Berry 1

Since the beginning of the Christian church, topics have divided its members; whether it

was over slavery, the role of women, prohibition or any number of topics, we have always

managed to find something to fight over. Throughout time, the church has used the bible to

justify slavery, to oppress women, and other issues that we later decided were wrong. Due

to translation errors caused by translating from the original languages the Bible was in,

reading the Bible out of context, and allowing bigoted views to predetermine how we read

the Bible has caused many problems. This in turn alters how we view many topics, and how

to act in relation to them.

Currently, the Christian church is attempting to figure out how to deal with a similar

issue. The topic of homosexuality is a sensitive subject within many denominations. Some

Christians declare, with what they believe to be a biblical basis that homosexuality is

immoral and condemnable while others debate that there is no clear evidence in the bible

of such and that in fact Jesus never spoke on the topic. I maintain that there is no evidence

with the New Testament to condemn homosexuals and that the so-called “biblical

evidence” against homosexuals is mere mistranslations.

“The debate over homosexuality crosses all religious lines and is of critical interest in

American culture.”1 All religious groups and organization have dealt with, are dealing with, or

will deal with homosexuality and the place it has within their denomination. Within

denominations there is dividing. Within churches there is dividing. Within families there is

dividing. For many the topic of homosexuality is not a topic with two possibilities. For others,

1
Rogers, Jack. Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the
Church. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
 Berry 2

homosexuality is clearly and sin and all homosexuals will go to hell. Moreover, yet others

believe that we are to love all of our brothers and sisters and not oppress people based on their

sexual orientation.

The bible has been used all through time to provide support for things and to convince

people to be in opposition to other things. For an extended time, especially in American history,

the bible was used to support and encourage slavery. The curse on Ham and Canaan was used

to justify slavery just as the curse on Eve has been used to validate the oppression of women. In

essence, we used to approve of slavery because there was biblical support. “And the Bible

regarded semen and menstrual blood as unclean, which most of us do not. Likewise, the Bible

permitted behaviors that we today condemn: prostitution, polygamy, levirate marriage, sex

with slaves, concubinage, treatment of women as property, and very early marriage (for the

girl, age 11-13).”2 The bible approved of many things that today we condemn. The bible

condemned many things that today we allow.

“For Christians, nothing in the Scriptures supersedes the teachings of Jesus. There is not

a single word in the four Gospels, even by inference, about same-sex relationships. Exclusion of

gay people is not based on the ministry or teachings of Jesus”3 Seeing as the teaching of Christ

Jesus are the most significant words and doctrine for Christians to follow, it is assumed that

that is where we would draw the bulk of our beliefs and understandings. For the most part, this

is true. However, it is not the case when it comes to the subject matter of homosexuality.

“Those who use the Bible to condemn homosexuality cannot quote from the teachings of Jesus

2
Wink, The Reverend Doctor Walter. Homosexuality and The Bible. Pearl River, New York: Ramapo Graphics, 2003.
3
The Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, New York, What We Wish We Had Known-A Resource to Help End the
Silence. Spring 2000.
 Berry 3

or cite a single word spoken by Christ because Jesus never spoke about the issue. Jesus never

hesitated to teach and comment on the world of His day. He took strong positions on divorce,

remarriage, adultery, material Possessions, hypocrisy, oppression, greed, selfishness, class

structure, and the accumulation of wealth. Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Many

believe that if God had something to say about the matter, Jesus would certainly have said it. “ 4

There are a vast multitude of issues covered in the gospels (“in each case, we accepted a

pervasive societal prejudice and read it back to scripture.” 5) Moreover, the epistles and yet this

controversial topic is not amongst them. “Many Christians think it is ironic that some religious

leaders focus so little on some of the issues that deeply concerned Jesus and talk so much

about an issue, which He never mentioned.”6

The books of the Bible were written in either Hebrew or Koine Greek depending on

when they were written, though some speculate that Aramaic may also have been used. During

time, biblical scholars and translators have translated it numerous times into numerous

different languages. With each translation, the phraseology has been distorted slightly. The

translations across languages have had inaccuracies because there are not constantly accurate

translations available for each word. These problems have resulted in mistranslations of texts.

Specifically, looking at the topic of homosexuality, a number of mistranslations can be

found. The Norwegian theologian, Raghnild Schanke, scrutinizes an enormous collection of

ancient references (including Roman, Talmudic, Greek, and astrological texts) to decide that in
4
The Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, New York, What We Wish We Had Known-A Resource to Help End the
Silence. Spring 2000.
5
Rogers, Jack. Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the
Church. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
6
The Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, New York, What We Wish We Had Known-A Resource to Help End the
Silence. Spring 2000.
 Berry 4

the ancient humanity and in Jesus' time the word "eunuchs," as used by Jesus, included

homosexuals and persons whose sexual practice diverged from the standard. Therefore, Jesus'

reception of eunuchs included accepting those who were gay. Schanke’s analysis of her findings

state that "Any gender variant person, who accepts the [Christian] New Covenant, rather than

the old Mosaic Law, should be accepted into the Christian Sanctuary, welcomed to the altar,

and included in the rituals." 7 Eunuchs, however, are not the solitary victim of mistranslation.

“The ‘unnatural’ of Romans 1:26 should be translated ‘atypical’ and has no ethical

implication in Paul’s usage. The supposed condemnations of 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy

1:10 rest on one obscure Greek word that nobody really knows how to translate.” 8 While the

words unnatural and atypical do not appear to be drastically different, their contemporary

connotations allow readers to read more deeply into them. When translated to unnatural the

readers assume it a violation of natural law, wicked or monstrous. When translated as atypical

the meaning morphs into something that is simply irregular.

1 Corinthians 6:9-17 and 1 Timothy 1:3-13 are unique verses in this circumstance. The

distinctive aspect comes from the fact that in their original Greek they both contain the Greek

words ἀρσενοκοίτης (arsenokoites) as well as μαλακός (malakos), which leads many scholars to

conjecture it is a reference to homosexuality activities. While some theologians argue that it

refers to homosexuality, Martti Nissinen challenges that due to its appearance in texts it rather

appears to be a concern of Hellenistic Jews about the Greek society. Dale Martin, a professor of

New Testament and Christian Origins at Yale University disagrees with “those who read the two
7
Schanke, Raghnild. "Rituals and same-sex unions," in Same-sex couples, same-sex partnerships, and homosexual
marriages: A Focus on cross-national differences. Stockholm: International Research Project, 2003.
8
Helminiak, PhD, Daniel A. What The Bible Really Says About Homosexuality. Carrollton, GA: Psychology
Department State University of West Georgia, 2001.
 Berry 5

words, arsen (male), and koites (bed), as one and thereby create a new term for men who have

sex with men.”9 After analyzing secular and Christian Greek writings, that arsenokoites most

likely refers to a structure of profitable exploitation, in all probability by sexual means: rape or

sex by economic intimidation, prostitution, pimping, or something comparable. “The fact that

arsenokoitai [the plural of arsenokoites, which the NRSV translates as ‘sodomites’] is followed

by slave traders, a group who exploited others, adds weight to Martin’s evidence for

arsenokoitai as sexual exploiters of some sort, since the vices in the lists were often grouped

according to their similarity to other vices in the list.” 10

There are many discrepancies in the Old and New Testaments. At times, the New

Testament even goes so far as to contradict something in the Old Testament. The Old

Testament accepted divorce but Jesus forbade it. Those that use literal interpretation of the

bible to condemn homosexuality falter because of the contradictions of the Old and New

Testament. Those that take the bible literally when condemning homosexuality neglect to take

it literally in other instances, “ Passages which call for the stoning of unruly children or death for

all women who are not virgins on their wedding day or giving away all one’s belongings to

follow Christ are usually not taken literally. The Torah alone (what we Christians refer to as the

Pentateuch) contains 613 commandments, hundreds of which contemporary Jews and

Christians no longer follow because they reflect the limited knowledge and understanding

available thousands of years ago. “11

9
Martin, Dale B., “Arsenokoites and Malakos: Meanings and Consequences,” in Robert L. Brawley, ed., Biblical
Ethics and Homosexuality: Listening to Scripture (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996)
10
Bellis, Alice Ogden and Terry L. Hufford, Science, Scripture, and Homosexuality (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2002)
11
The Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, New York, What We Wish We Had Known-A Resource to Help End the
Silence. Spring 2000.
 Berry 6

The Story of Sodom and Gomorrah is often utilized as the quintessential anti-

homosexuality narrative. And yet according to the Rev. Dr. Peter J Gomes, “In the New

Testament, Jesus himself is under the impression that Sodom was destroyed because it was a

place lacking hospitality; we find him saying as much in Matthew 10:14-15 and in Luke 10:10-

12.”12 The expression Sodomite never appears in the Hebrew Scriptures, not even when

referring to inhabitants of Sodom. The word is not established until 1611, where it can be found

in a very small number of Old Testament verses in the King James Version of the Bible.

Furthermore, “The letter of Jude is the only book of the Bible that relates the sin of Sodom and

Gomorrah to “sexual immorality.”13

Like the rest of the New Testament texts there is not much attention given to the topic

of homosexuality in the Pauline Epistles. “Paul insisted that faith in Jesus Christ, not adherence

to a set of legal requirements, constitutes membership in the Christian Community.” 14 Much of

the texts situate emphasis on a person’s heart and their relationship with Christ. “Given the

appeal to the Bible in the case of homosexuality one would assume that the Bible has much to

say on the subject. It has not. And homosexuality does not appear to be much concern to those

early churches with which Saint Paul and his successors were involved.” 15 The Rev. Lindsay

Louise Biddle in her writings, titled, the Biblical Self-Defense Course on Lesbian, Gay and

Bisexual Concerns, postulates that as a dedicated Jewish man Paul “, never suggested that

12
Gomes, Rev. Dr. Peter J. The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart. New York: William Morrow and
Company, Inc., 1996.
13
Rogers, Jack. Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the
Church. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
14
Dykers Koenig, Rev. Tricia. What Does the Bible Tell Us?. Cleveland Heights, Ohio: Noble Road Presbyterian
Church,
15
Gomes, Rev. Dr. Peter J. The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart. New York: William Morrow and
Company, Inc., 1996.
 Berry 7

there was any historical or legal reasons to oppose homosexual behavior: if he did in fact object

to it, it was purely on the basis of functional, contemporary moral standards.” 16 When Paul is

condemning homosexuality, the people he is condemning are heterosexual men performing

homosexual acts, not homosexuals.

Our ideas of homosexuality have changed through the course of history. Just as our

attitude on menstrual blood has been altered due to learning more information, as have our

assumptions surrounding homosexuality. “The biblical writers never contemplated a form of

homosexuality in which loving, monogamous and faithful persons sought to live out the

implications of the gospel with as much fidelity to it as any heterosexual believer. All they knew

of homosexuality was prostitution, pederasty, lasciviousness, and exploitation.” 17 No context

within the biblical society promoted healthy homosexual relationships. All of the instances

specified in the Bible were temple prostitution, economic exploitation, slavery, or heterosexuals

engaging in homosexual acts. These were wrong because of why they were happening not

merely, because they were homosexual. “There are around 3,000 verses in the Bible that

express God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. In contrast, there are a tiny handful of

verses that some people claim condemn homosexuality. None of them, properly interpreted,

refers to contemporary Christian people who are homosexual.” 18 We cannot intend to consign

the equivalent restrictions upon people when the context is entirely different.

16
Biddle, The Rev. Lindsay Louise. Biblical Self-Defense Course on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns.
Minneapolis, MN: More Light Churches Network, 1992.
17
Gomes, Rev. Dr. Peter J. The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart. New York: William Morrow and
Company, Inc., 1996.
18
Rogers, Jack. Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the
Church. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
 Berry 8

Society and social norms have changed drastically between now and when the bible was

originally written. Our composition as humankind is likewise drastically different. “In an age of

over population, perhaps a gay orientation is especially sound ecologically!” 19 We no longer

necessitate all people to reproduce in order to maintain our species surviving. We face

overpopulation concerns in many regions and some countries place restrictions on how many

children couples can produce. Homosexuality eliminates this concern. However, many argue

that it is our sole purpose to be multiplying, as dictated in Genesis. “[T]hat since God made men

and women for each other in order to be fruitful and multiply, homosexuals reject God’s intent

in creation. But this would mean that childless couples, single persons, priests, and nuns would

be in violation of God’s intention in their creation. Those who argue thus must explain why the

apostle Paul never married. And are they prepared to charge Jesus with violating the will of God

by remaining single.”20 If these people did not marry and did not follow the principle of

multiplying that we are bestowed with in Genesis what is to say that more people cannot follow

that course?

There is an assumption that all religions are antigay, however this is entirely untrue.

“The idea that all religious people are antigay is inaccurate. An increasingly large number of

Jewish and Christian congregations, religious leaders, and organizations support gay people and

dedicate themselves to the principle of full and equal inclusion of all human beings.” 21 Those in

the religious community that are open and affirming have realized that it is not about sex but

rather about the person. As the German theologian Helmut Thielicke wrote in his The Ethics of

19
Wink, The Reverend Doctor Walter. Homosexuality and The Bible. Pearl River, New York: Ramapo Graphics, 2003.
20
Wink, The Reverend Doctor Walter. Homosexuality and The Bible. Pearl River, New York: Ramapo Graphics, 2003.
21
The Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, New York, What We Wish We Had Known-A Resource to Help End the
Silence. Spring 2000.
 Berry 9

Sex, “The primary moral problem is not sex within marriage vs. sex outside of marriage, or sex

within a heterosexual relationship vs. sex within a homosexual relationship. The problem is sex

as a depersonalizing force vs. sex as the fulfillment of a human relationship.” 22 As members of

the Christian community, we ought not to be concerned with whether a relationship consists of

a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, or a man and a man, but rather we ought to be

more concerned that said relationship is the fulfillment of love. “Love does no wrong to a

neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 12:10)” 23

Jesus accepted everyone. The lowest of His modern society were among His friends.

Jesus accepted the prostitute, the unclean women, the Samaritans, the tax collectors, and

“Jesus accepted eunuchs just as they are, explaining to his disciples, ‘For there are eunuchs who

have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and

there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of

heaven. He, who is able to receive this, let him receive this." (Matthew 19:12, RSV,)”24 Those

who others cast out, Jesus gathered to Himself. He embraced them.

We should not be condemning but rather, like Jesus, we should be embracing.

“Approached from the point of view of love rather than that of law, the issue is at once

transformed. Now the question is not "What is permitted?" but rather "What does it mean to

love my homosexual neighbor?" 25 How can we transform our own hearts to be accepting of our

fellow Christian brothers and sisters? “’In Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no

22
Helmut Thielicke, The Ethics of Sex, 1st Edition/1st Printing ed. (Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1964),
23
Barker, Kenneth L. Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
24
Wong, Peter. LET’S DIALOGUE WITH THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT: A Syllabus of Strategies, Moral Values, and Biblical
Citations. Micah’s Call, 2008.
25
Wink, The Reverend Doctor Walter. Homosexuality and The Bible. Pearl River, New York: Ramapo Graphics, 2003.
 Berry 10

longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one.’ There is no

question in my mind, and in a great many in Christ’s church today, that we must translate and

add to this passage saying, ‘In Christ there is no longer straight or gay, for in him we are all

one.’”26 In this country, the color of one’s skin was a massive issue for numerous years and

currently we no longer differentiate between black and white. Once we arrive at the realization

that we should be paying more consideration to the other concepts that are outlined

throughout the bible, like taking care of the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, then we will no

longer differentiate between gay and straight.

The topic of homosexuality is a exceedingly controversial one within the religious

setting. There are those that are adamantly in opposition to homosexuality and those that are

open and affirming and they exist within the same churches and the same families. For some,

they condemn homosexuality on a biblical basis and yet they use dreadfully mistranslated

verses to quarrel what is only briefly mentioned. Christ Jesus never spoke on the topic of

sexuality. Likewise, the Gospels never refer to the subject. To me, it is not an issue of sexuality

because I know that in Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, male or female, gay or straight; in

Christ, we are one. Instead of being concerned with a person’s sexuality, we should be

wondering and worrying about how as Christians we can live up to the ideals of Jesus and best

honestly share the love of God with people.

26
Porter, Dr. Harold Gordon, “Homosexuality is not a Sin”, Sermon Preached at Mount Auburn Presbyterian
Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 14, 1994.