A Brief History of Homosexuality
by It is impossible to discuss same-sex relationships at any time in our history, without also considering the attitude of the Church, and indeed the role it played in the transformation of homosexuality from a sexual deviance and unacceptable moral vice to a serious threat to social cohesion and, therefore, a threat to the security of the State.
Western European societies attitudes towards sex have largely been moulded by the Christian Church. Homosexuality in particular, the so-called Sin of Sodom, has over many centuries been the target of virulent religious opprobrium. For whereas in the eyes of the Church the heterosexual sinner might be able to plead some kind of social mitigation, even for crimes as heinous as adultery and contraception, no such recourse existed for those accused of homosexuality. His sin, and it worth here noting the Church’s apparent indifference to or disbelief in, female homosexuality, was mortal and would often be judged on a sliding scale of immorality: a kiss may be considered a minor felony, but the act of sodomy was, in the words of Pope Gregory III, “a sin so abominable in the sight of God, that the cities in which the practitioners dwelt were appointed for destruction by fire and brimstone.” A view echoed by a more recent incumbent of the Petrine Inheritance Pope Paul VI, when he remarked in 1976 that homosexuality was, “shameful, infamous and horrible.” What these views, separated by so many centuries, express is the current not just the historical revulsion of the Catholic Church towards what they consider ’sins against nature.’
The early Christian Church dealt with acts of homosexuality harshly, including within the priesthood itself. For example, in AD 693, the Church Council of Toledo denounced homosexual acts, or what they termed, ‘those who copulate against reason’, a vile practice, and declared that any Bishop, Priest or Deacon discovered practising it would not only be struck down by damnation but would also be given 100 lashes and despatched into exile. This may appear fairly lenient given the terrors of, for example, the Inquisition. But the King was to add to the Church prohibitions the secular punishment of castration. Even so, this was somewhat lenient, the layman would have been executed for committing a similar crime.
Homosexuality, however, has not always been viewed in such an unfavourable light. Certainly in Athens during the 4th and 5th centuries BC, homosexual relationships, and in particular those between male adults and young boys, were positively encouraged. As indeed were sexual relationships between consenting females. Marriage was considered beneficial to the household in terms of procreation but affection was expected to lavished upon your same sex companion. Likewise, masturbation was encouraged as an effective safety valve against sexual frustration which had a warping effect on the mind. So, for a brief period at least, homosexuality and pederasty flourished in ancient Greece. As indeed did the arts, though whether the two are linked is a matter of some controversy to this day.
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Post CommentCarmelo Junior
On October 14, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Unless you are an atheist, you should recognize that the Church has been around thousands of years before the Bill of Rights. So, the Church is not paranoid. The Church only follows laws that has been given by God.
If you don’t believe in God, then you are excused for saying the Church is paranoid, since you don’t follow God’s teachings on regards to sex. God is not a philosopher, neither the Church is a democracy. God is a Creator and Judge, the Church is the visible arm of God.
Is God paranoid because he destroyed Sodom and Gomorra? Homosexuals have all the right and freedom to have sex with their own gender, but they don’t have any rights to make of that behavior a normal social pattern.
CaSundara
On October 18, 2009 at 9:34 am
@Carmelo Junior – But what Kim said is that BEFORE Christianity made it so abnormal and immoral, in at least one very enlightened society it was considered absolutely normal – even beneficial, perhaps. How do homosexuals – a part of society – have any less right to make any type of behaviour normal than any other group within society? Religious beliefs cannot be proven, and are consequently irrelevant when it comes to personal sexual choice (or anything else). A social norm is determined by what most people within any given society normally do (or, in this case, may secretly want to do…), not what any particular religion tells them is right or normal. It is clear that people, when not made to feel they will burn in Hell for doing so, often choose to participate in same-sex relationships (or one-night stands), making it fairly normal behaviour, IMO. I’m going to conduct a poll about this very subject in an attempt to discover exactly how normal it is to be sexually attracted to members of the same sex – if anyone wants to take part they will find it on my blog, the address of which is on my profile. Brilliant article, Kim!
ggarcia
On October 21, 2009 at 1:29 am
Dear CaSundara,
Based on your rebuttal I am afraid you may not understand the source of the Bible. God was in the beginning. He is the God of beginning and the end. So when you say that “BEFORE” religion, I understand what you are trying to say but you do not realize that He was in the beginning before your “BEFORE”. He has already preordained the order of humanity. I would recommend that we look to the creator for the answers that we desperately need. There is none righteous except Jesus. He was the one who knew no sin but because of his love for us all, He took the punishment for all of our sin (disobedience). He alone is the light of the world. There is no other true “enlightenment” besides Him.
I understand that many so called holy men have not shown the love that the Bible so vividly displays. Many people have not represented the Master like they should of. It is my hope that others may see that the Lord is truly a Loving Creator. In all of history he has never given up on us as his creation. Also he has never accepted sin. He loves the sinner but he hates the sin. The reason he hates it is not because he is a mean god who does not love his people but contrary He is a good God who wants us to be with Him. Sin has always separated the creation from the creator (examples: Lucifer, Adam and Eve).
I understand that you appear not to have any faith in religion and I can not blame you but I would challenge you to seek the God of the universe for who He is. His word says that if anyone would humble themselves and seek Him with a sincere heart they will find Him. If you call on the name of the Lord Jesus you will be saved.
Devastra
On November 1, 2009 at 11:44 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlTAyNI8WE
Watch the video – who said homosexuality was not natural. God created these creatures, they did not go to school, college, church, temple, mosque, synagogues. So do these animals go to hell, so GOD does not love them??????? Who are we to Judge – let nature take care of this.
Howard T. Robinson
On April 8, 2010 at 12:02 pm
It is not a question of whether God love’s the homosexual. He does. God’s love for us alone will not keep one from hell. It is your love for God that causes one to escape hell’s fire. Jesus said, if we love him, we will keep his commandments. The argument then is once again rudamentary: Does scripture instruct us against homosexuality. I say yes, but that does not lessen my love for the individual with the proclivity of homosexuality, just as my love is not lessened for an individual with the proclivity of lying, and scripture instructs us against lying as well. The ill’s of sin have many faces. The one who escapes is the one who keeps God’s commands and monitors his own conduct so that he himself does not fall. At some point we must stop the discussions that attempt to determine where an individual might spend eternity and start the much more worthy ones of how we spend our lives in this temporary place.