Publisher's Synopsis
For over a thousand years, the Church was the sole interpreter of scripture. Members of the Church had to rely on priests, bishops and popes to tell them what the Bible contained. With the addition of new translations, and the Protestant Reformation, came the belief that the Church no longer needed to be the intermediary between God and humanity. Members of the church could interpret scripture on their own.
Martin Luther believed "Scripture interprets scripture." However, the tools necessary for the average lay person to understand the original languages of scripture were not easy to use. With advances in technology, within just the last 20 years, the average lay person in the Church can now research and find for themselves the meanings of words, passages, and books of the Bible.
Sometimes we find that the true meaning of scripture conflicts with Church tradition. By using the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint), we can find out how certain words were used at the time of Christ. We find out how the early church understood the words of Paul and other New Testament authors. Throughout Church history, the Greek word Porneia has been translated into the English phrase "sexual immorality." This began with Jerome in 382, when he translated it into the Latin word for "fornication." However, a closer look at how the Jewish communities, Jesus, and the disciples understood Porneia reveals something much different.
A proper understanding of the word Porneia is critical, and snowballs into a better understanding of what God demands from us, His Church. We have used the mistranslation of the word to condemn homosexuals, shame people for sexual acts, and control the people of the Church. Glen Farell will teach you how to properly translate and interpret what the Bible really says about sexual immorality, lust, and homosexuality. This book is the result of two years of studying the Greek and Hebrew words that have been the source of division, guilt, and shame for 1,700 years.
