From Chastity to Heterosexism

The 1947 New York Bible Society’s Revised Standard Version is the first Dynamic Equivalence “translation”, explaining its own understanding – that is the Calvinist teachings of the “translators” – instead of translating the sacred texts. Consequently it was the first to put the new 20th century concept of “homosexuals” in 1 Cor 6.9, instead of malakoì and arsenokoîtai.

1 late-modern concept for 2 different 1st century words…

With the advent of Modernity, the post-Carolingian Scholastic (that is Neo Platonist) pro Empire and pro Papacy anti-Heterosexual teachings on Priestly Celibacy, Social Discipline and Mandatory Chastity, gradually changed into medical definitions, racial biology and social engineering.

In the medically defining 20th century the horror of the Scholastics and their Alexandrian forefathers, the Spilling of Semen; masturbation, was an increasingly hard sell as Deadly Sin, so it was supplanted in translations from 1965 onwards, with the late-modern concept of Sexual Orientation as Identity.

In 1966 Pater Zerwick’s Analysis Philologica Novi Testamenti graeci, corresponding to the 1966 English language (American?) version of the French Dominican’s Bible de Jérusalem, changed malakoì; disloyal men, in 1 Cor 6.9 from masturbation – which it had falsely been claimed to refer to since the 10th century in both East and West (see the entry Masturbation in the 1966 New Catholic Encyclopaedia) – into “soft, effeminate ; catamite homosexual” that is passive gay man.

In the Modern fashion, this was symmetrical to its change of the following word arsenokoîtai to “(ársen male + koítä bed) sodomite, homosexual”.

Now, symmetry and mutuality – Equality in fact, are Modern values. Pre modern society was built on un-equal power relations Senior => junior. This was thought necessary for stabilitas, for the survival of ordered Society – as long as there was Subordination, everything went.

Equality was a danger to stabilitas – and the scandal of mutuality was the essence of the argument against sex between equals, from Plato' Timaion onwards, cf the gloss Romans 1:26-27.

There were no symmetrical words for sex; Filon of Alexandria tried, in fact, but failed miserably.

The 1955 French Bible de Jérusalem still isn’t overtly homosexualized in this place and – more importantly – has no notion of “orientation”.

So the late-modern change goes from (heterosexual) activity for all, to essentialist identity; to sexual orientation for the newly invented (1890 onwards) social minority.

By 1978 (Don Williams: Will Homosexuality Split The Church? a new, entirely sexualized, Paradigm was ready. A Mandatory Heterosexism cum Fertility Cult was found in Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 under the name of Complementarity and Creation Order, combined with virulent Misogyny; the re-subordination of women.

Not Bible, not Church, not the anti-Heterosex Academic Tradition of most of the 2nd Millennium, but late-modern anti-modern Social Politics: and essentialist identity for the new social minority.

And this is where we stand today; from Chastity to Fertility cult, from anti-Heterosex to anti-Gay. No one knows what will become of it.