Dr. Hoffman`The Bible Doesn't Say That:
40 Biblical Mistranslations, Misconceptions, and Other Misunderstandings
I heard the author on Too Jewish radio
and am commenting on his view of the bible.
. he said that while the bible discourages
certain (male) homosexual acts;
it doesn't say homosexuality is a sin.
. the bible says it's (pronounced toy-ee-vah)
which some interpret as "abomination"
but it means "taboo";
an abomination is universally inappropriate;
whereas a taboo is something that is
culturally inappropriate.
what is the point of that distinction?
. it should be pointed out that
this wasn't just any part of the bible;
it was the word of Moses
who Judaists say was the greatest prophet,
and a prophet is the mouthpiece of the god;
so the very Word of the god of Judaists
(the foundation of christianity,
according to Jesus saying he
did not come to change the Jewish law)
has condemned male homosexuals to death:
Leviticus 18
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 Say to the children of Israel,
I am the Lord your God.
...
22 You may not have sex relations with men,
as you do with women: it is a disgusting thing.
...
29: those who do will be cut off from their people;
[like so:]
24 Do not make yourself unclean in any of these ways;
for so have those nations
whom I am driving out from before you
made themselves unclean:
25 And the land itself has become unclean;
so that I have sent on it the reward of its wrongdoing,
and the land itself puts out those
who are living in it.
[ie,
it is people like the male homosexuals
who Moses' god is conquering and taking their land
and may they die trying to defend their land.]
leviticus 20: 13:
And if a man has sex relations with a man,
the two of them have done a disgusting thing:
let them be put to death;
their blood will be on them.
. it should then be pointed out that
the bible says the wages of sin is death;
ie, it is assumed that the reason the god has
condemned each of us to die for evolution
is that we are inherently sinners;
but the christians saved us from all that:
according to Jesus it only looks like we die;
if we follow the god's preferred ways
as informed by Jesus' teachings,
(including following the laws of Moses)
then the god will forgive our sins,
and after death we live forever like angels.
. so sin leads to death, and the bible said
male homosexuality leads to death;
does it matter if it's not a sin
if it's a death sentence just like sin?
. let's assume for the sake of Jesus
and the other Judaists,
that Moses was indeed the Word of the god;
but let's also assume that the same god
really does love male homosexuals;
and that Dr. Hoffman is correct:
the bible is referring to cultural laws
rather than universal laws.
. if that were case, then what the bible says
is that the god told Moses only about
a single culture, namely ancient Judaism,
and that the god would love to support
other cultures alongside Israel,
that are doing non-Moses things.
. it could be that the true god
loves diversity even as it
loves solidarity within a nation;
let everyone in a nation follow the same law;
and let there be a place for every nation
practicing their diverse laws.
. but I just showed you in Moses' bible
the god of Moses said the reason the god is
taking land from other nations
and giving it to the Judaists,
is that the other nations were doing things
that the god of Moses hated
like male homosexuality.
. so Dr. Hoffman is incorrect:
the bible is not referring to cultural laws
rather than universal laws.
. it should be pointed out here that
the Judaists believed every nation had a god,
but that the god of Moses was special,
being the god of all other gods.
(worshing one of many gods is henotheism).
. if Israel lost a war to another nation
it was not their god was weaker,
it was that they had offended their god,
and so their god was punishing them.
. of course another theory is that
Judaists don't even know the god of gods,
because if they did then they would know
there would always be diverse cultures
even ones supporting anti-Moses laws
guided by the diverse gods
that the god of gods created
exactly because the god of gods
demands diversity of experience
and thus diverse laws between nations.
. Dr.Hoffman also says of the 10 commandments
that what people think says "do not covet"
really means "do not take";
so then the 10 commandments must be
repeating itself?
here is the most modern translation of deut 5:
(bible in basic english)
19 Do not take the property of another.
20 Do not give false witness
against your neighbour;
21 Or let your desire be turned to ...
anything which is your neighbour's.
--
. notice the sentence structure:
the part about desiring (or taking)
is part of the rule against false witness;
it implies that a common reason for
being a false witness was jealousy
or in order to take from your neighbor.
here is a Jewish version of deut 5:
19 V’lo tignov (neither shalt thou steal).
...
21 V’lo tachmod (neither shalt thou
covet, [or take]).
. so one way Dr.Hoffman could be correct
is that one can be taking something
without being known for stealing it
by being a false witness about
who really owns something.
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