Here is a very familiar lament: why don’t Christians read their Bibles more?  The excuses are so numerous: the language is too hard, The Book is too old and not relevant today, I’m too busy, I can’t get my mind to focus because there are too many distractions; there is no value there for me.  We could go on and on.  This is not a lament but is it a concern:  when Christians read their Bible, do they pay any attention to the translation they are reading?  Are they just reading what is handy? The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.  I have encountered American Christians who think the original language was English.  I have encountered American Christians who think that “The Bible” was the King James version which was printed in 1611.  I say all this, not to ridicule Christians but to point out that the focus of most Christians is not the language of Scripture, the actual words of the Bible, but should that be our focus?  I think so.  It matters which translation you read.  It matters because the words we read are the bedrock of what we believe.

I have reached the point in my discussion of the role of homosexuality in the church where I seek to “bridge the divide.”  I have presented the affirming view with Pastor Peter Gomes.  I have presented the nonaffirming view with Pastor Kevin DeYoung.  Now I will begin to finish my discussion of the role of homosexuals in the church with a man who tries to find common ground between opposing views: Dr. Preston Sprinkle*. 

Sprinkle is very concerned with Bible reading.  He knows that our Bibles should inform us about how to feel about this issue.  He knows that the translation we read will alter how we feel about this issue.  He also knows that the meanings of individual words will shape how we feel about this issue.

Yes, individual words. 

Too many Christians make up their minds about affirming or nonaffirming homosexuals in the church based on personal experience, media exposure or countless other non-Biblical influences.  If a Christian does read the Bible, they may pay little attention to the history of the translation they are reading.  Sprinkle explains that some translations just don’t accurately reflect the meaning of original Scripture.  “Translations have life implications…[a case in point the NIV** that translated arsenokoites as ‘homosexual offenders’ (1984 version].  What does that word offender mean?  Who has been offended?  What law has been broken?  Is a neighbor offended? God? straight people?”  The problem is the use of imprecise words.  Imagine how a homosexual would feel when they are referred to as an offender in the 1984 NIV.

Sprinkle addresses the issue of words in the Bible directly.  In fact, he says get ready, we are going to go deep.  “Perch up in your chair, roll up your sleeves and turn you phone off for a couple hours to study two words.”  Yes, he wants to focus on two words which have caused more discussion than any other words in the Bible on this issue, the Greek words malakoi and arsenokoites. 

Sprinkle is a graduate of Aberdeen University in Scotland, receiving a Ph.D. in New Testament theology and co-founder and president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender.  He has done extensive research in Scripture related to same-sex relationships and is an expert on the study of Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew languages.  He sees the meaning of malakoi and aresnokoites as key elements in the understanding of this issue. 

Sprinkle focuses on the use of these two words in the New Testament and in particular Scripture from First Corinthians 6 and First Timothy 1:10, both Scriptures penned by the Apostle Paul.  Of course affirming scholars do not think malakoi and arsenkoites refer to homosexual intercourse.  They say that both terms refer to exploitative sex such as male prostitution or pederasty [economic exploitation].  Nonaffirming scholars say the terms refer to homosexual intercourse.

At the risk of getting “too deep into the weeds,” I will attempt to summarize some of Sprinkle’s points about malakoi.  Original use of this Greek word refers to something soft or delicate but in First Corinthians the word describes a person.  In the context of Paul’s comments, he is addressing sexual immorality, idolatry, adulterers, thieves etc.    It is highly unlikely that he is writing about something like soft clothing.  Sprinkle’s research takes him to sources outside the Bible so he can determine the cultural climate and common word use in the First Century.  Other authors use malakoi to describe men who want to be women, men who castrate themselves to “make” themselves feminine, and the passive partner in homosexual intercourse.  In short, there is enough evidence in the language use of the time for someone to surmise that malakoi refers to something more than economic exploitation of individuals in prostitution and pederasty.  

When Sprinkle turns to arsenokoites, it is interesting that the idea of sexual sin in malakoi depends on the meaning of arsenokoites.  Scholars differ widely on what this word means since in Paul’s writing this is the first time it occurs in ancient Greek literature.  The word is a compound word made up of two Greek word: arsen and koite.  Koite means bed or used as a verb it means “to sleep with” in a sexual sense.  Arsen means men.  Literally the word means a man who sleeps with other men.  Again Sprinkle turns to other uses and for this word he focuses on Old Testament use.  In Leviticus the relevant Greek words are kai meta arsenos ou koimethese koiten gunaikeian [“you shall not lie with a male as with the lying of a woman”].   It does not take an expert in Greek to see that there is a strong resemblance to arsenokoites.  Sprinkle comments that affirming scholars seem to give this similarity very little attention [which is problematic for their case].  In later Jewish literature the word is rarely used and since Paul knows Hebrew and Greek and is trying to spread Christianity to both Jew and Gentile, maybe he had to invent a new word.  Hebrew has a word [mishkab zakur] which refers to prohibited same-sex relations.  Sprinkle examines later Christian literature and there the word has more use.  Perhaps Paul’s invented word caught on as several First Century Christian authors define homosexual activity as sin [e.g. Bardaisan, Origen etc.].  In the summary of this section of his book, Sprinkle reasons that Paul uses malokoi right before arsenokoites which gives credence to the idea that he is indeed referring to men having sex with men.  Other scholars say this is pederasty but there were already words for that and the question is, why did Paul not use those words?  Why did he have to come up with new terms?

Paul uses arsenokoites one other time in First Timothy [1:10].  In First Timothy he proposes a list of vices and arsenokoites is in the list of sexually immoral acts.  One might argue that this could refer to adultery but based on his previous use of the word, it may mean that Christians should not be involved with same-sex activity.  Sprinkle admits “It’s impossible to jump inside Paul’s head to be sure.”

After this etymology, how do the words malakos and arsenokoites get translated in the Bible?  To use a common analogy, that is “where the rubber meets the road.”  Sprinkle highlights what he calls the destructive nature of Scripture.  Some translations [NASB] use the words as a reference to effeminate males, regardless of whether they are having sex with other males.  The King James Version refers to these words as “abusers of themselves with mankind.”  The Message (which is a paraphrase) labels same-sex individuals as those who “abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it.”  This is a very serious charge to bring to a group of people.  Is it any wonder that same-sex individuals have suffered abuse from people who are quick to take Scriptural references like this and use damaging hurtful words to describe them. 

After discussing two words in such detail,*** it is clear that the basic references to same-sex activity found in the Bible are not clear at all and translations of the words malakoi and arsenokoites vary according to the translation that is read.  With this as a background, Sprinkle has to address this fundamental question: “Are all gay people going to hell?”  A second question he has to address is very important: “So what do the words of the Bible say?”

Christians have come to conclusions about the role of same-sex individuals in the church.  What are they basing their conclusions on?  Are they accurate in their ideas or do they just have an obscure set of feelings based on personal experience, media exposure or countless other non-Biblical sources.

Dr. Sprinkle who fancies himself an expert will address all of this in a section of his book called “Interlude.” This is a person who is trying to find common ground between affirming same-sex activity in the church and nonaffirming same-sex activity in the church.

Will he succeed?

*author of People to be Loved: Why Homosexuality is not Just an Issue

**The NIV refers to the New International Version translation of the Bible.  

***I have not been as detailed as Dr. Sprinkle.  I would encourage you to study pages 103-120, Chapter 7, “Lost in Translation” for more specifics.