“The Bible and Homosexuality” by Steve Parelli

by Steve Parelli, Executive Director, Other Sheep

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Introduction:  The Errant Use of the Word Sodomite in the King James Bible

"The Issues about Homosexuality are Very Complex and Are Not Understood by Most Members of the Christian Church."  –Bernard Ramm, The American Baptist Seminary of the West.

  • The English word "Sodomite" is used in the 1611 KJV in the Old Testament 5 times, but not once
    in the 1973 NIV.  
  • A look at the five passages in both translations and the corresponding Hebrew word kadesh


Part 1:   Sodom & Gomorrah Revisited  Genesis 19

  • The Clobber Passages Listed
  • Sodom & Gomorrah Discussed, Genesis 19
  • Not a Story about Homosexuality
  • The Sins of Sodom and Gomorrah:  Violence, Inhospitality, and Social Oppression
  • Conclusion:  The Real Rape - Injustice

". . . The real act of sodomy [rape] is the particular application of the story to [LGBTs] and the translation of textual violence into social." 
                                         -Robert Goss, Queering Christ


Part 2:  Two New Testament Greek Words  I Corinthians 6:9; I Timothy 1:9-10

  • Introduction – The Texts in Question
  • malakoi –Why 'soft' does not mean 'homosexual'
  • Its Translation by Modern English Bible Versions
  • Definition/ Study
  • arsenokoitai – What Zeus and Naas teach us about homosexuality
  • Its Translation by Modern English Bible Versions
  • Five Attempts at Unlocking the Meaning of this Word

"Because of its rarity, we can only guess at what the word means."
                      -Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley, The Children Are Free


Part 3:  Against Nature  Romans 1

  • Robert E. Goss  -  Paul Has Been Wrong Before
  • Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley  -  It Doesn't Apply to Me
  • Thomas Hanks – Seven Myths Exposed


Part 4:  Male-Male Sex  Leviticus 18:22

  • The Eleventh Commandment
  • "Judicial holdings are limited to the facts of the case."  -Jeff Miner
  • Robert E. Goss – Gender Role Confusion
  • Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley – Homosexual Temple Prostitution
  • Steven Greenburg – What Does the Word Abomination Mean?
  • L. William Country man – Prohibition of Mixing Kinds


Part 5:  Going After Strange Flesh   Jude 7

  • What Was Jude Talking About?
  • Conclusion of the Study on the Bible and Homosexuality