1. July 5, 2009, Seminar to Christian Pastors in Kathmandu, Nepal Other Sheep in Nepal

2. The Bible and... Other Sheep Seminar, Kathmandu, Nepal, July 5, 2009 Created by Rev. Stephen Parelli, Exec Direc of Other Sheep

3. Other Sheep asks: In what context is homosexuality condemned in the Bible? In what context is homosexuality condemned in the Bible? And does that context apply to same-sex loving couples today? And does that context apply to same-sex loving couples today? 1.2.

4. "The issues about Homosexuality are very complex and are not understood by most members of the Christian Church. To them, it is a vile form of sexual perversion condemned in both the Old and New Testaments." Bernard Ramm of The American Baptist Seminary of the West, an evangelical authority on biblical interpretation says:

5. For example, take the following English word: In the KJ Bible it is found once in Deuteronomy and four times in First and Second Kings.

6. Yet, the word “sodomite” is an errant translation of the Hebrew word, and therefore confuses the general Bible reader who equates the sin of “sodomy” with “homosexuality” and “gay rights.” קדש

7. King James Version -1611 The English word “Sodomite” is used in the 1611 KJV in the Old Testament 5 times, but not once in the 1973 NIV. New International Version -1973 קדש sodomite male cult prostitute

8. Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. First usage of the word “sodomite”

9. 1 Kings 14:24 THE KJV : And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. THE NIV : There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. Second usage of the word “sodomite”

10. 1 Kings 15:12 THE KJV : And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. THE NIV : He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. Third usage of the word “sodomite”

11. 1 Kings 22:46 THE KJV : And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. THE NIV : He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. Forth usage of the word “sodomite”

12. 2 Kings 23:7 THE KJV : And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove. THE NIV : He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes, which were in the temple of the LORD and where women did weaving for Asherah Fifth usage of the word “sodomite”

13. Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. Let’s take a closer look at the difference between the KJV and the NIV in their translation of Deuteronomy 23:17

14. Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. THE NIV : No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. Question: How can the NIV translate both “whore” and “sodomite” as “shrine prostitute?”

15. Deuteronomy 23:17 THE KJV : There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodomite קדש לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃ kedeshah (f) kadesh (m) Female / Male Cult Prostitute

16. Deuteronomy 23:17 Analytical: There shall not be a cult prostitute (f.) of the daughters of Israel, nor a cult prostitute (m.) of the sons of Israel. KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodomite קדש What is the Hebrew word for Sodom? סדם לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃

17. Deuteronomy 23:17 KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sodomite קדש What is the Hebrew word for Sodom? סדם לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃ “There is no Hebrew derivative of the word ‘Sodom’ in this passage; the King James Bible supplied it erroneously.” -Ralph Blair

18. Deuteronomy 23:17 KJV HEBREW whore קדשה sod mite קדש What is the Hebrew word for Sodom? סדם לא־תהיה קדשה מבנות ישראל ולא־יהיה קדש מבני ישראל ׃ “The Hebrew words here are references to the "holy" female and eunuch priest-prostitutes of the Canaanite fertility cults, of which Israel was to have no part.” - Ralph Blair

19. The Good News... Most English Bible Versions Today translate kadesh in Deuteronomy 23:7 as “shrine prostitute” or “cult prostitute” or “temple prostitute”

20. As Calvin Theological Seminary Old Testament scholar Marten H. Woudstra says: "There is nothing in the Old Testament that corresponds to Homosexuality as we understand it today" קדש sodomite

21. Other Sheep asks: 1. In what context is homosexuality condemned in the foregoing 5 OT verses? Homosexuality is not referred to in these verses. “Sodomite” is an incorrect rendering of the Hebrew.

22. 2. Does the context apply to same-sex loving couples today? Other Sheep asks: Same-sex relationships are not condemned