Embraced by God...

I Corinthians 6:9-10 & I Timothy 1:9-10: 
Paul rehashes a couple "sin lists"

The debate: Who is a "sinner"? Are these verses only to be literally interpreted to the extent they turn out to condemn queers—are liars and the greedy off the hook? And have these verses been homophobically translated?

Regarding translation squabbles, there are two key Greek words at question: "malakos," and "arsenokoites." Below is a brief look at this debate, but because translations squabbles are a bit tedious, I’ve mercifully put the details in Appendix A. (Note: Sorry about how the endings of these two words keep changing, but Greek words nuance their meanings by changing the word endings).

I Corinthians 6:9-10

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes [malakoi], sodomites [arsenokoitai], thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers--none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. (NRSV)

This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites [arsenokoitais], slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. (NRSV)

MALAKOS: In moral terms, this common word was a blanket condemnation of all effeminacy as defined by Greek male society--not 20th century USA. It had nothing to do with limp wrists, nor did it determine with whom one had sex. Instead, this was a culturally based women-bashing term that has no place in a modern Christian’s belief system.

ARSENOKOITES: This is an extremely rare word that cannot be accurately defined—nobody knows what the term meant. The Bible translations above are only foolishly guessing, period.

Deep thoughts: "Male prostitutes and Sodomites" are heading towards the fires of hell along with liars, perjurers and a bunch of others. As you likely know, our English language version of the Bible is a translation from the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament—and this passage has been translated wrong, period. In Appendix A, I’ll make this case from recent scholarship, but for now, I’ll limit my concerns to the bogus nature of "sin lists."

Here’s my gripe: conservative Christians seem to think sin lists refer to "bad people," not them. Thus, these verses are only dragged out to bash queers, not liars and the greedy (i.e., themselves). Jesus vehemently condemned the kind of people who see lists of sins everywhere, not the real people they affect, saying, "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them" (Matthew 23:4, NIV). One of the biggest problems I see with Biblical literalism is that it is always a selective literalism. For example, one of the top few concerns throughout the Bible is that the poor be treated with true justice. Not surprisingly, that concern is seldom selected as one of the Bible’s literal demands on us when it is read by affluent Christians. Let’s face it, soup kitchens, orphanages and child sponsorship programs are nice but nothing like what God envisioned when "he" said through the prophet Amos that we should "let justice roll on like a river" (Amos 5:24a, NIV).

Bottom line: Paul’s message to us from these "sin lists" is that without holiness no one will see God. Simultaneously true is the principle that the kingdom of God is based on the love of God and neighbor, not the observance of religious rules. Taken together these two points tell us that all who have embraced God by faith are on their own journey to holiness, and this journey of Spirit-led freedom is traveled from "YES!" to "YES!" as we learn to love God, neighbor and ourselves.