It seems that many folks are upset about Phil Robertson being fired for "simply quoting the Bible." This diary is not another diary to condemn or to defend Mr. Robertson for what he said. This diary is to discuss the Bible verse that he supposedly quoted and whether he quoted the verse correctly. And, what does the passage really mean? Does it really say anything about homosexuality or persons who have sex with someone of the same sex. The short answer is maybe, but most probably not. The reason is that there is no word in the Koine Greek for homosexuality or homosexual. There are a number of words for a number of male/male sex acts. Paul did not use any of them (here or elsewhere in any of his letters in the Bible). There simply was no reason for Paul to coin a new word if he wanted to condemn male homosexuals or male/male sex.
Let's quote I Corinthians 6:9-10 in the KJV of the Bible first. It states:
9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
The passage was written in a letter that Paul (Saul of Tarsus) wrote to the church at Corinth. The language used was Koine Greek. The verse has been mistranslated in many of the more modern versions of the Bible, particularly to include homosexuals or persons who have sex with others of the same sex. The Koine Greek words in question are "malakos" which is translated to "effeminate" in the KJV and "arsenokoites" which is translated to "abusers of themselves with mankind" in the KJV.
The NIV translates malakos to "male prostitutes." The Living Bible translates it to "homosexuals." And, the Interlinear Bible translates it to "abusers." In Koine Greek, the word literally means "soft." It was generally used to describe clothing worn by the Roman elite of Paul's time. Since the word was used in a list here, there is very little if any context to its usage. Therefore, it's difficult to see how these translators came up with those translations. The word's usage in I Corinthians is ambiguous at best. Some scholars believe that Paul simply meant persons with soft or very limited morals in general. Others believe that he meant persons who were spineless or cowards. It took great courage to be a practicing Christian during this time period, so I guess that is possible. But, homosexual? Really??
In Greek ethical theory, which was adopted by the Romans, the idea of "softness" was used to refer to men who didn't have control over their desires. That could apply to sexual desires, but also to pretty much any desire. It also referred to men who were too eager to avoid pain.
In both these regards, they would have been seen as "womanish." (Never mind all the brave, stalwart, temperate, and scornful-of-pain Greek women of whom the poets sang. Eh, since when are gender norms logical?)
The most problematic word is "arsenokoites." It is a word that Paul apparently made up from two other words which meant man or male and beds. The KJV translates this one to "abusers of themselves with mankind." The NIV translates this word to "homosexual offenders." The Interlinear Bible translates the word to "homosexuals." J. B. Phillips translates this word to "perverts." In I Timothy 1:10, the New English Bible translates this word to perverts." The words are repeated in I Timothy 1:10 with various other translations. It's even more unclear how one would get homosexual out of this word "arsenokoites." Arsenokoites is apparently a hapax legomenon, and we simply do not have enough references of the word (in context) to know what it means.
At the time of Martin Luther, "arsenokoitai" was universally interpreted as masturbator. But by the 20th century, masturbation had become a more generally accepted behavior. So, new translations abandoned references to masturbators and switched the attack to homosexuals. The last religious writing in English that interpreted 1 Corinthians 6:9 as referring to masturbation is believed to be the [Roman] Catholic Encyclopedia of 1967.
One of the few references to arsenokoites that gives a clue as to its meaning, that of John the Faster, a Patriarch, expresses concern that men are arsenokoitein with their WIVES.
There are a whole lot of ways to have sex, but a man's being homosexual with his wife is something I'm having trouble understanding.
One last point that I would like to make is what exactly did Paul mean by "the Kingdom of God?" We do have an answer to that question in Paul's own words from Romans 14:17. It states:
17) For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
I doubt that he meant that it was this wonderful magical place with "streets paved with gold" that is spoken of in Revelation.