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THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY |
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Written by Article For Discussion
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Sunday, 13 May 2007 |
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Page 1 of 8 THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY
from the Ontario Center for Religious Tolerance
Topics covered in this section are:
Summary & Caution Biblical references People’s beliefs about the Bible Verses in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) Verses in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) Same-sex relationships in the Bible Conclusions Internet & published references.
A Summary
When one compares the original Hebrew and Greek writings with various English translations of the Bible, discrepancies emerge. There are many passages in English Bibles which clearly condemn same-sex activities. But when the original Hebrew or Greek text is studied, the passages are either ambiguous or are unrelated to consentual homosexuality within a committed relationship. Two words which are often mistranslated in many places in the Hebrew Scriptures are:
* qadesh means a male temple prostitute who engaged in ritual sex; it is often mistranslated as “sodomite” or “homosexual.”
* to’ebah means a condemned foreign Pagan religious cult practice, but often translated as “abomination.”
We have concluded the following:
* The Bible has a lot to say about temple prostitution, including homosexual ritual prostitution. This was a common practice within the Canaanite fertility religion; some believe that the practice was also taken up by some ancient Israelites.
* God’s destruction of town of Sodom had nothing to do with homosexuality
* The Bible says little about homosexual feelings.
* It says nothing about sexual orientation; the concept of orientation dates only from the late 19th century.
* A number of homosexual relationships are described positively or neutrally in the Bible
* Of the many hundreds of Jesus’ instructions and prohibitions, few have a sexual component and none condemn homosexuality.
* Paul may have condemned same-sex sexual activities by homosexuals, but the passages are unclear; there are many possible interpretations.
* Bible translators must be aware of the errors that have been made in previous versions of the Bible; they are widely discussed in theological literature. But it would probably not be economically possible at this time to produce a translation of the Bible that was accurate. People are so used to expecting homophobic references in a half-dozen locations in scripture that they probably would not buy a Bible that was accurate to the original text, or which admitted that the meanings of certain words are unknown.
A Caution
The words “homosexual” and “homosexuality” do not appear in the Bible—at least they are absent from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. The authors of the Bible did not understand sexual orientation; this concept was only developed in the late 19th century. The writers had little or no comprehension of same-sex committed relationships. Their languages had no words for these concepts. Rather, they assumed that everyone was heterosexual, but that some heterosexuals engaged in sex with persons of the same gender. Thus, when you see one of these terms in an English translation of the Bible, it is important to dig deeper and find what the original Hebrew or Greek text really means.
Bible References
In Biblical times, same-gender sexual interactions could take many forms. Some were:
1. kings of conquered tribes were sometimes raped by the invading army as the ultimate symbol of defeat and humiliation. Homosexual rape was also a way of humiliating visitors and strangers. These were acts of power and domination and had nothing in common with consentual sex by gays and lesbians.
2. some non-Jewish tribes in the area had male prostitutes in their temples who ritually engaged in same-sex activities; this horrified the ancient Israelites. Temple prostitution is no longer found in most areas of the world.
3. it was common within the Roman Empire for male adults to keep boy prostitutes for the purpose of sexual activity. The boys were often slaves. In modern times, this is considered child abuse, a criminal offense.
4. it is reasonable to assume that many loving gay and lesbian relationships existed in Biblical times, but these would normally have been conducted in secret.
Only the last type would have any similarity to today’s gay and lesbian consentual, committed, loving relationships.
People’s Beliefs Regarding the Bible
People differ greatly in their view of the Bible:
* Generally speaking, Fundamentalists and other Evangelical Christians believe that:.........
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