The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp
The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp
S5E58 1946 - The Mistranslation that Shifted Culture with Ed Oxford
Ken welcomes Ed Oxford, key researcher and contributor to the film 1946 - The Mistranslation that Shifted Culture. Ed, who identifies as a gay Christian, graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Talbot Theological Seminary in New Testament. In the years that followed, his study of the original languages and the many English translations of the Christian scriptures brought him to the undeniable conclusion that the “Bible has been weaponized against the LGBTQ+ community.” A case in point is a passage from I Corinthians in which the 1946 Revised Standard Version (RSV) erroneously translated a Greek word, introducing the term “homosexual” to the Bible for the very first time. The film’s trailer begins with Rev. John MacArthur quoting from his pulpit, “Neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals shall inherit the Kingdom of God.”
Along with colleague Kathy Baldock, Ed won access to the archives at Yale University. He and Kathey explored the source materials: the translator's notes and records used to produce the New Testament. In the original documents, they uncovered the debate over this word choice and finally the admission of the error. The revised RSV changed the word in 1974. But too late. Subsequent translations repeat the error: e.g. The Living Bible (promoted by Billy Graham), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and most recently, the English Standard Version (ESV - promoted by John MacArthur). Homosexuality became synonymous with “perversion” - and weaponized. Ed shares his personal experience as a gay man in the evangelical church that includes reparative therapy and finally the story of his involvement in the film - a timely and important corrective. SHOW NOTES