الأربعاء، 15 أغسطس 2012

The Sexuality of Jesus

The Sexuality of JesusBy Reverend Peter Murphy

The question of Jesus' sexuality is utterly ignored by Christians, who cannot accept the fact that the historical Jesus, if he existed, was a person with the same carnal needs as anyone else. Since we know nothing about the historical Jesus, we can examine the biblical Jesus to get some idea of his sexual preferences.
Last Supper

The book of John was written in Greek, by an unknown author who does not identify himself. In it he makes repeated reference to "a disciple whom Jesus loved ", and in John 13: 23 this disciple reclines on Jesus' breast. Some facts to consider, all historically valid.

1) In the Greek cultural context [for the Book of John is written in Greek, for a Greek reading audience, and incorporated Greek cultural ideas] homosexuality was not considered abhorrent. "A disciple whom the teacher loved" would be seen as a homosexual relationship between the student and the teacher.

2) In the Mediterranean world, people did not sit around tables on chairs to eat as they do now. They would recline around low tables on couches, or if poor, recline on mats and blankets around the food placed on a central mat.
Jesus loved Lazarus

3) Some indication that this is the practice in John 13: 23, is that the disciple reclines his head on Jesus' breast. That would be physically impossible is they were sitting on chairs; therefore, Jesus must have been reclining in order for this disciple to also be able to recline. In short, the disciple is physically lying on top of Jesus. Two men, or a man and a boy, both stretched out on a couch or blanket, with the one on top of the other. The way two homosexuals would have laid together.

4) Homosexuality existed throughout history, and with Hellenism and its influence in Judea was strong by the first century. To believe that homosexuality did not exist in Judea, would be on the same level as to believe that adultery and fornication did not exist.

As a side note, but one which deserves investigation, since whoever wrote the Book of Mark considered it important enough to record for posterity, is the story of the naked man following Jesus. It is possible, that this naked man was what the author of the Book of John referred to as "the disciple whom Jesus loved".

In Mark 14: 51-52, a young man, one of Jesus' followers, is running around scantly dressed, and then runs off in the nude to escape arrest, therefore he was among Jesus' companions. Now according to Mark chapter 14, Jesus keeps departing from his disciples to go off in the bushes repeatedly, supposedly to pray, but he may have been involved in more carnal activities; the possibility exists. We don't know from the sources what really was going on, but we do know that something was very peculiar between Jesus and young men.

So, is there evidence that Jesus was homosexual? Yes!
Is the evidence conclusive? No!
Does the evidence raise a reasonable doubt? Yes!

Peace,
Peter M.

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