Personal Activism: The Defend the Family group & Gay Hate Laws in Uganda

[stav]

First of all, I wanted to say hello to you--whoever is reading, and to thank the people who have amassed the materials at this wonderful site.

I am, probably not, strictly speaking a practicing Christian, but I have discovered a wonderful, wonderful sense of feeling peace, relief and love from the people here. I have taken great heart from you all. It has assisted me to put to rest the harm I have taken from homophobia propagated in the name of the Bible by Biblical literalism, in ultra conservatives, and gay-hating communities. E.g. Westborough.

But, I have rediscovered, through you, what a real Christian is and I am deeply grateful to you for your kindness and your love.

But, to the topic at hand. When I heard that Ugandan parliament was proposing revisions to their already cruel homosexual 'sodomy' laws--the death penalty for 'recidivist' homosexual offenders, and three years imprisonment for simply not reporting someone else's same-sex contact to authorities within 24 hours.

I was horrified. Not typically an activist at all, I found myself spending days at the computer tracing a way to try to do something--anything to help. I signed a petition by Avaaz

here's the link: http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_rights_2/?vl

I then discovered three practicing 'ministers' in an international delegation, preaching god's hate of homosexuals in Uganda.

They are Scott Lively, Don Schmierer and Caleb Lee Brundidge.

There is more:

love
stav

[stav]

I wrote to the three men. I was unequivocal in the message, and I was surprised that Scott Lively responded to the call.

Over the ensuing days, I immersed myself in the Scriptures--having never seen the Bible so closely before. In that journey, I finally discovered that the Bible may not really do any homosexuality bashing at all! And the 'clobbering' passages so regularly cited: excerpts from Leviticus, Genesis (the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in particular does not need to be about what I was told so many many times at all! Possibly, just a parable about the cities' departure from the then Hebrew law of welcoming strangers! Or--that the then culture had elements that used rape of their defeated enemies in ritualised humiliations! And that the Sin was about sex without consent! And possibly a commentary on Greed!)

I have discovered I was deceived! Biblical literalism and the translated versions of the Bible, with the incumbent translation errors (I will present more on that) taken out of the then context, culture, language and rituals traditions.

"Abomination" in Leviticus referred to a ritual wrong, in the context of the the then Holiness Code, and not an innately immoral act. Eating rabbit was an abomination! As was combining linen with wool, planting two seed types in the same hole! Where, what the Bible reads and says are really different.

I discovered that it was not a Sin at all, to go looking for Biblical principles--love, inclusion, God's Mercy, acceptance, implicit in the parables.

That has emerged in my writings to the 'minister', Scott Lively, who engaged me in an animated, multi-thousand word series of exchanges and my understanding of the Bible went through the roof.

In particular.....

[stav]

There does not appear to be anything in Jesus's teachings to suggest that same-sex loving, inclusive unions are evil or sinful. Strange for something supposed to be such an 'evil' act.

Mr Lively tried to use the Apostle Paul's warning in his address, I think it was 1 Corinthians 6:9.

Much of this whole mess we have in the modern day is about two words.

arsenokoitai

and

malakoi

I have learned that those words have probably been mistranslated. The journey back to the ancient Greek and Latin versions appear to me to read quite differently in their intention, when Paul used those words.

I do have a specific question to the Scholars here:

ARSEONOKOITAI (singular: arsenokoité) is a feminine word.

If it applied to men at all, we would see the forms ARSENOKOITOS, -OI--but we never do.

I have read that there are three uses of the word ARSENOKOITAI in ancient times, and they are six centuries apart.

1. In the Sybelline Oracles, dating 6th Century BC, it says, "The ARSENOKOITAI from the north will abduct our children."

2. St. Paul's use.

3. In the writings of St. John the Faster of Constantinople, he says that ARSENOKOITAI is something that some men do to their wives.

Can anyone elaborate on this further (I have read the other two threads here about the words--thank you for those material)

Kind Regard
stav