What do you mean by “sexuality?” There are only two sexes: man and woman. They may be subject to all kinds of temptations of a sexual nature and have varying desires of a sexual nature. Personal affective desires vary widely and are not merged with one’s identity. Homosexuality as an “orientation” is a rather recent social construct, as is the idea of heterosexuality as an “orientation.”
If the concepts of “homosexuality” and “heterosexuality” are 19th century inventions, the concept of “sodomy” is an invention of 11th century Catholic theologians. “Sodomy” is not discussed in the Old or New Testaments. As Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics at Washington University Mark D. Jordan says in his book The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology (University of Chicago Press, 1997), p. 1:
Professor Jordan further says on page 29:
So it’s not only 19th century German scholars/scientists who invented new terms and concepts to describe sex, but also the Catholic Church.
Even a cursory bit of research will reveal that the word sodomy has a much longer history than the middle ages. Of course it has a theological connotation, inevitably. The Wikipedia article gives a rather lengthy history. It wasn’t necessarily associated with homosexuality, because as I noted before, the idea of sexual “orientation” as opposed to sexual actions, is much more recent.
If you look up the origin of the word “sodomy” (Latin sodomia), it did not exist before the Middle Ages. According to the Oxford English Dictionary:
oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/sodomy
But the incident related in the Book of Genesis (sin of the Sodomites) is primarily same-sex sexual activity whereas the medieval term sodomy included lots of sexual sins between men and women as well.
The world can be a difficult, even cruel, place. The child born badly disabled, the young man who contracts polio, the young woman finding herself incapable of conceiving, the parents whose teenage children die in a car accident. Are these all to be viewed as “cruel jokes”, or human reality?
Yes, the term itself seems to have been derived from the sin of the sodomites, which may have been homosexual anal sex. But the Church applied the term to other kinds of unnatural sex as well, including between persons of opposite sex. Which was pretty much my point–that it was specific actions were condemned; there was not any particular ‘orientation’ that was assumed to be present. That is a recent concept.
…and so, once again, we are back to the Church definition issue. Variety becomes unnatural, sex for sharing love becomes self immersed…unless there is always the procreation element present.
i cannot imagine how medical or psychological advances in understanding the etiology of homosexuality (and noting there is little to no understanding) will influency the moral
Yes, I agree the world can be a cruel place but the examples you give remind me of Christ’s instruction to “pick up your cross and follow me”…they are not sins…by contrast, the “cross” of same sex attraction, if acted upon, is…since God is our architect and commands us to be fruitful and multiply, yet he makes some people gay, yes, I look at that as a cruel joke…
I realize that.
Gay people do not run a much higher risk of life threatening diseases as a result of being gay. Some gay people run a much higher risk of disease because they practice unsafe sex (without a condom, for example) or have numerous sexual partners. But this is not intrinsic to being gay or having gay sex. Just like straight people, they can either practice safe sex or be in monogamous relationships. Two gay men in a monogamous relationship who did not have any diseases when they entered their relationship would have zero chance of getting a life threatening venereal disease.
I have posted this before and like before you make excuses.
No. That proves nothin. People make life style choices that oppose society all the time. Joining a “Biker Gang” could get someone disowned by a family. Being “Goth” or “Punk” could get someone bullied at school. Many people make choices that stigmatize themselves…because they don’t care.The fact that lots of gay people do experience a considerable amount of stigma and prejudice as a result of their sexual orientation does make many of them wish that they weren’t gay at some point in their life. Who after all wants to be bullied in school or possibly be disowned or abused by their family? But since most people would not choose to be gay because of this stigma when being straight would be so much easier, this just proves that being gay is not a choice.
Isn’t that what you would suggest that most straight people do? Or do you think that it would be preferable for them to engage in promiscuous sex with multiple partners?
Then you must acknowledge that the infertile, and all who do not find a mate suffer a cruel joke or act contrary to God’s instruction. SSA is also not sin. The single person who is not married and so visits a prostitute also sins.
It does seem, according to the Old Testament, that God does will these things sometimes:
Actually I would suggest that he find himself a girlfriend or seek professional help.Isn’t that what you would suggest that most straight people do? Or do you think that it would be preferable for them to engage in promiscuous sex with multiple partners?
God took life in the past, and he restored life from death in the past. This is a different question from whether all life and death events, indeed all events entirely, are willed by God.