Christian apologist and Bible scholar Wes Huff recently offered insights into terms for homosexuality from Scripture’s original languages. The goal, he said, was to help Christians navigate tough conversations and accusations from non-believers.
In his Oct. 17 YouTube video, Huff played a clip of conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey debating liberals on the Jubilee debate series “Surrounded.” The man sitting across from Stuckey argued that due to the meaning of two words in 1 Corinthians, the Bible offers “no condemnation” of homosexuality.
The man claimed that “arsenokoitai” referenced economic exploitation of men and that “malakoi” referenced effeminate men who castrated themselves for the goddess Athena. “We actually have Greek words that Paul likely knew about that reference homosexuality,” he told Stuckey. “Why didn’t he use them?”
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Instead of debating semantics, Stuckey responded by pointing to biblical teachings. “When we look at Scripture, what is the one kind of relationship that we see described as holy, as representative of Christ in the church, as having the ability to go forth and be fruitful and multiply?” she asked.
“All of us are born with our full digestive systems, our full circulatory systems, but all of us are only born with half a reproductive system,” Stuckey continued. “Don’t you think that science tells us a little bit of something about how human beings are supposed to join together?” The man responded that not all human beings join together.
Wes Huff Offers Context for Homosexuality Debate
Apologist Wes Huff commended Allie Beth Stuckey for her calm, focused demeanor. “She clearly did her homework [and] stuck to the topic very well,” he said about her debating style. Stuckey knew her strengths and weaknesses, Huff explained, and “didn’t take the bait of getting dragged into the biblical languages.”
Christians who aren’t experts in Hebrew or Greek sometimes play a “game of one-upmanship,” using terminology as a “rhetorical gotcha,” said Huff. As someone who does know those biblical languages, the apologist offered a primer on their meanings and contexts.
First, Huff clarified that it is incorrect to claim that “kedoshim” appears in the Old Testament to talk about male-on-male relationships. Next, he turned to the uses of “arsenokoitai” and “malakoi” in 1 Corinthians 6:9, where Paul gives “a prohibition list” of ungodly behavior. “Paul is playing off of the Greek translation of Leviticus 18:22 here,” said Huff, referencing the Septuagint.
“Arsenokoitai” is a “very descriptive” compound word, Huff explained, combining “arsen” (male) and “koite” (lie within bed). “Koite,” the source of the word “coitus,” “has a very strong sexual connotation to it,” he said. “It’s not just talking about going physically horizontal in a bed. It means to go to bed to have sex.”
Christian apologist and Bible scholar Wes Huff recently offered insights into terms for homosexuality from Scripture’s original languages.Click to Post
