Christian Bookstores Refuse to Sell Gay Study Bible
Conservative Christian bookstores are refusing to sell copies of a new Bible study guide that challenges standard New Testament translations that teach gay sex is sin.
U.S. distributor God's Word to Women has banned the Australian publication and withdrawn another Bible translation by the same publishing company, Smith and Stirling, for promoting a lifestyle contradictory to scriptures, according to the Australian newspaper The Age.
Moreover, Australia's largest Christian retailer, Koorong, said it is unlikely to carry Ann Nyland's Study New Testament for Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transgender if the version proves controversial.
In the study guide, Nyland contends that the word "arsenokoites" has been wrongly interpreted to mean homosexual. According to the classical Greek lexicographer, the word's meaning is one who anally penetrates another and does not exclusively apply to males, according to The Age.
She further claims that most New Testament translations are based on a lack of understanding of Greek word meaning, context, and disregard for academic research.
Because of Nyland's authorship of the gay study Bible, two American scholars have withdrawn their endorsements from her other works.
