Do You Really Know the Difference Between Bible Fact and Fiction?

By Patricia L Johnson The majority of us grow up thinking we know something that weve learned from our parents, our teachers, preachers and/or peers. But how much of what we actually know is fact? How many times have you had an argument with a friend over who was right or wrong on a certain issue and after much research youve had to go back with your tail between your legs apologizing because you were wrong and he/she was correct? I think its happened more than once to many of us, which means somewhere along the line weve gotten our wires crossed and either didnt learn the material properly or the person teaching us didnt have their facts straight. A recent example is the interview a well-known TV celebrity had with an American mens monthly magazine. Our celebrity made a lot of comments during the interview, but the one that especially caught my eye was the following:

Dont be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers they wont inherit the kingdom of God
http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson This gentleman calls himself a Bible-thumper which surprised me as it appears to be a derogatory term directed towards Christians and this person definitely considers himself a Christian. The Urban Dictionary defines Bible thumper as One who uses the Bible to attack/defame others characters instead of as a guide to proper living. I would think anyone that considers themselves a true Christian would want to guide others along the right path with the Bible, rather than attack and or defame, but thats only my personal opinion.

Based on the fact this particular gentleman was unable to quote 1 Corinthians 6:9 properly it shouldnt be surprising if he also was not totally versed in the definition of the words Bible thumper. Whether we agree or disagree with this persons line of thinking can we even begin to criticize him for not reciting the above verse correctly? Not in this lifetime! There are at least a total of 46 different Bibles that are published in the English language, and although none of these Bibles use the exact words quoted, at least 20 of the 46 use some form of the word homosexual in 1 Corinthians 6:9. I dont believe Ive ever read any of the 20 Bibles where the word homosexual is used, i.e., Amplified Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, Lexham English Bible, New Living Translation, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, etc., so Im not sure what information they actually contain, but Id be interested in knowing which Bible our celebrity reads. I personally use the King James Version as my Bible of choice and the verse reads as follows in my compact edition: 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 The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., however reads as follows: 1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, [a] nor sodomites, Footnotes: a. 1 Corinthians 6:9 That is, catamites. That tiny footnote in the NKJV of The Bible is the difference between night and day. A homosexual is basically a person that is sexually attracted to a person of their own sex. Men sexually attracted to men, women sexually attracted to women. Theres little doubt Americans have extremely controversial feelings about homosexuals, but what happens when we insert the word catamites for homosexuals? What is a catamite? A catamite is defined as a young man who has sexual relations with an older man. Is there any controversy surrounding men having sex with young boys in America? The majority of Americans agree that a man having sexual relations with a young boy is guilty of child abuse. A prime example is former Pennsylvania State Coach Gerald Sandusky who was sentenced on October 9, 2012 to 30-60 years behind bars for sexually abusing 10 children. When we are reading anything in our Bible of choice, we must remember that some of the writings in the Bible date back to the first century when they were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The earliest translation was in 280 BC from Hebrew to Greek, then from Greek to Gothic (German) in 340 and from Gothic (German) to Latin in 381. The first English translation of the Gospel of John was in 735 and it wasnt until the 14th century that the entire Bible was translated from Latin to English by John Wycliffe.

In the year 1611 King James I authorized the King James Version of the Bible and it became the translation of choice by English scholars, replacing the Latin Vulgate. The very first Bible printed in the U.S. was published by John Eliot between 1660 and 1663 when he translated the scriptures into the Natick dialect of the Algonquin tribes. It wasnt until a full century later [1782] that the first English language Bible was published in North America. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues, was published in Philadelphia by Robert Aiken. If you actually think about the scriptures and how they have evolved through the centuries from one language to another can anyone really sit in judgment of anyone based on a word that may, or may not, have originally been written in the Bible? Although I disagree with much of what was stated by the celebrity in the article, I whole-heartedly agree with one statement he made as follows: family really believes strongly that if the human race loved each other and they loved God, we would just be better off. Amen! 2013 Patricia L Johnson