GAY TRUTH

What is the meaning of arsenokoitai, which Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 6:9 –11 and 1 Timothy 1:10–12? The Revisionist Answer Arsenokoitai cannot refer to “homosexuals” because there is no preceding occurrence of this word with such a meaning. In the lists of vices, the word means “ homosexual acts ,” “pederasts,” or “active male prostitutes ” or refers to ritual impurity . These were the prevalent forms of homosexual activity that found some disapproval in contemporary codes or among the Jews . Paul’s word cannot refer to those of a homosexual orientation or to those who live in a mutually respectful and committed homosexual relationship; these are modern phenomena, unknown to Paul. The Biblical Answer The English term homosexuals is an appropriate correspondent to arsenokoitai, given both ancient sexual practice and today’s usage. We have ample evidence that ancient Greeks and Romans knew about homosexual orientation and that some Greeks practiced a mutually respectful, commit

LAST year I sent out a teaching document, prepared by the Australian Catholic Bishops, on the nature of marriage to the Catholic community in Tasmania. For this I was cited by the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner for a possible breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act. I was simply doing my job of ensuring those in the Catholic community understood the Church’s position on marriage and its importance for our society. Christians have been presenting the essentials of this teaching since the very beginnings of the Church. Yet after 2000 years such teaching is now considered by some to be offensive, in such a serious way as to require an agency of the Tasmanian Government to seek to suppress it. I welcome the recent announcement from the Attorney-General that the Government is to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act, in particular to give greater protection for freedom of religion. This will be a significant change. Freedom of speech ... should only be limited for the most serious of reasons