I have already considered, and rejected, the interpretation that you prefer. The NIV reads, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” The reason I rejected your interpretation is that it would be redundant for Paul to say that we are saved by grace and then say— parenthetically, in effect—AND that grace is not from ourselves, because grace is, by definition, not from ourselves. Grace is, of course, from God, and saving faith is also from God: Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17). As I see it, these two English translations may convey different meanings.
Our natural faith is necessary and sufficiently effective to enable us to operate successfully in this natural world, but it will not qualify us for heaven. It takes a special gift of God – supernatural faith – to do that.
The homosexual movement is advancing by way of a massive and ongoing propaganda campaign, fueled by the liberal media, to win over the hearts and minds of the heterosexual majority to their cause, the “gay agenda”. One of the strategies employed by gay activists is to control the definitions of key words and terms so that their “gay agenda” can be convincingly marketed to the general public, including born-again Christians.
No amount of leftist spin can muddy Dr. King's lucid position on the homosexual lifestyle. He recognized it as a "culturally acquired" "problem" in need of a "solution" – a "habit" stemming from a series of negative "experiences and circumstances."
