The Bible and Homosexuality

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Fag. Poof. Fairy. Homo. Dyke. Those are all words that are used on a daily basis to put down those who do not fit into the Bible’s supposed cookie-cutter, straight sexual orientation label. Homophobia has been around since the eleven hundreds, but before then homosexuality was viewed as healthy, normal, and at times it was even worshipped. However, society’s view of homosexuality has somehow been warped into a violently negative opinion. How did this happen? The main perpetrators of homophobia are the Bible and those who preach its word, or at least their version of its word. Which brings up the translation issues scattered throughout the Bible. The New Testament was written in Greek and there are not always direct translations of each word in English. The messages in the Bible that are said to condemn homosexuality can be interpreted in a more accepting way than they are usually preached.
The Greek words used to describe homosexual people and behaviors are mistranslated. The main words used to label someone as gay in Paul’s Letters to the Apostles, especially in Corinthians and Romans, are the Greek words: arsenokoitēs and malakos (Boswell, 338). Arsenokoitēs actually means homosexual, however malakos translates to ‘effeminate.’ Both words are used in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” Though Corinthians seems to explicitly say that members of the LGBT community will not be accepted into heaven, it is shown through the works of ancient writers thatt the w...

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... the slaver (of African-Americans) and almost the prejudice against women, however, homosexuality is still condemned by many throughout the Western world. You do not have to start embracing the LGBT community, but you do need to accept that there are people that are different from you and you do not need to be afraid of those differences. In the past three months, nine states have declared the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and that shows progress. Hopefully, the United States can allow all of it’s citizens to receive the same treatment as everyone else and live the life they want to live without the constant fear of being murdered or physically, verbally, and emotionally harassed. No matter what you believe in, I think we can all believe in the goodness of each other and help those that are not as accepting to accept.

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Daniel A. heliminiak

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