“The narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah has, unfortunately, been greatly misunderstood. It is not a story regarding homosexuals. It is a story about a homosexual act (anal intromission) that was about the enacted, violently and abusively to denigrate, humiliate, and disgrace Lot’s visitors. The desire of the Sodomite men was to abuse and mortify his guests who were messengers sent by God”. (Sodom and Gomorrah: What Really Happened, Rocco Errico, Loc 254)
The term “‘she became a pillar of salt’ is an Aramaic idiomatic expression, which means she became hard like rock salt—that is, totally stiff—and passed away” (Sodom and Gomorrah: What Really Happened, Rocco Errico, Loc 247)
Studying a text in its original language or at least translated from its original language with the most accurate communication of meaning as well as understanding the culture in which the text was written is fundamentally important to understanding the text itself. Most versions of the Bible have been translated from Greek, a language of the colonizer in the Middle East. The most original version of the Bible most likely was in Aramaic, the language of the oppressed colonized, and Jesus, a Middle Easterner, most likely spoke the same language. Furthermore, Aramaic is a language ripe for interpretation. One word can have several meanings, and thus it is important to determine the meaning of the one word within the context of the work. Doing so might help to reduce anachronism and the bias.
For instance, note the following:
The original version of the Book of Leviticus only bans same-sex incest. The real idea was that the Sodomites tried to rape their guests. In the first century, however, Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher, interpreted the Greek text and stated that the issue was not rape but homosexual action. While it seems the King James Version upholds this interpretation, the authoring of the Bible by King James is mired in politics. Furthermore, as is known, King James had quite a few male lovers.
When a text (be it written, oral, or a body) is removed from its context, the result often is misunderstanding. This misunderstanding can and has manifested dogmatic ideology that has become a part of entire cultures as well as in ways of operating that include systems of oppression such as homophobia and racism. This is a most grievous and tragic state.
Whatever one’s beliefs, critical thinking and reading are extremely important to truly seeing beyond the veil of the superficial. The veil never should be mistaken for substance.
In this way, the separation that seems to exist between peoples dissolves. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations only ever was community. There only ever is a community of One.
Indigo Fall 