How do you respond to I Corinthians 6:9 NIV?? It says that homosexuals are going to hell, there, in black and white!! The following verse does mention cleaning, but for those that WERE, not ARE. How do gay Christians respond to that verse?
John
Dear John,
For the sake of the readers let me quote the scripture you raise the question about.
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor HOMOSEXUAL OFFENDERS…” I Corinthians 6:9
First, while I am a homosexual I am not an offending one. I have been with my partner in a monogamous relationship for 18 years (married). I feed the hungry, cloth the naked, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick and imprisoned. But actually this isn’t your question is it? But I did want you to know I wasn’t an offender of homosexuality.
However, with all that said — the writers of the NIV (New International Version) have made a translation error. The term “homosexual offender” is an updated phrase from the King James version of the Bible that used the term “effeminate abusers” which is the translation of the Greek word “malakos”. According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words this word means:
“soft, soft to the touch (Latin; mollis, English, mollify, emollient, etc are from the same root), used (a) of raiment, Matthew 11:8 (twice); Luke 7:25; (b) metaphorically, in the bad sense, I Corinthians 6:9, “effeminate” not simply a male who practices forms of lewdness, but persons in general, who are guilty of addiction to sins of the flesh.” [Emphasis mine]
So, my child of God, my response to I Corinthians 6:9 is this: It says nothing about homosexuals who have loving, committed relationships and those versions of the Bible which use the word “homosexual” are wrong, their translation is in error. Sad to say the error has not been corrected because it gives credence to a cultural and religious bias, of which you seem to have fallen prey.
God Bless,
Pastor Paul
Editor-in-Chief of Whosoever and Founding and Senior Pastor of Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta, Rev. Paul M. Turner (he/him) grew up in suburban Chicago and was ordained by the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches in 1989. He and his husband Bill have lived in metro Atlanta since 1994, have been in a committed partnership since the early 1980s and have been legally married since 2015.