January 2008, catch up.
2007 was a hectic year. My publishers released, "Study New Testament for Lesbians, Gay, Bi and Transgender" to great controversy. This article by Linda Morris appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (Melbourne), and sparked off a lot of articles:
Christian bookshops refuse to stock gay study Bible
Linda Morris
November 26, 2007
CHRISTIAN bookshops are refusing to stock copies of a new Bible study guide that challenges standard New Testament translations that describe gay sex as sinful. A US distributor, God's Word to Women, has banned the Australian publication, and withdrawn another Bible translation published by the same NSW publishing house, Smith and Stirling, for promoting a lifestyle in contradiction of the scriptures. Two American academics have asked that their endorsements be removed from other works by a classical Greek lexicographer, Ann Nyland, because of her authorship of the gay study Bible.Australia's largest Christian retailer, Koorong, said it was unlikely to carry the Study New Testament for Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transgender if the content proves controversial.Mainstream Christian churches claim practising homosexuality is a sin based on several biblical verses and stories. One is the Old Testament story of Genesis, while the ancient story of Sodom is taken as exclusive support for heterosexual coupling, and Leviticus 18:22 reads: "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination."In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Timothy 1:10 Paul sets out examples of Jewish law including admonitions against fornication, idolatry and drunkenness, as well as the much disputed word "arsenokoites" which has been taken to mean homosexuality.But in her study guide, Dr Nyland says the word has been wrongly assumed to mean homosexual. Its range of meanings includes one who anally penetrates another, whether female or male, a rapist, a murderer, or an extortionist. When used with the meaning anal penetrator, it does not apply exclusively to males, Dr Nyland says. The word does not appear in any Greek literary source until the poets of the imperial period, when the Greeks wrote at length on male-male sexual relationships. The reference in Romans, and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, were about angels having sex with humans, and not about homosexual acts, she says. Most New Testament translations are based on a lack of understanding of Greek word meaning and context, and disregard academic research, which shows passages in earlier translations are wrong, she says.
END OF ARTICLE.
The publishers received a lot of not nice mail, some of it from so-called Christians. Here is one example from hardrode@hotmail.com (obviously a false address as the person did not have the guts to sign their name): "It is one thing to condemn yourself to HELL. It is much worse to lead other people to HELL with you. I hope there is a special place in HELL for all of the people like yourselves that try make THE BIBLE say what they want to make themselves feel better about their unrepentent sinfulness."
There were many other emails of the same ilk, but not as succinct as the above!
Junia, woman apostle.
Junia was "noted among the apostles", a statement which has left those who wish that the Bible hadn't said such things in some discomfort. Some have tried to twist the meaning of this verse, even going so far as to say that Junia was a man!
However, the definitive work demonstrating once and for all that Junia was in fact an apostle has been released. It is
Junia: The First Woman Apostle by Eldon Jay Epp, Harkness Professor of Biblical Literature (Emeritus) at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio), and the President of the Society of Biblical Literature (2003–4). He is the author of
Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism (Eerdmans, 1993). The ISBN for this book is 0800637712
The following is from the notes on Romans 16:7 in
The Source New Testament:
The female name Junia occurs more than 250 times in inscriptions found in Rome alone, whereas the name “Junias”, has not been found anywhere. Origin (185-253), the earliest commentator on Romans 16:7, referred to Junia as female. Jerome (c.340-420) did likewise. Chrysostom (4th century), writes, “To be an apostle is something great. But to be outstanding among the apostles: just think what a wonderful song of praise that is! They were outstanding on the basis of their works and virtuous actions. Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of apostle.” The earliest suggestion that Junia was a man is from the 13th century, when Aegidius of Rome (1245-1316) referred to Andronicus and Junia as “honorable men”.
Blog is not a discussion Board
Upon viewing some of the comments I realised that some readers of this blog must think a blog is a discussion group.
Recently a dear friend of mine, new to blogs, sent an email out suggesting readers could engage in discussion in regards to the contents of this blog. It said "if you want to know more- engage in discussion- you can talk anon if you want.Shortcut to: http://womenministers.blogspot.com."
However, this is not the case. Blogs are NOT discussion groups , the blogger posts, and other people can comment on to the posts but they don't get answers as they would on a discussion group. It's not a discussion group!
So, dear friends, my apologies for any misunderstanding and I am sorry to tell you that we will all have to keep on digging God's Word for ourselves. I have time to post, but I have no time to discuss, and had I wished to do this, I would have started a discussion group on yahoo. Nevertheless, I do strongly recommend you keep tuning in as I am sure this blog will attract some interesting comments. At any rate, the questions are answered already in "The Source New Testament with Extensive notes on Greek Word Meaning" translated with notes by Dr Ann Nyland, (me) available at
www.smithandstirling.com. Hey, and keep on digging - God is still there on that archaeological site - the Bible - there are treasures yet to be discovered, and, after all, even though we have been abandoned by all bloggers everywhere from any constant discussion of any kind, we have not been abandoned by God. So, follow Paul's advice, even though, like the rest of us, he used sarcasm, while on the other hand could teach the believer about God's love, for a pattern for all of us to follow, 'love is kind'. Therefore, no matter the circumstances, continue to "live out your life in accordance with the Spirit" and continue to "think on the level of the spiritual realm" (Rom 8: 5-8). After all, "you did take hold of a spirit of adoption" , so keep on and 'bawl out aloud" (Rom Ch 8: 14-17 'The Source NT') 'to God as a child does to a caring parent' (loose translation!)
And to answer the query of disbelief about Paul beng sarcastic - or was it a suggestion that I had made the whole thing up? I'm not sure... Jesus himself was angry and overturned the tables at the Temple and called some of the Pharisees a rude thing or two.
And while on the subject of blogging, while I allow all comments and yes they can be anonymous, I would prefer it if someone is to be rude and wishes to made an attack that they would have the courage to use their real name.
One last point - this blog is about translation and not theology. Lots of doctrines have arisen that are not founded explicity on anything in the Bible. This is not to say they are wrong, but this is to point out that Christian Tradition and God's actual Word are not always the same thing, and this blog concentrates on God's actual Word rather than any theology we can or cannot deduce from it.
Startling Facts I have found in my Bible translation.
* The so-called “wise men” that nativity scenes have visiting a newborn Jesus in a manger were actually astrologers/ spellcasters/ sorcerers to the Persian king, and visited Jesus a couple of years later in his house.
Censorship - The Bible versions that translate this word as “wise men” in the context of visiting Jesus, translate the very same word as “astrologer” in the Book of Daniel, and as “sorcerer” for “Simon the sorcerer” in Acts.
* The apostle Paul was a feminist not a misogynist.
* The New Testament does not speak against divorce.
* There is frequent mention of women ministers in the New Testament but they have been mistranslated into helpers, servants, or even turned into male names.
* The women passages are horribly mistranslated. Nowhere does the original Greek say women are to be subject to men, or that men are the heads of the women.
* The New Testament does not speak against people living together without marriage. (In New Testament times, only the wealthy had a 'written" marriage - living together was a form of marriage just as legitimate and far more widespread at the time.)
* The New Testament does not speak against gay people. This is another mistranslation.
* The New Testament does not mention an Antichrist in any translation. (There are 4 mentions of antichrists as a general type and never an individual - and all are in the Letters of John.) The word does not occur in Revelation in any translation.
* Jesus was very wealthy.
* The disciples were wealthy.
* The fishermen disciples were part of large fishing businesses, one of the wealthiest professions of the time, not a couple of people sitting around in little boat as portrayed on some Bible covers.
* Matthew was not an employed tax collector, but a businessman who bought taxes from the state and collected more from the taxpayers, keeping the profit. This was a business of the times.
* The apostle Paul was sarcastic and outspoken in some of his writings.
* The “little boy” of the loaves and the fishes miracle – the very same word translated “little boy” is elsewhere translated in the same Bible versions as “slave”, “free man”, “soldier” and can be child, adult, soldier, free person, slave, of either gender. It has a wide range of meaning. There is nothing to suggest he was a little boy or lad.
People might not like some or all this, but it is a matter of record - these are not my own discoveries or ideas, they are to be found in academic journals.
Phoebe, Head Minister
People who object to women as head ministers, or priests, pastors, must not realise that Phoebe was a head minister, and been a minister over Paul.
In the Bible, the letter to the Romans was written around 57 AD by Paul. Irenaeus, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr and Marcion all assume Pauline authorship. 2 Cor. 8:10-11 shows that Paul was on his way from Ephesos to Corinth, and was directing the Corinthians in the matters of finances for the Jerusalem assembly. In Romans 15:26-28 Paul states that he has just completed the collection of finances for the believers in Jerusalem after visiting the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. This corresponds to Acts 20:1-3, thus pinpointing the time as the year after Paul left Ephesos on his third missionary journey. Paul gave the letter to Phoebe to take to Rome. He establishes her credentials as a leader in Romans 16:1-2 where he calls her a “deacon” and “presiding officer”. Paul is writing a formal recommendation, which necessitates giving Phoebe’s title on the basis of her leadership. He needs to establish her credentials as his emissary to Rome. Phoebe is coming to Rome on Paul’s behalf for a specific project, and Paul asks the Romans to assist her. The question of Paul’s whereabouts when he wrote the letter largely depends on whether chapter 16 is part of Romans. Chapter 16 appears to have been written from Corinth. Phoebe, who was to take the letter, was a deacon of the church in Kenchreai, the eastern port of Corinth. Here's the Bible text: Romans Ch.16:1-2: "I recommend to you Phoebe our fellow believer, who is a deacon of the assembly in Kenchreai, so that you will admit her into your company, the Lord’s company, in a manner worthy of the people devoted to God, and stand by her in whatever matters she needs you to help in. For indeed she became a presiding officer over many, and over me also!"The
prostatis referred to a person of the front-rank, the ruler or chief of a body of people. It was also a term which referred to those who gave protection to people who did not have civil rights. The King James Version and Revised Standard Version incorrectly render
prostatis as “helper”, the NIV as “(she has been) a great help”, the NEV as “good friend”.
If Bible translators do not believe that women were or should be ministers, they will translate the text accordingly. Vine wrote, “That her ministry did not take the form of preaching or teaching, it is safe to assume.” Commenting on Paul’s use of
prostatis, Vine does note that the word was “evidently chosen instead of another which might have been easily used” but adds that the use must be "metaphorical”. However, there is no example of metaphorical use in all Greek writings.
The word
prostatis used here for a woman was altered in the 9th century in some inferior manuscripts to
parastasis, “one who stands by / assistant”. This is not surprising as the (Latin) Vulgate incorrectly translated
prostatis as the Latin
adstitit, “one who stands by / assistant”. Yet the word
prostatis was used for women no less than it was for men. The 4th century woman Tullia, a Chief City Official, was described as
prostatis. (I.Eph. IV.1063) Far earlier, in Macedonia,
prostates was the name for the senior civic official beside the king. (N.G.L. Hammond,
Journal of Hellenic Studies 105 (1985) 156-60.) In Macedonia after Alexander’s death, Krateros was entrusted with the
prostatis of the kingship while the king, Arridos, was abroad. When the office of
prostates eventually lapsed, the high honors associated with it lived on in the use of its title,
prostasia. This was demonstrated as late as 1985.
The translations of most New Testament versions are based on a lack of understanding of Greek word meaning.
For centuries, the meanings of numerous New Testament words remained unknown. Bible lexicographers, that is, people who compose dictionaries of word meaning, look at the occurrences of a particular word. Many words which appeared in the New Testament were not found anywhere else, which made grasping their meaning difficult. However, when the papyri and inscriptions (written at the time of the New Testament) were unearthed, many of these words appeared commonly in all sorts of different contexts, and thus their meaning became apparent. Some papyri and inscriptions were discovered in the late 1880s but a huge number after the mid 1970s.
Yet nearly every New Testament translation of today follows the traditional Bible translations of the earlier versions, which were published centuries before the evidence from the papyri and inscriptions revealed to us the meanings of numerous New Testament words.
'(Mis)guided feminists' or (Mis)Translation
I was prompted to start this blog today after reading a post on the Biblical Greek email list. The post spoke of "Misguided feminists", and while dismissing correct gender translation as simply a tool of those striving for "political correctness", got the bare historical facts wrong. I used to teach ancient Greek language at university, and then when I translated the New Testament from the Greek, I attracted all sorts of charges of feminist agenda simply for translating correctly. So many women are kept out of the ministry on the grounds of "what the Bible says" but the Bible in Greek actually doesn't say anything against women in the ministry. (Mis)translation is a different matter.
