From the KJV:
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
PRO-GAY A pro-gay position might be that the word Paul uses for homosexual here could alternatively be translated as "male prostitute". In any case, Paul's writings are clearly of his time, and there are plenty of other verses which people have no difficulty in ignoring - for instance: "a woman brings shame on her head if she prays or prophesies bare-headed; it is as bad as if her head were shaved." This should be viewed like that.
The phrase "abusers of themselves with mankind" (commonly translated 'homosexual') is from the Greek word "arsenokoites" Strongs number 733:
(my apologies are due here. The first entry in each definition should be in greek but I don't have and cannot install a greek font on this machine)
"733 arsenokoithv arsenokoites ar-sen-ok-oy’-tace
from 730 and 2845; ; n m
AV-abuser of (one’s) self with mankind 1, defile (one’s) self with mankind 1; 2
1) one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual"
It comes form the words "arrhen" Strongs number 730 and "koite" Strongs number 2845.
"730 arrhn arrhen ar’-hrane or arshn arsen ar’-sane
probably from 142; ; adj
AV-male 4, man 3, man child 1, man child + 5207 1; 9
1) a male"
"2845 koith koite koy’-tay
from 2749; ; n f
AV-bed 2, conceive 1, chambering 1; 4
1) a place for laying down, resting, sleeping in
1a) a bed, couch
2) the marriage bed
2a) of adultery
3) cohabitation, whether lawful or unlawful
3a) sexual intercourse"
Now lets look at all the possible meanings and bounce them against the bible and common sense and the culture of the times.
Arrhen always means male. Linked with koite we have:
1. Male + place for lying down. As opposed to a female place for lying down? and why would a male place for lying down be worried about getting into heaven anyway? I guess we can cross this one off the list. Makes no sense in context
2. Male + Bed. See #1
3. Male + Marriage bed. Inconsistent with the bible and the culture as there was no male-male marriage. Alternately there is no furniture going to heaven anyway. Cross this one off. Makes no sense in context. 4. Male + adultery. While male adulterers don't go to heaven Paul already mentions this just three words prior. Cross this one off too. Makes no sense in context
5. Male + cohabitation. A man leaves his father and mother to live with his wife. In that time and that culture a man lived with his parents and unmarried siblings until he got married. The houses were small and the families were large. Brothers shared the same room and probably the same bed. Also, cohabitation is not spoken against any where else in the bible. Cross this one off too.
6. Male + sexual intercourse. Normal sexual intercourse is understood to involve a man and a woman. It doesn't have an identifier before it (Have you ever seen the usage female sexual intercourse?) So if the identifier was required then this is not talking of normal sexual intercourse but sexual intercourse between 2 males. In various places in the OT and the NT this is spoken against. I think we have a winner here. This is the only interpretation that both makes sense in context and is internally consistent with the rest of the bible.
Note well that it doesn't say anything about prostitution, the act itself is the topic, not the circumstances of it.
Therefore arsenokoites can only be interpreted as 'those who practice homosexual behavior' and those who practice homosexual behavior are not getting into heaven.
(my apologies are due here. The first entry in each definition should be in greek but I don't have and cannot install a greek font on this machine)Try doing it this way:
< font face=“symbol” > GREEK WORD </font >For example, using the formula above, if I replace "GREEK WORD" with the word Petra, it will look like this:
Petra