Misunderstanding Paul's Letter to Corinth

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God." I Corinthians 6: 9-10 New American Standard Translation


The term "effeminate" did not exist in either the original Hebrew or original Greek of the Bible. The word has actually changed meaning since 1611 when it was first used. Words have changed meaning over the centuries as they have been used in common language, like the word "gay" being once used for "happy". The term effeminate then when the Bible was translated into the King's English in 1611 meant "soft". So effeminate as it was MEANT would be a person soft in their faith, or since Paul was writing to address a specific issue he saw happening in the church in Corinth, people teaching the law even though they didn't completely understand the law. 


The next line "abusers of themselves with mankind" is also mis-translated from the word: "Arsenokoitai" which is made up of two parts: "arsen" means "man"; "koitai" means "beds." Although the word in English Bibles is interpreted as referring to homosexuals, we can be fairly certain that this is not the meaning that Paul wanted to convey. If he had, he would have used the word "paiderasste." That was the standard Greek term at the time for sexual activity between males. We can conclude that he probably meant something different than people who engaged in male-male adult sexual behavior. The letter of Paul was being written to church leaders in a town where the common way for idol worshippers to practice their worship was through male prostitutes at the idol temples throughout the city. Historical records from several sources confirm this. Those idol temples raised money for their temple through prostitution and Paul was probably writing warning the churches to avoid this practice. We are not clear as THAT WORD appears no where else in historical records nor in ANY original translation of the Bible.

Better Than Kentucky Fried Chicken

Commerce Kitchen Fried Chicken (adapted from James Boyce)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons pepper

4 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon French thyme, ground

1 tablespoon dried sweet basil, ground

1 teaspoon oregano, ground

1 tablespoon Jamaica ginger, ground (regular ground ginger will work too)

2 cups buttermilk

2 2 ½- 3 lb. chickens, cut into 8 pieces each

Vegetable oil for frying (canola and peanut oil work too)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Set aside.

Put chicken and buttermilk in two large plastic Ziploc bags or a flat dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, turning every 30 minutes. This tenderizes the meat as well as removes any blood.

When ready to cook, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk, shake off excess liquid. Toss with dry ingredients. The chicken should be lightly covered, but it's okay if there are a few missed spots. You can also shake chicken with the dry ingredients in a large Ziploc bag.

Fill a large, heavy bottomed skillet or deep pot with enough oil to cover halfway up the largest piece of chicken. Heat oil to 325-350 degrees. If you don't have a cooking thermometer, wait for small bubbles to form.

Adjust heat so the oil bubbles are steady but not too rapid. Working in two or more batches, place the coated chicken in the hot oil. After about eight minutes, the chicken will be golden brown underneath. Turn over once and cook for an additional eight minutes or until nicely browned on both sides. The cooking process will agitate the pieces slightly, so you don't need to shift them around in the pan.

After frying, place chicken on a metal sheet tray covered in a paper towel and transfer to 200-degree oven to keep warm until serving. The chicken will stay moist for up to an hour.