The Problem of "Pride"

Christian Reasons for Rejecting a Culture of Open Homosexuality

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

Introduction 

While the Apostle Paul clearly states that homosexuality is the result of forgetting God within a culture of sensual debauchery (Romans 1:18-27), and also says that those given over to these passions “will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Galatians 5:19-21), it has become incredibly popular within Mainline Churches and the greater culture at large, to affirm "marriage equality" and "gay rights" through an analogy with anti-racist and anti-misogynist political positions. To disagree with this popular position is to be branded an evil and reprehensible bigot and heretic. How do we, then, as a Church and Jurisdiction, maintain Holy Tradition's teachings about homosexuality, stand against gay marriage and the affirmation of same-sex attraction as a fundamental aspect of human identity, while affirming human dignity, the rights of human free will to inflict self-harm, and also not expecting homosexual or unnatural sexual interaction to cease? How do we pastorally deal with the needs of those experiencing these attractions, without scandal or unnecessary judgment, and prohibit the unhealthy self-hatred and "inversion" that occurs within traditional societies in which homosexuality is seen as an "unmentionable sin?" We may do so by a realistic understanding of human nature, history and culture, which would see homosexuality and pedophelia as naturally occurring aberrations and a detriment to civilizational thriving, but which are symptomatic of broken relationships, stunted growth, atypical psychological associations made during psychosexual development, or abuse inflicted by broken individuals upon helpless children during vital stages of psychosexual formation. 

One can also arrive at these perspective, not just from the Christian moral teachings about the correct and incorrect uses of sexuality and the participation of each human in the “Image of God,” but also from an Evolutionary, Marxist, Stoic, or Secular Humanist perspective. Man’s fallen nature spawning unhealthy and unfruitful lifestyles, although explained clearly in Christian Scripture, is still a self-evident truth to all philosophical, political or cultural systems unencumbered by the blindness of radical sexual ideology. 

Ancient Roman Precedents

Ancient Rome had strict rules regulating male homosexuality, so as not to feminize its population and be overtaken by more aggressive, masculine, militaristic cultures. Masturbation was considered a vice of youth and discouraged by educators, although relatively harmless, but the submissive male homosexual role was a crime officially punishable by death. Submitting to the will of another man and being "made a woman" was one of the primary offenses of barbarian peoples, worthy of notice by Julius Caesar in his "Gallic Wars." Much was made in the Roman annals and histories of the fall of the Greeks, which was seen largely as the cessation of the “active male” and the propensity for pederasty (exclusively male pedophilia), which was tightly bound to the acceptance of the homosexual identity and practice in the minds of the Roman political and philosophical class. While the ruins of Pompeii show us the degree of sexual promiscuity of the Late Roman Empire, it is interesting to see that the Caesar who most persecuted Christians, Diocletian, was also responsible for “cleaning up” the Roman sexually permissive culture, and was later credited by such luminaries as St. Augustine for “allowing the Roman civitas to continue, resisting the degenerations of the Greeks.” It was clear to the stoic and self-disciplined Romans that sexual license and obsession led to weakness, which, in turn, led to subjugation and slavery. 

Marxist and Socialist Practice

Marxist countries have also rightly surmised that homosexual acts weaken the social structure and create a chaos resulting in conquest from the outside. It is extremely telling that the Soviet Union encouraged the subculture of “Sex, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll” through various means in capitalist countries that they were attempting to undermine, but held strict, puritanical laws of social and moral conduct for themselves. As the famous quote by a captured Soviet operative stated, “It is easy to make people obey when they are guilty, addicted and looking for more.” Homosexuality was punishable by death under both Stalin and Mao, Leftist heroes that demonstrate little of the permissive attitude that the current Left advocates for in the West.

Western Common Law and the Enlightenment

The reality of moral censure and opposition is reflected in the general legal attitude at the time of the Enlightenment, during the founding of the Common Law Tradition, which used social punishments for homosexual behavior, adultery, forms of lewd public fornication and masturbation in the military or in educational settings, which were all considered “prurience” and “spiritual degradations.” During the Byzantine formation of the "Codex Justinianus," the root of Western Law as it developed in England and on the Continent after the Protestant Reformation, sexual vices were expected of young people and only met with light discipline. The Canons of St. John the Faster recommends disqualification from priesthood only in the case of those "who have had their vessel corrupted" by submitting to the passive role within a homosexual relationship. Homosexuality in teenagers and young men was dealt with relatively light sentences of imposed fasting and excommunication from 40 to 80 days, depending upon the situation. Only homosexual rape, perpetrated by the stronger on the weaker, was traditionally met with the recommendation of a death penalty - the same as heterosexual rape. As the Justinian Code was incorporated into the Enlightenment Legal Tradition, the same attitude of general permissiveness remained, but focused more on personal behaviors that had, up to this point, not factored much into legal thinking. These practices elicited various forms of corporal punishment, demotions, public shaming, and ostracism from the community. These sexual practices were understood to be the root of discontent and maleficence and the most common ways through which men in social settings could be distracted, tempted to emulation, and easily dissolve into rebellion, mutiny, degraded morale and social chaos. Thus, a strict disciplinary reaction was the only thing believed to be able to keep the natural, courser, sexual elements of human behavior bridled and in the service of the society, rather than society being ripped apart by the caprices of unending and insatiable human lust. 

Biological Considerations

A bias against cultural acceptance of homosexual behavior is also the clear biological precedent, seen in the proliferation of disease, mental illness, suicide and general unhappiness. Homosexual behavior is documented in some forms of animal life, normally due to an animal population’s disproportionate sex ratio, or the simple mistake of some rather unintelligent bird species. Biologists have done much to try to prove contemporary culturally values of homosexual love and “marriage” through these studies, oftentimes  led by gay scientists and funded by gay political organization. The biological facts, however, are significant – homosexual pairing on the part of an animal population brings no adaption benefits, other than the extinction of the generation of animals that undertake it. For a society, which must propagate transfer its values and systems to another generation, such a biological reality must prove that the normalization of homosexual behavior goes contrary to the core, operative principles at work in a state’s self-interest.

The rainbow is an icon of God’s covenant with Noah. It is not a symbol of “pride” or a fallen human “identity.” Instead, it presents God’s infinite love and mercy to us sinners, who weak and imperfect as we are, can find forgiveness with our loving Father in heaven if we will but confess and forsake our sins. As St. Isaac the Syrian so powerfully says - “This life was given to you for repentance, do not waste it in vain pursuits.” Every time we see a rainbow, let us repent and ask God to have mercy!

A Balanced Moral and Legal Opinion

A society may realize the equality of all humanity, may practice humane restraint in disciplining and therapeutically treating those involved in aberrant acts, and even allow for free human interactions without Church or State intervention officially supporting, propagating, normalizing or otherwise lending validity to unwise, mentally unstable, biologically unsuitable or culturally confused behavior. To do so would be a betrayal of the principles underlying all authority, be they Secular, Socialist, Democratic, Republican or Theocratic, which assumes the connection between law and the “greater good” of continued existence and mutual flourishing. 

One can fully embrace the common humanity, the moral imperatives of freedom and equality, and the biological and cultural responsibilities of those suffering from homosexual attraction and the resulting consequences of homosexual activity, without supporting its moral, biological, societal or religious “rightness.” Strict, informed, logical compassion is the only antidote to a social disease, that, once takes root is, as Julius Caesar says, “the scourge of the youth and the evil of the old.” It is imperative that men and women in places of authority return to the tradition of good governance and logically-informed, biblical laws, modeled in the Church's Canon Law and the Western Common Law Tradition, and place boundaries and barriers upon the open practice of homosexual sex and identity. The more that it is allowed to be performed, praised and held as a standard of human liberty and moral equity, the more young people will gravitate to it as a valid “lifestyle” option, spreading it unnecessarily within the culture, and further weakening the institutions of family, church, government, the military and education. When this happens, the Ancient Roman Stoic fear of being overtaken and enslaved will be an unfortunate reality. 

Bibliography

1) Augustine of Hippo, “On Marriage and Virginity,” translated by John E. Rotello, New City Press, 2005

2) Blackstone, Sir William (Knight), “Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books,” Clark, New Jersey: The Law Book Exchange Press, 2011

3) Caesar, Julius, "Commentarii de Bello Gallico: On the Gallic Wars", English translation by W. A. MacDevitt and W. S. Bohn , 1869

4) Eidsmoe, John, “Historical and Theological Foundations of Law,” Volumes I-III, Powder Springs, Georgia: American Vision Press/Tolle Lege Press, 2012

5) National Geographic Documentary, “Pompeii: New Secrets From a Dead City,” 2016

6) Thompson, Chad W., “Loving Homosexuals As Jesus Would: A Fresh Christian Approach,” Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2004

7) Two stories about Soviet spies undermining US law and order through subversive lifestyles, http://www.tbo.com/news/crime/tale-of-1980s-spy-ring-broken-in-tampa-getting-attention-20150502/, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fbi-agent-arrests-traitor-minutes-doomsday-article-1.3059261