A
Ashley42
Guest
What does the Bible really say about homosexuality? This is a widely discussed topic and the answers are not clear to us. Many believe the answer is simple, we just have to look towards Sodom and Gomorrah, Leviticus 18:22 (“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable”), 1 Corinthians 6:9, etc.
What we need to remember is that the ‘black and white’ text we read in our version of the Bible is not so black and white. Bear in mind that the Bible, when it was first written, was not written in English. As such, there have been many translations from the original texts, and the word of our Lord has been morphed into what we see today. Just how accurate is it?
Well we can see from the fact that many different modern versions of the bible differ in their wording.
Genesis 19:5, New International Version:
"They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
Genesis 19:5, New American Standard Bible:
"and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”
‘The Message’ says, “so we can have our sport with them!”. The King James version, “bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
So which is correct? And how should we even interpret the English versions? What does “Have our sport” mean? Sex? A game of football? Death?
To answer this, we can look in two places. The original Hebrew text, and the context in which the wording is found. Of course, when this passage was written, Football was not invented so put into context, we can rule that out.
The confusion arises from the hebrew word “yada”, one of the forms of the verb “to know”. A form of yada is used here and hundreds of other times in scripture. Only about ten of those times refer to sex, and in each case, the sexual meaning is clear by the context. (Example: Adam knew his wife and she conceived.)
Moreover, we know from Genesis 14:1-2 that Sodom had only recently come out of war, so it is likely that the citizens were on edge and wary of new visitors. Coupled with the fact that a non-sexual form of ‘to know’ was used here, it is likely that the citizens outside Lot’s house simply wanted to question the men inside about their intentions, to litrally ‘know’ them, not have sex with them.
Futhermore, we can learn more about the citizens true intentions by reading on. The scripture says that Lot eventually offered himself to the citizens, in place of the Angels inside. They said to Lot that “they were going to do worse to him than they were planning to do to his guests”. But the citizens did not try to have sex with him, they tried to kill him.
The other parts of the bible contain similar mistranslations. (I will go over them if requested).
When discussing homosexuality, in particular calling it a ‘sin’, we have to remember that the Scripture does not back up what we think we know. And now you know this, who should you believe? An unknown person on a forum, or the teachings of your local pastor?
First, remember that there are many people who try to use the mistranslations in the Bible to cover up their own homophobia. Someone who has deep seated hatred for homosexuals will not support this. Secondly, people simply do not like to be told that what they thought they knew is actually wrong. Specially when it is something they have ‘known’ for many years, something that they have leaned from members of their family or others they trust.
But know this: the word of our Lord comes not from your family, your pastor, me or anybody else. And specially not those who translated the holy scriptures! The one true word of God remains in the hebrew text. It is of utmost importance that we understand it, if we are to live our lives according to His word. So next time you call a homosexual person a sinner, or vote against gay marriage, think to yourself; “Do I really know the Scripture? Do I really know that I am acting on the true word of our Lord?”
What we need to remember is that the ‘black and white’ text we read in our version of the Bible is not so black and white. Bear in mind that the Bible, when it was first written, was not written in English. As such, there have been many translations from the original texts, and the word of our Lord has been morphed into what we see today. Just how accurate is it?
Well we can see from the fact that many different modern versions of the bible differ in their wording.
Genesis 19:5, New International Version:
"They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
Genesis 19:5, New American Standard Bible:
"and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”
‘The Message’ says, “so we can have our sport with them!”. The King James version, “bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
So which is correct? And how should we even interpret the English versions? What does “Have our sport” mean? Sex? A game of football? Death?
To answer this, we can look in two places. The original Hebrew text, and the context in which the wording is found. Of course, when this passage was written, Football was not invented so put into context, we can rule that out.
The confusion arises from the hebrew word “yada”, one of the forms of the verb “to know”. A form of yada is used here and hundreds of other times in scripture. Only about ten of those times refer to sex, and in each case, the sexual meaning is clear by the context. (Example: Adam knew his wife and she conceived.)
Moreover, we know from Genesis 14:1-2 that Sodom had only recently come out of war, so it is likely that the citizens were on edge and wary of new visitors. Coupled with the fact that a non-sexual form of ‘to know’ was used here, it is likely that the citizens outside Lot’s house simply wanted to question the men inside about their intentions, to litrally ‘know’ them, not have sex with them.
Futhermore, we can learn more about the citizens true intentions by reading on. The scripture says that Lot eventually offered himself to the citizens, in place of the Angels inside. They said to Lot that “they were going to do worse to him than they were planning to do to his guests”. But the citizens did not try to have sex with him, they tried to kill him.
The other parts of the bible contain similar mistranslations. (I will go over them if requested).
When discussing homosexuality, in particular calling it a ‘sin’, we have to remember that the Scripture does not back up what we think we know. And now you know this, who should you believe? An unknown person on a forum, or the teachings of your local pastor?
First, remember that there are many people who try to use the mistranslations in the Bible to cover up their own homophobia. Someone who has deep seated hatred for homosexuals will not support this. Secondly, people simply do not like to be told that what they thought they knew is actually wrong. Specially when it is something they have ‘known’ for many years, something that they have leaned from members of their family or others they trust.
But know this: the word of our Lord comes not from your family, your pastor, me or anybody else. And specially not those who translated the holy scriptures! The one true word of God remains in the hebrew text. It is of utmost importance that we understand it, if we are to live our lives according to His word. So next time you call a homosexual person a sinner, or vote against gay marriage, think to yourself; “Do I really know the Scripture? Do I really know that I am acting on the true word of our Lord?”