Faithspotting "1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture

Kenny and Mike are joined by Director and Producer Sharon "Rocky Roggio for a discussion of her documentary film 1946: The Mistranslation+ That Shifted Culture. The film chronicles the first time the word "homosexual" appears in the Bible, the Revised Standard Verson (RSV) which was first published in 1946. The film stars Kathy Baldock and Ed Oxford, researchers who discover the translation committee that worked on the original Revised Standard Version Bible conflated and mistranslated the Koine Greek words malakoi and arsenokoitai as "homosexual." Prior to 1946 major translations such as the King James Version (KJV) used the words for the sexual acts rather than an identity label. The work of Kathy and Ed cast light on the translation process used by the RSV committee leading up to their publication, and how changes were made to the original translastion.

Interwoven throughout the film are the personal stories of Ed and Sharon and their struggles as persons of faith who faced rejection in or from their congregations. Sharon's father ,Sal Roggio, an Evangelical pastor who does not accept the mistranslation is also featured throughout parts of the film. While the film does depict tension, disagreement and pain between Sharon and her father, the film also shows that they still love one another and are in relationship, which is not always the case in families. This focus on being able to hold tension of disagreement while also maintaining a relationship is model of faith for others to consider to replicate.

Sharon Roggio

In the discussion, Sharon also discusses how she produced and has distrubuted the film. 1946 won over 20 awards on the festival circuit including the prestigious Audience Award at the 2022 DOC NYC. It was also eligible for consideration for best feature documentary for the Academy Awards in 1924. In 2025 Sharon organized a "1946 Tour" where they showed the film in conservative communities in the United States as a way to speak for the LGTB community and have dialogue with others in the towns. Sharon has also shown the film internationally including Korea, Japan, various Eurpopean countries and is taking the film to South Africa as well. There are also plans for "Good Faith" tour in 2027 in the United States.

Kathy Baldock Ed Oxford