Was Jesus Gay?
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Who is the "Beloved Disciple?" I think that Jesus was gay. I have said this for at least a decade. The one who sat next to him at every meal, the one who touched him in certain places… Pederasty was normal then. How does this affect your opinion of what Christianity may have meant to be? What if it is finally revealed that Jesus was in fact a homosexual? Is there enough evidence? Why did he never speak against homosexuality? What does that mean about our place in society as gay men if it is True? Do you think it's nonsense? Discuss.
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How does this affect your opinion of what Christianity may have meant to be?
Christianity is just one of many competing ideologies, wouldn't really mean that much to me.
@mhorndisk:What if it is finally revealed that Jesus was in fact a homosexual? Is there enough evidence?
That'd be hilarious! No idea regarding evidences.
@mhorndisk:Why did he never speak against homosexuality?
Considering how the bible isn't really that accurate/reliable of a source concerning history, unless there is another supposed record of Christ's escapades, who knows?
@mhorndisk:What does that mean about our place in society as gay men if it is True?
Too many variables. I'm not smart enough to answer.
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I think the general consensus is that the Beloved Disciple was John the Apostle. While there isn't a whole lot to support the theory, as of yet, there is limited scholarship exploring or proposing your thesis. I haven't read much of it, but it is an interesting query, along similar lines as the Old Testament figures David and Jonathan being in a relationship, as well as Ruth and Naomi (for the lesbians). I have even heard the proposal of the Apostle Paul being gay (and that the "thorn in his flesh" may have been his struggle with homosexuality, though that would be for an anti-gay argument).
If there ever were stronger evidence to support the notion that Jesus was gay, I am not sure exactly how that would change the traditional religious positions, but ti would certainly be a boon to the progressive and affirming side of Christianity. What little there is on the subject already is being used to provide some affirmation to those people of faith who also identify as LGBTQ. Even without it, queer theology tends to focus more on the "love" aspect of the gospels.
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Who is the "Beloved Disciple?" I think that Jesus was gay. I Do you think it's nonsense? Discuss.
Yup. It's nonsense.
First, to use a modern concept like "gay" to refer to the historical past is inaccurate. There was no such thing as "gay" in biblical times. There was homosexual behaviour but there was also a lot more bestiality than now, so much so that there was a lot of art depicting it and prohibitions against it.
Men and women were expected to marry; sex was an invitation to pregnancy. In many communities, homosexual sex was connected to pagan rituals, not the monotheism practices/traditions in Judaism (Christianity hadn't taken off yet) or Zoroastrianism. There were same-sex relationships, to be sure. To what degree in biblical times depended on what tribe you belonged to and from what I've read most of that evidence has been destroyed. We know the Roman's sometimes had male lovers but I don't know of any "gay" Romans. They did their duty and fathered children.
So was Jesus gay? No. Did Jesus have gay sex? He might have but considering that he was a zealot that saw himself as the messiah I'm going to take a guess that he was more inclined to follow the religious rules and see lust as the work of the devil (the "adversary").
