Christianity versus Homosexuality

Many people are surprised to learn that
homosexuality was accepted as just
another part of the human condition
until the beginning of the 12th
century.
If we look at how homosexuality has
fitted in with history, we can find
from historical writings, prose, poetry
and art that ancient Greek society had
social acceptance. They did not label
people to fit into a certain group, and
it seems most men were happy to be with
men or women. For hundreds of years
Roman empererors embraced their
bisexuality, and even Alexander had his
gay lover by his side,as seen in the
recent movie starring Colin Farrell.
For over 400 years, China was ruled by
19 different emperors who were either
openly homosexual or bisexual. In
Japan, samurai life was enriched by the
emotional and sexual bond cultivated
between an older warrior and a younger
apprentice. The Japanese believed that
if lovers went into battle together,
they would fight all the harder to
protect their loved one. The samurai
called it bi-do, meaning 'the beautiful
way'. In 1482, Ijiri Chusuke wrote "In our empire of Japan this way
flourished from the time of the great
master Kobo. In the abbeys of Kyoto and
Kamakura, and in the world of the
nobles and the warriors, lovers would
swear perfect and eternal love relying
on no more than their mutual good will.
Whether their partners were noble or
common, rich or poor, was absolutely of
no importance… In all these cases they
were greatly moved by the spirit of
this way. This way must be truly
respected, and it must never be
permitted to disappear.”
In Europe, homosexuality was widely
accepted up to the 12th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, most
monasteries had many priests and abbots
who wrote literature and poetry
celebrating their gay lovers.
Various Native American tribespeople
not only accepted homosexuals without
question, but actually held them in
very high esteem. They were not
expected to fight alongside the other
warriors and braves could go to them
for sexual relief. The wives did not
see them as a threat because after all,
they couldn't produce children, which
was the main purppose of marriage. Many
Native Americans believed that their
gay kinsmen were a special gift to the
tribe from God, and that they were
spiritually gifted. many gay tribesmen
became spiritual advisors and tribal
elders.
So after thousands of years of
acceptance, how did homosexuals become
so reviled and persecuted?It started in the 12th century, when
the organised Church and state became
odd bedfellows, if you'll excuse the
pun. Various governments looked to its
respected Church leaders to help them
create order and uniformity. With its
new-found power, the Church began to
legislate standards of morality. In
thinking of the high moral ground, they
turned to people's bedroom activities
and decided to repress the minorities.
Europe's Jewish and Muslim populations
started to be persecuted, and the
Crusades set about ridding the Holy
Land of the Muslims.They believed that the Muslim religion
allowed any kind of sexual act, so as
well as many prostitutes, They noticed
that the Muslims, or Saracens as they
were known then, had a great number of
effeminate men who were not against
exposing and degrading their own bodies
with other men. Islam, hellbent on
proving the Christians wrong, had a
massive crackdown on homosexuals.
Europe, in its quest to be seen as
civilised, looked to the Church for
propoganda to incite hatred against the
minorities, including homosexuals. One
particular piece of vile rhetoric
bandied about was that 'all minorities
were guilty of killing Christian
children'. The intolerance grew, and
from the witch hunts of France to the
Spanish Inquisition, anyone who had a
finger pointed at them was put to
death.
Church leaders who were looking to
their Bible to find just cause to
persecute gays found very little, but
the one passage that is most often used
is that of Paul's letter to the Romans.
It reads "... even their women did
change the natural use into that which
is against nature: and likewise also
the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust for one
another..."
Recent analysis infers that Paul may be
criticizing heterosexuals who dabble in
homosexual acts.The text seems to imply
that it is wrong for heterosexuals to
indulge in homosexual acts because such
activities would require them to change
their natural use to that which is
against their nature. This would seem
not to apply to homosexuals since they
find homosexuality normal, or in Pauls
words "agreeable to the world of
nature".
By the end of the 18th Century, there
was a period known as The
Enlightenment, or The Age of Reason.
Free thinkers and intellectuals in
Europe, tired of the repression
existent in their society, started the
new movement with the idea that the
tradition, irrationality, superstition
and tyranny that had been spread about
in the Middle Ages should be abolished.
They convinced the State to separate
from the Church, but the Church didn't
like the idea that it was losing it's
power, so it lobbied successive
governments that the CHURCH ALONE was
the sacred keeper of ethics and morals
and it alone should be listened to when
setting moral standards. Of course, one
of the moral legislations that they
insisted on being included was a ban on
homosexual sex, even though when it was
initially applied as part of the
Inquisition it didn't actually mention
gay sex, but was directed to any
non-procreative activity. And so it
stands. Homophobia has ever since been
spread by ignorance, illiteracy and
misunderstanding. In order to move forward, more and more Christians are choosing to believe that the Bible, rather than a set of (debatable) instructions, is a guidebook, a book that tells you to live a good life, be honest, be good to your neighbour, and most of all, to treat people the way that you too would like to be treated.