TheChildrenAreFree05

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JESUS says "I LOVE YOU !!"

The Children Are Free

Reexamining the Biblical Evidence

on Same-Sex Relationships

a book by Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley

The BLOCK-BUSTER CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK - ABOUT JESUS, THE CENTURION & HIS SLAVE

The Children Are Free, discusses Our Lord JESUS CHRIST & His reaction to a Roman Centurion and his Slave who was sick unto death. This is a REALLY STARTLING AND REVELATORY CHAPTER OF THIS DISCUSSION, THAT FOR ME WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ENTIRE BOOK!!!! I hope you will

find it as Encouraging and as Enlightening as I did. We have seen Jesus over-rule the Laws about Honoring the Sabbath, and over-turn the Laws and Regulations concerning Clean and Unclean Foods, and also deny the validity of the Rules and Ordinances about Ritualistic Cleansing of the Hands, now we will see how Our Lord Jesus Christ dealt with a Roman Centurion and the request made to him about a Dear Slave that was sick unto Death. O.K. I won't keep you in suspense any longer - the TITLE of this chapter section that I am so exciting about is "WHEN JESUS MET A GAY PERSON". The encounter is recorded in both Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. The Roman Centurion comes to Jesus asking that he heal his Slave or Servant. Jesus was ready to go with him to his house and the Centurion said that is was not necessary for Jesus to do that - all Jesus had to do was Say the Word, and his servant would be healed. Jesus's words and reaction to the Centurion are worth repeating here - "WHEN JESUS HEARD THIS, HE MARVELLED [WAS AMAZED - NIV] AT HIM, AND TURNED AND SAID TO THE MULTITUDE THAT FOLLOWED HIM, 'I TELL YOU, NOT EVEN IN ISREAL, HAVE I FOUND SUCH [GREAT - NIV] FAITH!!!' " Luke 7:9 RSV. Now I will quote from the book again- "Just another miracle story, right? Not on your Life! In the original language, the importance of this story for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Christians in much clearer. The Greek word used in Matthew's account to refer to the servant of the centurion is PAIS. In the language of the time, PAIS had three possible meanings depending upon the context in which it was used. It could mean "son" or boy; it could mean "servant", or it could mean a particular TYPE of SERVANT - one who was "his master's MALE LOVER." @ Often these lovers were younger than their masters, even teenagers. To our modern minds, the idea of buying a teen lover seems repugnant. But we have to place this in the context of ancient cultural norms. In ancient times, commercial transactions were the predominant means of forming relationships. Under the law, the wife was viewed as the "property" of the husband, with a status just above that of slave. Moreover, in Jesus' day, a boy or girl was considered of marriageable age upon reaching his or her early teens. It was not uncommon for boys or girls to marry at age 14 or 15. # Nor was it uncommon for an older man to marry a young girl. [for example Joseph and Mary] In that culture, if you were a gay man who wanted a male "spouse", you acheieved this, like your heterosexual counterparts, through a commercial transaction - purchasing someone to serve that purpose. A servant purchased to serve this purpose was often called a PAIS. The word boy in English offers a rough comparison. Like PAIS, the word boy can be used to refer to a male child. But in the slave South in the 19th century, boy was also often used to refer to male slaves. The term boy can also be used as a term of endearment...the term boy can be used in the same way as in "my boy" or "my beau". In ancient Greek, PAIS had a similar range of meanings.

@ see Greek Homosexuality, K.J. Dover,(Harvard University Press, Cambirdge, 1978), page 16; and Homsexuality in Greek Myth, Bernard Sergent, (Beacon Press; Boston, 1986), page 10.

# see Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, (Mercer University Press, Macon GA, 1994), page 554.

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