSV, CSB) is restricted to homosexuals or may also include men who are heterosexual prostitutes.
catamites, or boy prostitute. This is a young male who is kept as a sexual partner of an adult male. (Jerusalem Bible, NAB, James Moffatt)
pederasts: male adults who sexually abuse boys; an abusive pedophile (an adult who molests young children) or abusive hebephile (an adult who molests post-pubertal teenagers).
perverts: a person engaged in some undefined activity that is one of the dozens of sexual perversions. (Phillips, The Great Book: The New Testament in Plain English)
sodomites: a name derived from the city of Sodom which is described in Genesis 19. (NRSV, NKJ). The men of the city are described as wanting to rape male visitors; many Christians interpret this as a blanket condemnation of all homosexual behavior.
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL VIEWS
Yesterday while reading Awake which is an periodical from the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, I came across an issue of concern in regards to homosexuality. I would be a liar to say that it didn't bother me, but it did and to be perfectly honest it still does. I did a little research on a specific article in the bible referenced above. The article in the magazine stated that being 'gay' was immoral and pretty much stated that homosexuals would not see the Kingdom of Heaven. It was a little one sided since it wasn't inclusive of lesbians just effeminate men, and the best part is that this translation is loosely dissimilar in various versions of the King James version of the bible. I leave you to form your own opinion and judgement here since it seems very vague to me, I do believe that God made all of us and I'm not quite sure his grand purpose for us all. I don't know why there seems to be an attack on homosexuality by the Christian agenda as an immoral thing when there are greater issues for concern. I believe Jesus loves all of us and as a result he died because we are all sinners. I'll leave this to your own interpretation and point of view, it would be great to get some feedback on this topic.
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