Topics

Resources

Recommended Resources Progressive Christianity The Exodus Racism and Critical Race Theory Jesus Calling NAR

Creeds Orange Curriculum The Enneagram Preston Sprinkle 1946 Sheila Wray Gregoire John Mark Comer

1946: The Bible and Homosexuality

Overview

The 1946 argument is primarily championed by Kathy Baldock and her team and is the position that prior to 1946, the Bible did not condemn homosexuality. The claim is that there was a deliberate change via the translation committee of the RSV in 1946, which was the first translation to use the word “homosexual” for verses such as 1 Corinthians 6:9. The argument further claims that the original words in question, arsenokoite and malakos, actually refer to either pederasty or temple prostitution.

Kathy, in Walking the Bridgeless Canyon, goes further and addresses discrimination against LGBTQ individuals and communities, primarily over the course of the 1900s.

Who's Who?

What's What?

What do they get right?

What do they get wrong?

What do they leave out?

Here are various resources, both for and against this argument, that go through this issue:

Pro
- Kathy Baldock
  - Walking the Bridgeless Canyon, by Kathy Baldock (book)
- Matthew Vines
  - God and the Gay Christian, by Matthew Vines (book)
- Colby Martin
  - Unclobber, by Colby Martin (book)
- Robert Brawley
  - Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality, edited by Robert Browley (book)
- Videos
  - 1946 The Movie
Neutral/Multiple views
- Bernadette Brooten
  - Love Between Women, by Bernadette Brooten (book)
    - Note: Bernadette Brooten is actually pro-LGBTQ, but opposes the 1946 argument.
- Counterpoints
  - Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church (book)
- Debates/Discussions
  - LGBTQ Relationships and the Bible: A Progressive and Evangelical Dialogue (featuring Sean McDowell and Colby Martin
  - The Bible, Belief, & Human Sexuality (featuring Michael Burrows and Robert Gagnon)
  - Homosexuality and the Church (featuring Daniel Kirk and Robert Gagnon)
Against
- Hillary Morgan Ferrer
  - Mama Bear Guide to Sexuality, by Hillary Morgan Ferrer (book)
- Becket Cook
  - A Change of Affection, by Becket Cook (book)
- Christopher Yuan
  - Out of a Far Country, by Christopher Yuan (book)
  - Holy Sexuality and the Gospel, by Christopher Yuan (book)
- Nancy Pearcey
  - Love Thy Body, by Nancy Pearcey (book)
  - The Toxic War on Masculinity, by Nancy Pearcey (book)
- Rosaria Butterfield
  - Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age, by Rosaria Butterfield (book)
- Robert Gagnon
  - The Bible and Homosexuality, by Robert Gagnon (book)

Recommended Study

If you are interested in doing a study on this subject, I would recommend the following books, in the following order:

If you'd like to add anything, or have corrections or recommendations, just reach out.