tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post4060461706934932893..comments2023-06-13T10:36:03.712-05:00Comments on Bilgrimage: Standing on Your Head and Other Impossible Feats of Gay TheologiansWilliam D. Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07246026074693891965noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post-86267152066636550262008-07-13T13:18:00.000-05:002008-07-13T13:18:00.000-05:00Dad, I really appreciate the encouragement. It do...Dad, I really appreciate the encouragement. It does give me hope (and heart) to know of communities such as your church, which actively welcome and affirm gay people.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your kind words about my nephew. I'm lucky to have nieces and nephews who have an interest in all kinds of people, and a willingness to try to reach across boundaries to those who are different. They keep me on my toes.William D. Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07246026074693891965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post-7047424935210225352008-07-12T00:35:00.000-05:002008-07-12T00:35:00.000-05:00Brilliant as always, Bill. I haven't visited your ...Brilliant as always, Bill. I haven't visited your blog for a while as life is hectic, but I always learn something new. You are quite right that most people do not read scripture (cannot read it) in the language in which it was originally written--therefore so many errors and misunderstanding occur. Food for thought. And thank you for ending with actual food and the story of Patrick, who is very lucky to have you as a carbonara-cooking uncle. All the best,<BR/>MichaelDadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09581999589305837990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post-14852996801688155582008-07-11T17:30:00.000-05:002008-07-11T17:30:00.000-05:00Colleen, I'm glad, in turn, that you had also noti...Colleen, I'm glad, in turn, that you had also noticed Fowler's suit! You're right, once people began to pay close attention to what was going on with the translation of this and the other handful of gay-bashing texts the religious right routinely trots out, even conservative pastors began to ask if Paul might be referring to straight men engaging gay sex, and thus going against their own nature.<BR/><BR/>That's why the translations of the text in Zondervan's and Nelson's editions have veered back and forth and have finally ended up back where they started.<BR/><BR/>The really interesting question Fowler's case should make folks think about is that translations of the bible don't fall out of the sky. People who put their faith in the "literal" truth of the text have no real idea what they are saying.<BR/><BR/>Almost no literalists can even read the text in the original language. That means they're depending on someone else to do the translating for them--someone who has his/her own set of presuppositions and biases.<BR/><BR/>And when we're talking about a text as murky as this one--where even the Greek terms don't make clear sense to translators--the problem of literal reading is compounded even more.<BR/><BR/>If Fowler's suit can raise awareness about this in American popular culture, he'll be doing a really great service to all of us interested in the intersection of religion and culture.William D. Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07246026074693891965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5859942738506247433.post-2943593664276487612008-07-11T11:19:00.000-05:002008-07-11T11:19:00.000-05:00I'm glad you brought Fowler's suit up Bill. This ...I'm glad you brought Fowler's suit up Bill. This is really critical if only because some conservative pastors have been thinking along the lines that Paul wasn't specifically referring to homosexual men, having no concept of that, but his reference has to be taken to mean hetersexual men engaged in homosexual activity. Which makes Paul's statement a reflection on a specific form of hetersexual lust. <BR/><BR/>If the verse is routinely changed to negate this distinction it negates this argument and the gay bashing can continue with biblical permission.<BR/><BR/>I suspect the people who think Fowler's law suit frivilous haven't done their homework, or don't want to.colkochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432916690101599393noreply@blogger.com