Bible translations should be reconsidered
Dear Editor,
I appreciate the efforts in recent issues of The Colonnade to move away from using Christianity to justify bigotry against homosexuals, but would like to point out some important issues regarding the interpretation of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures.
Mr. Rauschenberg asserts on the basis of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 that Christianity condemns homosexuality as one among a number of sins that may cause one not to “inherit the kingdom of God.” It is very important to realize that the quotation used is but one English translation of the original Greek text, and that many common translations do not contain the words “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” There is an ongoing scholarly debate about the meaning of the original Greek in many New Testament passages that purport to refer to what our contemporaries call “homosexuality,” because modern constructs of homosexuality are largely a product of the 19th and 20th centuries.
While clearly same-sex relationships were not uncommon before the 19th century, the roles they played in various societies were vastly different from the roles they assume in today’s cultures. It is entirely possible that some of the Pauline passages taken to be clear condemnations of “homosexuality” were directed only against pagan cultic rituals and not necessarily against “homosexuality” in general, especially as defined today.
Since we are a liberal arts institution that prides itself on the cultivation of critical thought, it is important to realize that any text, including the Bible, is subject to a number of competing interpretations. What later institutionalized Christian churches did with Biblical texts is another matter entirely, and it is important to be aware of these later influences when using the Bible to justify any particular argument.
Sincerely,
Dr. Deborah Vess
Professor of History
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Feb 24 2006. Filed under Opinion.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
