Subject: Fw: "Queen James Bible" Scrubs "Homophobic" Passages | news
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Reminds me very much of the Jehovah's Witnesses who print their own Bibles, so they can edit the scriptures to fit their own religious beliefs. They reject concepts such as the Trinity as "the work of the devil", and reject the divinity of Christ. In their customized version of the Bible -- which they call the "New World Translation" -- they remove any reference to the divinity of Christ, and the Trinity.
Then they go door to door proselytizing and if try to debate with them, they pull out "the Bible" to prove their point. :) But it's a rigged Bible.
On Sun, Dec 23, 2012, at 07:22 PM, Chazz Matt [Charles Matthews] wrote:
This Bible has all those troublesome passages referring to homosexuality deleted."Queen James Bible" Scrubs "Homophobic" Passages
December 20, 2012
The Queen James Bible. (Photo: QueenJamesBible.com)
Calling it “fabulous,” a publisher has come out with a new translation of the Bible that “resolves any homophobic interpretations,” deeming it the “Queen James” version.
The publication, a gay adaptation of the King James version, is being publicized as the first gay bible.
“The Queen James Bible (QJB) is a big, fabulous Bible,” its website explains. Released on Nov. 27 by a publisher named “Queen James,” anonymous editors say they “wanted to make a book filled with the word of God that nobody could use to incorrectly condemn God’s LGBT children.”
“And we succeeded,” they said.
LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
Despite changing societal trends, homosexuality continues to be intensely-debated on moral, spiritual and theological grounds. With the Bible traditionally viewed as a document that condemns the actions associated with same-sex attraction, some anonymous editors have set out to reinterpret scriptures to create a new translation — “The Queen James Bible” — that is favorable to gays and lesbians.
The "Queen James" Bible changes a total of eight verses in the King James Version that deal with homosexuality, which it says are used by “anti-LGBT religious activists” to condemn homosexuals.
Taking into account the eight verses that are most frequently cited in arguments against homosexuality and same-sex attraction, the editors amended them “in a way that makes homophobic interpretations impossible.” Because the King James translation is the most popular version of the Bible, it was selected to be repurposed.
“We edited the Bible to prevent homophobic interpretations,” the editors explain.
For instance, the passage regarding Lot’s rescue from Sodom and Gomorra (Genesis 19:5) has been changed as follows:
-- Original KJV: “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
-- Queen James Bible: “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may rape and humiliate them.”
“We side with most Bible scholars who understand the story of Sodom and Gomorra to be about bullying strangers,” it states under “Editor’s Notes.”
The title page of the first edition of the King James Version of the Bible, published in 1611. (Public domain.)
“Rapes such as this one are common between men in prison; they aren’t sexual acts, they are power-dominating acts,” the editors said.
The editors also argue that Leviticus 18:22, which labels sexual relations between two men an “abomination,” would mean only “scandalous” in today’s world. (Hmmmm... doesn't "scandalous" still imply something wrong or a sin?)
“The Hebrew word ‘to’evah’ from which abomination is translated simply means something that is ‘ritually unclean,’ or a ‘taboo,’” the editors write. “Given the definition of the Hebrew word … we suggest that by today’s standards, a biblical abomination would be understood to be ‘scandalous.’”
1 Corinthians 6:9, which states the “unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God,” has been changed from “Abusers of themselves with mankind” to “promiscuous.”
The remaining verses altered in the “QJB” are: Lev. 20:13, Romans 1:26 and 1:27, 1 Timothy 1:10 and Jude 1:7. The book leaves the rest of the KJV unaltered.
This self-described “Gay Bible” comes over 400 years after King James I of England commissioned 54 of the world’s most renowned scholars and clergymen to create an English translation of the Bible from the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic texts.
The “Queen James” editors said they chose the King James Version (1611) as their basis not merely because it is the most well-known Bible in history, but because of their claim that King James I was a bisexual.
“Commonly known to biographers but often surprising to most Christians, King James I was a well-known bisexual,” the editors write. “Though he did marry a woman, his many gay relationships were so well-known that amongst some of his friends and court, he was known as ‘Queen James.’”
“It is in his great debt and honor that we name The Queen James Bible so,” they said.
Historians and biographers, however, continue to debate whether King James ever engaged in homosexual behavior. Some historians say yes, others say no. It is an unsettled question.
The QJB is currently selling online for $34.95. “It is the perfect Bible for ceremony, study, sermon, gift-giving, or simply to put on display in the home or church,” the editors said.
“You can’t choose your sexuality,” they conclude, “but you can choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible, too.”
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6 comments:
I see little reason to get upset at someone debating archaic language in the original, unrevised King James, when there are more accurate, more understandable versions for modern readers
...aside from forcing people to actually pay attention to the language the Bible was originally written in -- now that's scandalous!
Remember this?
http://scienceblogs.com/goodmath/2009/10/08/the-conservative-rewrite-of-th/
Aren't there lots of versions of the Bible? Seems to me that most of the really religious types wish to cherry-pick the verses that they want to focus on & ram down everyone's throats.
If religious Gays wish to write their own version of the Bible leaving out certain verses, I say: go for it.
The Bible has been translated and rewritten many times throughout history, and the current versions are really up for grabs in terms of the wording chosen.
Shouldn't Christians view this as a good thing? Shouldn't they be ashamed that their holy book contains so much bigotry and applaud efforts to get rid of it?
Thomas Jefferson heavily edited his version of the bible in what I consider to be an excellent version. Those who think the King James or any other bible is an error and edit-free text have no real knowledge of the bible's history. Much like with Jesus the Christianists prefer to worship the thing in place of understanding it.
I wonder if these guys know that Thomas Jefferson rewrote the Bible to delete all references to God.
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