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From: REXLEX@fnal.fnal.gov
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: ARSENOKOITAI: NT Meaning of
Message-ID: <May.14.02.10.06.1993.25123@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 14 May 93 06:10:06 GMT
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This week, many of you have asked about my earlier postings on OT, NT and
Intertestiment exegesis on the homosexual issue.  I have refered you to the FAQ
files, which I find out, no longer contains them.  They are too long for me to
mail to each of you, each article, but will try to get them back on the FAQ
file.  

Because of the renewed interest on this subject, I will type, with permission,
an article by James DeYoung.  I think it is one of the best articles that I've
read todate from the conservative position.  I can't post it all at once, so it
will come piece meal and not daily.  After I'm done retyping the entire
article, I will make it available for the FAQ file.  Talk to clh.

Also, for those who can't get through to me, you may try one of these:
REXLEX@FNAL.FNAL.GOV 
LEXREX@ALMOND.FNAL.GOV
Loren Senders@ADMAIL.FNAL.GOV

                              THE SOURCE AND NT MEANING
                         OF ARSENOKOITAI, WITH IMPLICATIONS
                         FOR CHRISTIAN ETHICS AND MINISTRY


                                      James B. DeYoung
                               Professor of New Testament
                         Western Conservative Baptist Seminary
                                      Portland, Oregon

     Traditional interpretation of arsenokoitai ("homosexuals") in 1 Cor 6:9
and 1 Tim 1:10 refers to sexual vice between people of the same sex,
specifically homosexualitiy.  Some restrict the term's meaning to "active male
prostititute," but stronger evidence supports a more general translation,
namely "homosexuals."  More recently the definition "homosexual" has been
opposed on clutural and linguistic grounds, the claim being that the term
"homosexuals" is anachronistic.  In addition, criticism of the traditional
rendering says the term today includes celibate homophiles, excludes
heterosexuals who engage in homosexual acts, and includes female homosexuals. 
A concern for acts instead of the modern attention to desires was the only
factor in the ancient world.  The foregoing oppositition to the translation of
arsenokoitai by "homosexuals" has a number of debilitating weaknesses. 
Finally, this study argues that Paul coined the term arsenokoitai, deriving it
from the LXX of Lev 20:12 (cf. 18:22) and using it for homosexual orientation
and behavior, the latter of which should be an occasion for church discipline
(I Cor 5-6) and legislation in society (1 Tim 1:8-11).

                      *************************************

                                   INTRODUCTION

     Coincident with the rise of the gay rights movement in recent years has
been an increasing focus on the biblical statements regarding homosexuality or
sodomy.    As part of this focus, the meaning of the term arsenokoitai, used
twice by the apostle Paul (1 Cor 6:9,  I Tim 1:10), has received vigorous
scrutiny.    This issue is particularly crucial to contemporary society since
so much of modern ethics is shaped by biblical statements.  More particularly, 
the concern over gay rights and the place of gays or homosexuals in the church
and in society require the resolution of biblical interpretation.

     This study of historical, linguistic, and literary matters will survey and
evalutate recent proposals for the meaning of arsenokoitai and present evidence
to point to a resolution.  Several writers and their positions represent the
modern debate on this word.  Three authors, Bailey, Boswell, and Scroggs, have
provoked considerable discussion and significantly encouraged the wider
acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle in society, in the church, and in the
ministry. 


Footnotes:
_______________________
 1.  For convenience sake, the term "homosexual" is used to encompass both
same-sex orientation and same-sex behavior.  The meaning of this term is one of
the main considerations of this study.
 2. These times are differnt from just over a century ago.  Then P Fairbairn
(Pastoral Epistles [Edinburg, 1874)  891) could write of arsenokoitai thit it
is a "term for which fortunately our language has no proper equivalent." 
Unknowingly he thereby touched upon the basis for the contemporary debate and
study.  THe present writer endorses the Pauline authorship of the Pastoral
Epistles on the basis of internal and external evidence (see Donald Guthrie,
New Testament Introduction, [4th ed;  1990] 621-649, for an extensive
discussion and citation of supporters of the Pauline authorship).
 3. For example, see Scroggs' influence on M. Olson, "Untangling the Web," The
Other Side (April 1984): 24-29.  For a study suggesting a further prohibition
of homosexuality in the OT, see A. Phillips, "Unconvering the Father's Skirt,"
VT 30/1 (Jan, 1980) 38-43.  For a bibliography of other sources dealing with
arsenokoitai, see the Wisondisc Religion Indexes (NY: H. Wison Co., 1987).
