Exegeting Homosexuality, Part 2

Continued from last...

MALAKOS & ARSENOKOITES
"We know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals (αρσενοκοιταις) and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God" (1 Timothy 1:8-11). "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (ουτε μαλακοι), nor homosexuals (ουτε αρσενοκοιται), nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Figuratively, μαλακοι means "effeminate" (having feminine qualities untypical of a man), such as transvestites (men who make themselves out to be women), or a person who allows himself to be sexually abused contrary to nature. There are those who argue that μαλακοι means "soft" (Matt. 11:8; Luke 7:25), but this is without warrant or justification. The former verses join μαλακοις to the word ιματιοις (clothing) in order to modify it. In 1 Corinthians 6:9, the phrase appears as ουτε μαλακοι. The word μαλακοι is not joined to any other word, which is what would be required in order to translate it as "soft". The question would arise, "Soft what?" Ergo, we must translate it according to its other meanings:

1. soft, soft to the touch
2. metaph. in a bad sense
1. effeminate
1. of a catamite
2. of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man
3. of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness
4. of a male prostitute

The compound Greek word αρσενοκοιται comes from its root or stem words, αρσεν (a male) and κοιτε (a bed), and means "a male bed partner" or "a man who lies in bed with another male—a homosexual, a Sodomite, one who defiles himself with men". There are those who argue that we cannot translate αρσενοκοιται based upon the combined meanings of its root words because "the English word ‘understand’ has nothing to do with either standing or being under". This argument is illogical and lacks any common sense or knowledge of linguistics. In the English language, its compound words largely have nothing to do with their individual root words. However, for words taken directly from other languages, such as amuse, agnostic, atheist, amillennial, etc., they do. "A" is a negative prefix, meaning "no, not, or without". "Muse" means "to think". Ergo, "a-muse" means "not to think", although in our day and age it is used ignorantly and incorrectly as a positive term meaning "funny or entertaining". Amusements clearly involve the lack of active thought. So if fun and entertainment is "amusing", it is without thought. Hence why the television is referred to as an "idiot box".

Regarding the majority of other languages around the world, however, their compound words do have something to do with their individual root words. The Greek word παραλαμβνω means "to receive near". Its root words are παρα (near) and λαμβνω (to take, obtain, receive). Ergo, when the root words are combined, the compound word means "to receive near". This can be demonstrated with hundreds more Greek compound words. Aρσενοκοιται is no different. It means:

1. one who lies with a male as with a female (male bed partners), bugger, sodomite, homosexual

Some have said, "Aρσενοκοιται has been understood as referring to male-male sexual activity for a long time. 'Homosexual' is a (perhaps unhelpful) attempt to render that in contemporary English." How do you figure? Homosexuality, by definition, is "a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the same sex". A homosexual, by definition, is "someone who is sexually attracted to (or sexually active with) people of their own sex". Male-male sexual activity is homosexuality. The most pathetic argument I have ever heard in this debate is the claim that all these verses are prohibiting heterosexual men from engaging in homosexual activities. Whoa! Let's stop and think for a moment here. That argument is completely and utterly illogical, lacking all common sense. A "heterosexual" male engaging in homosexual activity is, by definition, a homosexual. Heterosexuals and homosexuals are either male or female. There are only two genders of humanity: male and female. "Heterosexual" and "homosexual" are adjectives; they describe the character and behaviour of the individual. They only become nouns when the adjective is habitually true of the individual's life practices. Hence, you are born a heterosexual, at some point choose to be a homosexual (whether or not you remember having made that choice is irrelevant; you still made it), and, when you are either saved by the Lord Jesus or your conscience and common sense kick in, revert to a heterosexual once more. How about we throw out these terms, meant to obscure reality and truth, and deal with the words and descriptions contained therein.

There are those who attempt to argue that there is no immediate context with which to interpret μαλακοι and αρσενοκοιται correctly. These individuals are dishonest and lacking any formal knowledge regarding context. When you read the words "You shall not murder", the context is crystal clear. It exists within those words. The specific context of each commandment is different from each of the other commandments. The general context, which is the inclusion of all ten commandments, is different from the individual contexts of each commandment. The book of Proverbs is largely a collection of verses that tend not to be related to the preceding or succeeding verses. The context of each of these lone verses is found within itself. So to say that 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 contains no context with which to interpret the words correctly is simply being dishonest and self-deceived.

These words are defining characteristics of habitually practiced sin in one's life. These words not only describe your actions, but they define who you are. One is known to be such a person. Verse 11 states clearly, "Such were some of you". When Jesus saved them from their sins (Matt. 1:21) and the Holy Spirit regenerated them, they were new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17) who had put off the former lifestyles of their old man (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:9). They had repented of and forsaken their previous sins (Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8; Rom. 8:13; 2 Tim. 2:19c) and would now live in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). The context is quite clear, when one is being honest and truthful.

It has been argued that it is not homosexuality that is in view in all these passages, but pederasty. This argument lacks any common sense and/or intelligent thought. Pederasty is sexual activity (esp. anal intercourse) involving a man and a boy. Mαλακοι could be interpreted as "catamite", a boy kept for homosexual practices. Aρσενοκοιται could be interpreted as "sodomite", a man who commits lechery with men, a man who abuses himself with men, a man who defiles himself with men. By arguing that pederasty is in view, homosexuals are completely (and ignorantly) undermining their own stance. Pederasty is a form of homosexuality. It has no affiliation to pedophilia. No matter how you try and dice it, these two words describe the active and passive roles within homosexuality. Interestingly enough, "peder", which is a Croatian word, means "gay, queer, homosexual". Furthermore, Bernadette Brooten (a lesbian New Testament scholar who taught at Harvard Divinity School and currently teaches at Brandeis) wrote:

"If . . . the dehumanizing aspects of pederasty motivated Paul to condemn sexual relations between males, then why did he condemn relations between females in the same sentence? . . . Rom 1:27, like Lev 18:22 and 20:13, condemns all males in male-male relationships regardless of age, making it unlikely that lack of mutuality or concern for the passive boy were Paul’s central concerns. . . . The ancient sources, which rarely speak of sexual relations between women and girls, undermine Robin Scroggs’s theory that Paul opposed homosexuality as pederasty."¹

To return once more to the structure of Greek compound words, I bring your attention to the Greek paederastia. Its root words are παις (boy) and εραστης (lover). When combined, the compound word means "lover of boys". Here again is an example that flies in the face of the weak argument based on English compound words such as "understand", "butterfly", "honeymoon", "mandate", etc. The English language is not the Greek language, and vice versa. You cannot apply the rules for English grammar to other languages. This is the height of linguistic ignorance.

To be continued...

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¹ Bernadette Brooten, Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism, 253.