Post by Jim Pate on Sept 18, 2013 10:08:52 GMT -5
I Cor 6:9 Greek Study:
Historical Background
Paul's 1st letter to the Corinthians has been totally falsely twisted from the Greek to English. It says nothing at all about homosexuality only ancient idolatry. The temple of Aphrodite Pandemos, goddess of sexual fertility, dominated Acrocorinthus and employed 1000 prostitutes who served in sexual rites virtually around the clock. The greek words pornoi, arsenokitai and malikos, were no doubt promiscuously available throughout the city, a city famous for her libertine rites in the worship of idols. Acrocorinthus was the dominant geographic feature enshrouding the Corinthian skyline and rose to a great height of 1750 ft. above the city. Corinth, herself, was a metaphor of fertility and libertine sexuality among the ancient cities of Mediterrania.
The range of meanings for the Greeks "malakos" and "arsenokoital"in I Cor
6:9 is very wide. In the KJV its "effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind", other versions translate it as homosexuals, sodomites, or who are guilty of homosexual perversion. However there are many lexical errors in all these translations.
"Malakos"
The idea that "malakos" (soft, effeminate) links it to homosexuality ignores the hebrew culture. Gay men were not viewed as effeminate unless they exhibited feminine characteristics in addition to being gay. Many heterosexual males were called effeminate and there is no essential connection between this and sexual preference in any ancient literature. Other greek words were used for homosexuals but never "malakos", and the other words are never used in scripture.
Boswell points out that it is frequently used in moral context as licentious. Scroggs points out it also has been used as the effeminate call-boy prostitute in pederasty, but has nothing to do with homosexuality as we know it today.
"Arsenkoites"
There is no recorded used of "Arsenkoites" prior to its appearance in 1 Cor 6:9. English translators traditionally have related it to Sodomites. There is a double irony to this since, as it is now generally recognized, Sodomites were not punished for homosexuality.
The claim this word means homosexual, defies linguistic evidence and common sense. "Koites" generally denotes licentious sexual activities, and corresponds to the active person in intercourse. The prefix "Arsen", simply means "male". It could mean a male that has sex with lots of women. Paul made up a new word. A biblical scholar when a word is unknown, looks for similar greek words to find a possible meaning. Boswell concludes Paul writing in Koine Greek, took a word from Attic Greek combined with a word from Old Testament Greek to mean the active male prostitute. These were common in the Hellenistic world in the time of Paul. They served as prostitutes for both men and women. BINGO! Remember "porneia" in the same verse that has been mistranslated fornication but was really female temple prostitutes? Guess what? Paul also is condemning the male prostitutes that also were in the temples of the sex gods!
Scroggs relates it to pederasty in the context it is used in conjunction with "malakos", the effeminate call-boy prostitute. It follows that "arsenkoites" is used to describe the adult active partner of the effeminate call-boy prostitute. Again this is a specific style of pederasty characterized by a young, passive, for-hire call boy and the adult customer. What is clear it has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality as practiced today.
It is a serious thing to take human bias and misrepresentations and then sanctify them by wrapping them in the robes of God's authority. That is clearly Scriptural abuse and God does warn strongly those that try and add to His Word.
The Bible is the key instruction manual for Christians, but many fail to realize that the English translations of today, often reflect the bias and history of sexual repression of the Church through the ages and may have nothing to do with what God or writers were really meaning to say. God's real opinion is found by digging beneath the surface, and doing that will lessen the danger of misunderstanding, resulting in confusing our homophobic opinion with God's. God does not call today's homosexuality sin, only you do.
Historical Background
Paul's 1st letter to the Corinthians has been totally falsely twisted from the Greek to English. It says nothing at all about homosexuality only ancient idolatry. The temple of Aphrodite Pandemos, goddess of sexual fertility, dominated Acrocorinthus and employed 1000 prostitutes who served in sexual rites virtually around the clock. The greek words pornoi, arsenokitai and malikos, were no doubt promiscuously available throughout the city, a city famous for her libertine rites in the worship of idols. Acrocorinthus was the dominant geographic feature enshrouding the Corinthian skyline and rose to a great height of 1750 ft. above the city. Corinth, herself, was a metaphor of fertility and libertine sexuality among the ancient cities of Mediterrania.
The range of meanings for the Greeks "malakos" and "arsenokoital"in I Cor
6:9 is very wide. In the KJV its "effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind", other versions translate it as homosexuals, sodomites, or who are guilty of homosexual perversion. However there are many lexical errors in all these translations.
"Malakos"
The idea that "malakos" (soft, effeminate) links it to homosexuality ignores the hebrew culture. Gay men were not viewed as effeminate unless they exhibited feminine characteristics in addition to being gay. Many heterosexual males were called effeminate and there is no essential connection between this and sexual preference in any ancient literature. Other greek words were used for homosexuals but never "malakos", and the other words are never used in scripture.
Boswell points out that it is frequently used in moral context as licentious. Scroggs points out it also has been used as the effeminate call-boy prostitute in pederasty, but has nothing to do with homosexuality as we know it today.
"Arsenkoites"
There is no recorded used of "Arsenkoites" prior to its appearance in 1 Cor 6:9. English translators traditionally have related it to Sodomites. There is a double irony to this since, as it is now generally recognized, Sodomites were not punished for homosexuality.
The claim this word means homosexual, defies linguistic evidence and common sense. "Koites" generally denotes licentious sexual activities, and corresponds to the active person in intercourse. The prefix "Arsen", simply means "male". It could mean a male that has sex with lots of women. Paul made up a new word. A biblical scholar when a word is unknown, looks for similar greek words to find a possible meaning. Boswell concludes Paul writing in Koine Greek, took a word from Attic Greek combined with a word from Old Testament Greek to mean the active male prostitute. These were common in the Hellenistic world in the time of Paul. They served as prostitutes for both men and women. BINGO! Remember "porneia" in the same verse that has been mistranslated fornication but was really female temple prostitutes? Guess what? Paul also is condemning the male prostitutes that also were in the temples of the sex gods!
Scroggs relates it to pederasty in the context it is used in conjunction with "malakos", the effeminate call-boy prostitute. It follows that "arsenkoites" is used to describe the adult active partner of the effeminate call-boy prostitute. Again this is a specific style of pederasty characterized by a young, passive, for-hire call boy and the adult customer. What is clear it has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality as practiced today.
It is a serious thing to take human bias and misrepresentations and then sanctify them by wrapping them in the robes of God's authority. That is clearly Scriptural abuse and God does warn strongly those that try and add to His Word.
The Bible is the key instruction manual for Christians, but many fail to realize that the English translations of today, often reflect the bias and history of sexual repression of the Church through the ages and may have nothing to do with what God or writers were really meaning to say. God's real opinion is found by digging beneath the surface, and doing that will lessen the danger of misunderstanding, resulting in confusing our homophobic opinion with God's. God does not call today's homosexuality sin, only you do.