I bought a new dictionary recently — the just-released 11th Edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the dictionary of choice for most professional writers and editors in American publishing and journalism. (Of course, if you prefer the American Heritage Dictionary, we can still be friends.) MW11, as it’s called in the trade (the previous edition was known, predictably enough, as MW10), is a fine update of the standard reference, and from what I’ve seen so far, I recommend it as an improvement over its predecessor. It even includes a CD-ROM containing the entire dictionary in searchable form for your computer.

I found myself reaching for my new dictionary in the midst of last week’s furor in the American Episcopal church over the appointment of a homosexual man as its bishop in New Hampshire. The nomination stalled for a day when an allegation surfaced that the nominee had “inappropriately touched” a male parishioner. After the charge was investigated by the Episcopal leadership and dismissed, the appointment of the new bishop was finalized, to the consternation of many Episcopalians.

That puzzled me. On the one hand, the Episcopal leaders were concerned about elevating a man to the bishopric who inappropriately touched other men. On the other hand, they were perfectly willing to ordain a man who is homosexual. Had I missed something? I thought those two were the same thing.

So to my crisp-leafed new MW11 I turned, and looked up the word “homosexual.” Here’s the current definition: “Of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex.” Now, I don’t know all the details, but it seems to me that a man who “inappropriately touches” other men could accurately be characterized by “a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex.” The gentleman in question has, in fact, lived openly with another man since 1989, in a relationship characterized by the sexual desire of two men for one another. So why were the Episcopalians disturbed to think that this fellow might be directing his sexual desire toward another man? He told them he was homosexual — that’s what the word means. Maybe the Episcopal church needs to invest $25.95 (plus tax) in a copy of MW11.

I had my dictionary in hand again when basketball star Kobe Bryant told a courtroom full of reporters that he was “innocent.” In an earlier press conference, Mr. Bryant acknowledged that he had committed adultery (or, as he put it, “made the mistake of adultery”) with a young woman in a Colorado hotel room, a woman who now accuses him of sexual assault.

How does MW11 define “innocent”? Well, I looked it up: “Free from guilt or sin, especially through lack of knowledge of evil; blameless.” According to the Scriptures, adultery is sin (Matthew 5:27-28; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Hebrews 13:4).

So I’m confused. If the meaning of innocent is “free from guilt or sin” or “blameless,” how can a man who blames himself of the “mistake” of adultery be “innocent”? Perhaps Mr. Bryant, too, should take $25.95 (plus tax) and buy a copy of MW11.

Of course, the real problem is not that people don’t read the dictionary. The book they’re truly neglecting is the Bible. The person who honestly reads and accepts the Bible as the word of God will understand its plain teaching that God condemns homosexuality and adultery (among other things) as sinful: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). As the apostle Paul says, we should not be deceived by those who would tell us that these acts are acceptable, or just “mistakes.”

When men ignore God’s word, anything is excusable, even permissible. But thanks be to God that those who do these things can be forgiven, if they repent and obey: “And such were [notice: past tense] some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).