Administrator quoted Bible thusly:
“...Deuteronomy 23:17-18
17.
|3808| no
|1961| There must be
|6948| a female prostitute
|1323| among daughters,
|3478| Israel's
|3808| nor
|1961| will there be
|6945| a male homosexual
|1121| among the sons of
|3478| Israel.
The original Hebrew reads:
“...i, lo'-thihyeh qedhêshâh mibbenoth yisrâ'êl velo'-yihyeh qâdhêshm ibbenêy yisrâ'êl...”
Response: If the original words in the ORIGINAL HEBREW were “qedhêshâh” & “qâdhêshm”, obviously from the same root, the first in its feminine form & the second in its masculine form, then, logic & correct consistency in translation would render both words to reflect the same root form in English as well, which would result in a translation of either “a female prostitute” & “a male prostitute” or “a female homosexual” & “male homosexual.”
Again, another instance of convenient translation to back up homophobic mind set.
You can play switcheroo words games with English translations of Holy Scripture but the original Hebrew, as can clearly be seen in the above original are mirror images of female & male nouns with an identical linguistic root.
If the version of Deuteronomy 23: 17-18 you posted is from the NASB, then, the accuracy of said version & any other version in which “qedhêshâh” & “qâdhêshm” are not translated as female & male mirror images of each other cannot be considered an inerrant Bible as to what inerrancy of translation is concerned.
Also, in regards to Leviticus 20:18:, the opinion of another person who speaks, writes & reads ancient Hebrew & Greek, the following from
http://www.truluck.com/html/six_bible_passages.html
Both of these verses refer not to homosexuals but to heterosexuals who took part in the baal fertility rituals in order to guarantee good crops and healthy flocks. No hint at sexual orientation or homosexuality is even implied. The word abomination in Leviticus was used for anything
that was considered to be religiously unclean or associated with idol worship.
Because these two verses in Leviticus (18:22 and 20:13) have been used more than any other Bible texts to condemn and reject gay and lesbian people, the following material is given to help you think objectively about traditional abusive use of the Bible regarding homosexuals.
The use of Leviticus to condemn and reject homosexuals is obviously a hypocritical selective use of the Bible against gays and lesbians. Nobody today tries to keep the laws in Leviticus. Look at Leviticus 11:1-12, where all unclean animals are forbidden as food, including rabbits, pigs, and
shellfish, such as oysters, shrimp, lobsters, crabs, clams, and others that are called an "abomination." Leviticus 20:25 demands that "you are to make a distinction between the clean and unclean animal and between the unclean and clean bird; and you shall not make yourself an
abomination by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean." You can eat some insects like locusts (grasshoppers), but not others.
Leviticus 12:1-8 declares that a woman is unclean for 33 days after giving birth to a boy and for 66 days after giving birth to a girl and goes on to demand that certain animals must be offered as a burnt offering and a sin offering for cleansing. Nobody today who claims to be a Christian tries
to keep these laws, and few people even know about them! Why do you think that most people don't know about them?
Read Leviticus 23 to see the detailed regulations concerning "complete rest" on the Sabbath day and demands of animal sacrifices to be carried out according to exact instructions. Leviticus 18:19 forbids a husband from having sex with his wife during her menstrual period. Leviticus
19:19 forbids mixed breeding of various kinds of cattle, sowing various kinds of seeds in your field or wearing "a garment made from two kinds of material mixed together." Leviticus 19:27 demands that "you shall not round off the side-growth of your heads, nor harm the edges of your
beard." The next verse forbids "tattoo marks on yourself." Most people do not even know that these laws are in the Bible and are demanded equally with all the others.
Why don't fundamentalists organize protests and picket seafood restaurants, oyster bars, church barbecue suppers, all grocery stores, barber shops, tattoo parlors, and stores that sell suits and dresses made of mixed wool, cotton, polyester, and other materials? All of these products and services are "abominations" in Leviticus. When have you heard a preacher condemn the demonic abomination of garments that are made of mixed fabrics?
The warning is given in Leviticus 26:14-16 that "If you do not obey me and do not carry out all of these commandments, if instead, you reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances so as not to carry out all my commandments ...I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that shall waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you shall sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies shall eat it up." The list of punishments and terrors that will come from not keeping all of the commandments continues through many verses.
Read what Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5 about hypocrites who judge others. "Do not judge lest you be judged yourselves... Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ...You hypocrite!"
If you have been led to misuse Leviticus and other parts of the Bible in order to condemn and hate and reject people, you are on the wrong path. Jesus quoted only one passage from Leviticus: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (19:18). Jesus used Leviticus to teach love. Many false teachers use Leviticus and other writings to condemn, humiliate and destroy. I know which approach seems truly Christian to me. Jesus never condemned homosexuals or even mentioned anything that could be taken as a reference to sexual orientation.
Any charge against Gays and Lesbians based on the life and teachings of Jesus has to be dismissed for a lack of evidence!”"