In the Northern hemisphere Summer, it’s “Pride” month. It’s important politics and good fun. But the name “Pride” has always grated on me. Isn’t pride a sin, after all?
My friend Dan Sloan has an answer: “Well, actually in the Koine Greek of the New Testament, the sin of Pride is either ὑπερηφανία (Mark 7:22) or ὕβρις (2 Cor 12:10) which mean ‘arrogance’ or ‘hubris’ respectively. The way we’re using ‘Pride’ is closer to πεποίθησις (2 Cor 3:4) or παρρησία (Phl 1:20) which mean ‘confidence’ or ‘courage/bravery’. Gay Pride started because gay people found the παρρησία to fight back when the police tried to raid a gay bar simply because it was a gay bar. If you read the New Testament carefully you’ll see that πεποίθησις and παρρησία to face adversity are consistently depicted as good traits rather than sinful.”
I’m a passable theologian but hopeless Bible scholar, so that’s helpful, thanks Dan.