"Proof-texting" is the taking of a phrase, sentence, chapter, etc., of literature out of its original historical context to either support one's view or condemn others. According to the the author of the textbook which I had when I took Biblical Hermeneutics (aka Bible Interpretation), the KJV translators did a dis-service to the Bible by dividing its books up into chapters and verses. Because of that, English speaking readers, especially, take phrases, sentences, verses, and even chapters of the Bible completely out of their original contexts and misuse them. Oh, I took that course when I was a graduate student at Oral Roberts University in the 1970s working on a Master of Arts in Theological and Historical Studies (MATHS) Degree. I attended there for 5 semesters. I was in denial of my sexual orientation then.
The word mistranslated as "prostitute" in the Living Bible is "kodesh" for males and "kodeshah" for females. The word "Kodesh" and its feminine spelling Kodeshah" do not mean prostitute at all.
When Deuteronomy was written, there were no vowel points in the Hebrew text at all. Those were added by a group of Jews a long time after the birth of Jesus. When referring to a person, "kodesh" refers to anyone serving a god, either a pagan god or YHWH, aka Yahweh or Jehovah. What the author of Deuteronomy was referring to is that none of the Children of Israel should be serving the Canaanite gods as holy persons.
In regard to what is in 1 Corinthians 6:9-13, and the word translated as "male prostitutes," which is "malakoi," that word means "soft" and Jesus used the very same word when referring to the kind of clothing which John the Baptist did not wear.
And that other word, arsenokoitai, mistranslated as "homosexual offenders," was NEVER used by any other of the Bible's authors other than the Apostle Paul. . . . AND according to experts in historical documents and other Greek writings, NOBODY, and I mean Nobody! used the word except Paul himself.
Do not call the same-gender sexual activity in Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13 homosexual acts. Oh, it's true that both of the persons involved are male adults; but, the actual sex act is not done by homosexuals at all! One of the was a Kodesh, a male holy person, and the other a married-to-a-woman heterosexual man who went to make a ritual sacrfice to the Canaanite fertility gods. And as i stated before, that "kodesh" would put on women's clothing pretending to be Asherah, the Canaanite fertility goddess. In the mind of the heterosexual man from the community, he was not having sexual activity with a male person at all, he was having sex with a woman, the goddess herself!
It is interesting that people read the Bible without even doing any personal research into the very culture or cultures the Bible's Books' authors were discussing. If you, referring to the author of the person I quoted in this disucssion, don't know anything about the customs of the Canaanites and the Romans and their worship of false gods, you won't even understand what the authors of Leviticus, Romans, I & II Corinthians, and I & II Timothy are talking about in regard to pagan religions.
In fact, Chapters 18, 19, AND 20 of Leviticus should be read as one complete context. The opening verses of Chapter 18 are repeated/summed up in the closing verses of Chapter 20.
Oh, the original Living Bible was an English PARAPHRASE, not a translation, of the King James Version of the Bible. Mr. Taylor did not use the Hebrew nor Greek Texts to do that paraphrase. He made lots of mistakes in doing so.
Literally here is what Leviticus 18:22 states when properly translated from the Hebrew: "And you (male) shall not lay as one lays with a woman; that is "to'ebah" (a taboo in Hebrew culture/religion).
Literally in translation, Leviticus 20:13 states: And a man who lies (or lays) with a male as one lies with a woman, both of them have done a "to'ebah." "To'ebah" is translated as "abomination" and "detestable" in various English versions of the Bible. If one eats shrimp, lobster, or even catfish, according to what is in the books of Moses, one has done a "to'ebah." If one eats meat with cheese on it, one has done a "toebah." It was to'ebah to eat pork. So a bacon cheeseburger is a doubled to'ebah!" Modern Bible-thumping "Christians commit what the OT writers called "to'ebah" almost every day of their adult lives.
Real men who are exclusively homosexual in their sexual orientation and are comfortable with that, i.e. gay, do not pretend that one of them is female in same-gender sexual activity as in the Leviticus' explanation.
(Original Air Date: 10/19/05) Sexual orientation used to be something kept hidden from family and co-workers, but now more and more people are "coming out" and finding acceptance. Anjela says her mother and sister don't support her sexual orientation, and feel she can't be Christian and gay at the same time. Can they reconcile this touchy issue? Then, two men debate whether a person can go from gay to straight, and parents of a 4-year-old boy fear their son's desire to play with dolls and wear heels means he'll grow up to be gay. Are they overreacting to his wishes to be a princess instead of a prince? Talk about gender and gay issues here.
