Holy Censorship or Mistranslation? Love, Gender and Sexuality in the Bible

Book excerpt: Although the Supreme Court of India decriminalized same-sex relationships in a historic ruling in 2018, societal attitudes remain largely unchanged. One of the reasons cited for this is that religion, which has a pervasive hold on people's mindsets, takes a conservative view of such matters. Two landmark books - I Am Divine, So Are You and Behold, I Make All Things New - attempted to correct that misconception by putting forth perspectives on sexuality from Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. They recast religion as an ally, not an adversary, of queer emancipation. Taking the series forward, Holy Censorship or Mistranslation? does a close reading of the Bible and some of its key translations, and shows that negative Christian attitudes to sexuality are not rooted in the sacred text but in centuries of tradition. Mistranslations into Greek, Latin and other languages that occurred early, and the serious errors that continue to be made by modern translators, are responsible for the unwarranted controversies. Combining meticulous scholarship with an accessible writing style, this book offers essential insights into a subject that affects millions..