[UUCP] CORRECTION TO A COMMENT I MADE IN MY SERMON

[revpauld444]

Hi everyone,
First, let me say that it was a joy to be present with all of you who were
able to attend our hybrid Zoom service in person at The Bristol. I’m
looking forward to seeing all of you again at Lakeland Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship on June 19th!

I want to correct an error I made in my sermon yesterday. It might seem
minor, but it really puts the translators of the Revised Standard Version
of the Bible in a bad light and I don’t want to do that.

I mentioned that the word “homosexual” did not appear in any English
translation of the Bible until 1952 when the RSV translators, led by Luther
Allan Weigle, mistranslated the two Greek words *malakoi *and
*aresenokoitai* as “homosexual” in 1 Coritnhians 6:9. When Mr. Weigle
learned of the mistake (through an exchange of letters with a seminary
student) he agreed with the student and admitted the mistake.

However, he and the translators had just signed a contract that no changes
would be made to the text for ten years, so legally, their hands were tied.
During that time, other translations were being prepared including the New
American Standard Bible, The Living Bible, and the New International
Version, and the translators and editors of those versions all used the RSV
as the basis for their translations and kept the word “homosexual” in their
text. It has since created all of the problems surrounding one
mistranslated word.

And its important to note that the Revised Standard Version has since been
changed to readthe following:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
sexual perverts…”
Admittedly, a rather broad interpretation, but certainly better than
“homosexual.”

There have been numerous translations of the Bible since then and some
don’t use the word “homosexual” while some do. Others use other words which
may or may not hint at the word “homosexual.” It looks as though the
Pandora’s box of confusion over the word has been opened for good and the
evils of ignorance, bigotry, and hate have all been let out. But just as
the last thing let out into the world after Pandora opened that box was
Hope, we can have Hope that by educating people about this error we can
defeat the forces that want to continue to oppress our LGBTQI family and
friends.

But let me conclude by sharing with you my favorite translation of this
verse from my favorite version of the Bible called “The Message” translated
by the late scholar Eugene H. Peterson:

1 Corinthians 6:9 “Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live?
Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom.
Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the
earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom.”

Whatever your notion of god or the concept of “god’s kingdom” is (I prefer
the term Beloved Community,” I think this translation makes the more
appropriate and important point that *anyone* who uses and abuses others in
any manner, anyone who uses and abuses sex (as, for example, a way to
control and hurt people,) anyone who uses and abuses the earth and its
resources are not part of that Beloved Community.

That’s our work, though. To try to help them and welcome them in.

I hope this clears up the error I made and gives you more information about
this really important topic, especially during Pride Month.

Peace and Light,

Rev. Paul


-- 
Rev. Paul S. Dodenhoff
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades
Englewood, NJ 07631
uucpalisades.org
revpauld444 at gmail.com
551-427-2648

"The whole point of Jesus's life was not that we should become exactly like
him, but that we should become ourselves in the same way he became himself.
Jesus was not the great exception but the great example."
~~~ Carl Jung
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