Steve Parelli presents... Other Sheep Executive Director The Bible and... Copyright © 2006 by Stephen Parelli

"The issues … are not understood by most members of the Christian Church.” Introduction Bernard Ramm

Do the traditions and doctrines of the Church align with the teachings of Scripture?

"The issues about Homosexuality are very complex and are not understood by most members of the Christian Church. To them, it is a vile form of sexual perversion condemned in both the Old and New Testaments." Bernard Ramm of The American Baptist Seminary of the West, an evangelical authority on biblical interpretation says:

"The issues about Homosexuality are... not understood” -B. Ramm

For example, take the following English word: In the KJ Bible it is found once in Deuteronomy and four times in First and Second Kings.

Yet, the word “sodomite” is an errant translation of the Hebrew word, and therefore confuses the general Bible reader who equates the sin of “sodomy” with “homosexuality” and “gay rights.” קדש

As Calvin Theological Seminary Old Testament scholar Marten H. Woudstra says: "There is nothing in the Old Testament that corresponds to Homosexuality as we understand it today" קדש sodomite

King James Version The English word “Sodomite” is used in the 1611 KJV in the Old Testament 5 times, but not once in the 1973 NIV. New International Version קדש sodomite male cult prostitute

Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. First usage of the word “sodomite”

1 Kings 14:24 THE KJV : And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. THE NIV : There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. Second usage of the word “sodomite”

1 Kings 15:12 THE KJV : And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. THE NIV : He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. Third usage of the word “sodomite”

1 Kings 22:46 THE KJV : And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. THE NIV : He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. Forth usage of the word “sodomite”

2 Kings 23:7 THE KJV : And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove. THE NIV : He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes, which were in the temple of the LORD and where women did weaving for Asherah Fifth usage of the word “sodomite”

THE REMOVAL OF SODOMITES FROM THE NIV BIBLE “... the publishers of the NIV have replaced the politically incorrect word 'sodomites', with less offensive, and more ambiguous terms.” Which Bible translation is correct? 1611 KJV or 1973 NIV?

Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. Let’s take a closer look at the difference between the KJV and the NIV in their translation of Deuteronomy 23:17

Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. Question: How can the NIV translate both “whore” and “sodomite” as “shrine prostitute?”

Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. Answer: We have to look at the text of the Hebrew Bible

Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodmite קדש לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃ kedeshah (f) kadesh (m) Female / Male Cult Prostitute

Deuteronomy 23:17 Analytical: There shall not be a cult prostitute (f.) of the daughters of Israel, nor a cult prostitute (m.) of the sons of Israel. KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodmite קדש What is the Hebrew word for Sodom? סדם לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃

Deuteronomy 23:17 KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodmite קדש What is the Hebrew word for Sodom? סדם לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃ “There is no Hebrew derivative of the word ‘Sodom’ in this passage; the King James Bible supplied it erroneously.” -Ralph Blair

Deuteronomy 23:17 KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodmite קדש What is the Hebrew word for Sodom? סדם לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃ “The Hebrew words here are references to the "holy" female and eunuch priest-prostitutes of the Canaanite fertility cults, of which Israel was to have no part.” - Ralph Blair

Deuteronomy 23:17 There shall be no... sodomite of the sons of Israel. There shall be no... male cult prostitute of the sons of Israel. קדש Did you see that?

Footnotes: a. a.Deuteronomy 23:17 Hebrew qedeshah, feminine of qadesh (see note b)Deuteronomy 23:17 b. b.Deuteronomy 23:17 Hebrew qadesh, that is, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious ritualsDeuteronomy 23:17 Deuteronomy 23:17 (New King James Version) New King James VersionNew King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.Thomas Nelson, Inc. 17 There shall be no ritual harlot [a] of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted [b] one of the sons of Israel.ab קדש There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel KJV “in religious rituals” is the key idea Old Translations die hard It’s coming back

17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Deuteronomy 23:17 (21st Century King James Version) 21st Century King James Version21st Century King James Version (KJ21) Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.Deuel Enterprises, Inc. The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21®): “... words which are either obsolete or archaic, and are no longer understood by literate Bible readers, have been replaced by carefully selected current equivalents.”

are not understood by most members of the Christian Church "The issues about Homosexuality are very complex and are not understood by most members of the Christian Church. To them, it is a vile form of sexual perversion condemned in both the Old and New Testaments." Remember this quote from Bernard Ramm ?

are not understood by most members of the Christian Church "The issues … are not understood by most members of the Christian Church. To them, it is a vile form of sexual perversion condemned in both the Old and New Testaments." The term “sodomy” was coined in medieval Christianity

The Good News... Most English Bible Versions Today translate kadesh in Deuteronomy 23:7 as “shrine prostitute” or “cult prostitute” or “temple prostitute”