In
the New Testament scriptures, the Apostle Paul speaks out against a trend that
he sees as being “unnatural” and an “abomination” and warns that Christians
need to be on their guard against this dangerous practice.
What
is it?
[It’s
not what you think].
See,
in Paul’s day being a man meant keeping your hair short and your beard long.
Why? Because women had long hair and smooth faces. So, to Paul – and many
others in his day – if a man had long hair and shaved his beard off, he was
accused of "going against nature.”
The
Greek word Paul uses to describe this trend is “malakoi” and the best
translation of the word into English is “effeminate”.
In
the first century, “malakoi” was most often used to reference men who shaved
daily and had no beards. These men were often ridiculed and accused of wanting
to look like women with clean-shaven faces.
This
term was used as an epithet against men who are not masculine enough, as in,
“You punch like a girl.”
Plato,
for example, in his “Republic”, wrote famously that “too much music made a man
soft [malakoi], and feeble; unfit for battle.”
Aristotle
also warned about the dangers of men becoming too soft [malakoi] by
over-indulging in pleasures rather than balancing out their lives with acts of
physical and mental discipline.
Even
Josephus, the first century Jewish historian [and contemporary of Jesus and
Paul] used the term “malakos” to describe men who were weak and soft through
lack of courage in battle.
So,
the word “malakoi” refers to being “soft”, rather than masculine, and it occurs
four times, in three verses in the New Testament. [Jesus uses the word to refer
to soft clothing, for example, in Matthew 11:8 and Luke 7:25].
Now,
here’s the problem: “Malakoi” is translated in most English Bibles today as “homosexual”.
Seriously.
Do
you think that a man who shaves his beard and has long hair and enjoys music is
a homosexual?
Hopefully
not.
Paul and others in the first century didn’t either. How do we know
that? Because the word is never used to refer to someone who is homosexual. It
is always used to describe a heterosexual male whose behavior is more feminine,
or “soft.”
This
is what Paul had in mind in 1 Cor. 6:9. In fact, if you go to the actual Greek
language, this verse does not refer to homosexuals, even though most English
Bibles use the phrase “men who have sex men” rather than “effeminate.”
In
the Greek the text actually reads:
“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..” – 1 Cor. 6:9
But
the definition of “effeminate” is not the same today as it was in the first
century, is it?
Back
then it was “unnatural” for a man to shave his face and grow a mullet. Today,
mullets still aren’t so popular, but we wouldn’t say that a person who sported
one was “unrighteous” and unwelcome in the Kingdom of God. [Again, I would hope
not].
The
term “effeminate” is based on a cultural bias, not an absolute rule.
If
you want to make it an absolute statement, then we must adopt Paul’s first
century ideals about what makes a man “effeminate” and that means that all men
are forbidden to shave their beards or wear their hair below their ears to be
considered godly. It also means that women can’t wear pants, or cut their hair
short [and who wants to be in charge of defining “short” for the rest of the
Christian world?], etc.
So,
do we all want to adopt Paul’s ideas about cultural norms? Are we willing to
live by this rule?
“Doth
not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame
unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is
given her for a covering.” [1 Cor. 11:14-15]
We have to decide if we honestly believe that a man with a clean-shaven face is an abomination or not. We have to decide if guys with long hair aren’t welcome in the Kingdom of God, or if perhaps in this case, the Apostle Paul might have only been speaking to the Christians in first century Corinth about what it meant in their day to conform to cultural norms.
We have to decide if we honestly believe that a man with a clean-shaven face is an abomination or not. We have to decide if guys with long hair aren’t welcome in the Kingdom of God, or if perhaps in this case, the Apostle Paul might have only been speaking to the Christians in first century Corinth about what it meant in their day to conform to cultural norms.
What
do you think?
Please
leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
If
this article blessed or challenged you, please consider sharing it on social
media.
Thanks,
Keith
READ MORE ON THIS SUBJECT?
*Romans Re-Examined
*Blessed Are The Eunuchs
*A Love That's Better Than Sex
5 comments:
Hi Keith,
I had not heard that before about the views on what was considered effeminate from that time period; very interesting!
I did run into one thing when looking at this in the Blue Letter Bible (which has some tools for working with the Greek). It seems to suggest that that another word for homosexual was also used in that same verse (arsenokoitēs). Would that mean that a man should NOT be "effeminate" or "homosexual"? It seems like many of the modern translations kind of lump it all into homosexuality, whereas older translations (KJV & NASB) seem to call out the word "effeminate" separate from "homosexuality".
https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/1co/6/1/t_conc_1068009
Interesting to think on how that should apply today. Thanks for posting!
Keith, Paul does make a distinction between what homosexual behavior is and states empathically that having sex with other men like he would with a woman is wrong, Wuest an expert in Greek translates 1Cor. 6:9-11 in this manner ' Or do you not know that unrighteous individuals will not inherit God's kingdom? Stop being decieved: Neither fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers not those who are of Voluptuous nature, given to the sensual, immoral appetites NEITHER MEN WHO ARE GUILTY OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH MEMBERS OF THEIR OWN SEX,...It continues with other things that aren't acceptable for one to practice if they want to enter into God's kingdom. Speaking out against homosexual behavior can be done in a critical way and has been done many times by good intentioned believers, but that's no reason to accept the behavior or attempt to twist what the scripture says on this subject. We can love someone who is a homosexual, but shouldn't approve of their life style when the scripture forbids it...
If you read the articles linked at the bottom of the article you'll see that I've already addressed your other points there.
Especially read "Not A Sin?" and "Romans Re-Examined" for more perspective on those points.
Thanks!
Keith, just because an opposite Viewpoint would put you at odds with a good portion of the population in which you live doesn't mean you should cave to their values. I'm sure it can be very disheartening to try to minister to those who are entrenched in such a lifestyle that seems so nearly impossible for them to be delivered from but God is able to do all things. Please consider that and esteem the praise of God as more worthy than the praise of men. From the fear of man comes the need and desire to over-analyze scripture to the point of making it say nothing at all.
Am I appealing to current culture? No, I am only pointing to first century culture and how that impacted Paul's views then.
If I feared man I wouldn't write, publish and distribute articles like this that challenge the dominant views of my faith community, would I?
Love and acceptance of others is a Christian value.
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