Jesus and Homosexuality

[Trish the Stalker]

Ladies and gentlemen I have stumbled across an interesting piece of information about Jesus and homosexuality in the bible. I was reading an article about Jesus' sexuality (not the topic for this conversation) and there is mention of a passage contained in Matthew 8:5-13: and Luke 7:2:

Quote:

One day a Roman Centurion asked him to heal his dying servant. Scholars of both Scripture and Ancient History tell us that Roman Centurions, who were not permitted to marry while in service, regularly chose a favorite male slave to be their personal assistant and sexual servant. Such liaisons were common in the Greco-Roman world and it was not unusual for them to deepen into loving partnerships....Jesus offered to go to the servant, but the centurion asked him simply to speak a word of healing, since he was not worthy to welcome this itinerant Jewish teacher under his roof. Jesus responded by healing the servant and proclaiming that even in Israel he had never found faith like this! So, in the one Gospel story where Jesus encountered people sharing what we would call a 'gay relationship,' we see him simply concerned about -- and deeply moved by -- their faith and love.

I find it fantastic that Jesus places faith and love far above any act a person can commit.

-Formerly La Belle Isolde-

 

[SuchSweetSadism]

That's odd. But cool, I always thought he just never said anything about it.  

[Trish the Stalker]

SuchSweetSadism

That's odd. But cool, I always thought he just never said anything about it.

It's still not exactly a direct statement on it. But it's about as definitive as it gets.

-Formerly La Belle Isolde-

 

[Aidensnumberonefan]

well way to go Jesus!  

[Venombabe]

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A loving heart


heart Well, there's one I've never heard in all my Lutheran education xD heart


is the beginning of all knowledge
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[Kusaragi]

I always thought it was interesting that when people hear or read something, they will nearly ALWAYS gravitate to things that are in line with their beliefs, and shun the things that conflict with them. This is a great example of just that. All the stuck-up Christians could have read that, but none of them made the connection because of their views on Same Sex relationships. Thanks for sharing that with us Trish. ^_^  

[Celestial Burden]

Oh, wow. That's neat. There are actually a lot of implications of gay relationships in the Bible, but people tend to gloss them over or insist that they can be interpreted many many ways.  

[aretoo]

Celestial Burden

Oh, wow. That's neat. There are actually a lot of implications of gay relationships in the Bible, but people tend to gloss them over or insist that they can be interpreted many many ways.

Jonathan and David, and Ruth and Leah come to mind... smile  

[Saverio C.]

I see you are going to show the people who read too much into specific quotes from places in the bible how silly it sounds from the other side.  

[Trish the Stalker]

Celestial Burden

Oh, wow. That's neat. There are actually a lot of implications of gay relationships in the Bible, but people tend to gloss them over or insist that they can be interpreted many many ways.

Actually in the "original" manuscripts the word to say that Jesus loved Mary Magdalene, as well as some of his disciples and other followers (male and female) is one that implies sexual love as well.

I can find more references to use. However, as far as I am aware there is NOTHING in the New Testament that says homosexuality is wrong.

Sav, all I'm trying to say is that Jesus preached love, not hate. I'm trying to restore some people's faith in that reality and give them something to go on.  

[Saverio C.]

Jesus and God are one and the same (depending on your flavor of Christianity). So while Jesus says all that nice stuff he still did all that fire and brimstone s**t in the old testament and promised some more bad a** s**t for us in Revelations.

The bible is a book full of contradictions and to play the interpretation game is foolhardy. Restoring faith in reality by saying the first half of the book is reconned isn't really what skeptics want or what believers will listen too. People will always find what they are looking for in the bible, so it's cool that you found what you are looking for it's not ground breaking or new.

The point about what's in the bible is moot anyway. Let's say the bible told you that gay people are evil in no uncertain terms. Would that change your mind about gays at all?  

[Taeryyn]

I never felt like God disapproved of my sexuality, even without straining to find evidence in poorly-translated passages from the new testament...

When people use the Bible to condemn the gay community, they don't usually try to pass off Jesus as being the one who had a problem with queers. It's usually Old Testament stuff, and Paul's letters that get used against us.  

[CRIPPLING ENNUI]

Homosexuality was condemned in the Old Testament, but at the same time, it's considered an affront equal to wearing a garment made of two different types of fabric (I'm not making that up, it's in Deuteronomy).



My point: The religious laws laid out in the bible were meant to govern an ancient civilization, far removed from our own. It's even implied that Jesus himself rejected many of those decrees that were ancient even by contemporary standards. So, should you choose to live by a system of Jewish law that was obsolete 2,000 years ago, you should be willing to go all or nothing- if you reject homosexuality, you better also ward off pork and cotton/polyester blends.  

[Insignificant Observer]

I was looking for this article! Thanks for posting.

There are no conclusive arguments in the New Testament against homosexuality that ARE NOT made by Paul, who is only a servant of God and who admits this himself. That's part of the reason I've always argued against condemning it to religious people.