Christianity’s same sex marriages

This article from the 8/24/08 edition of the Colfax Record indicates that Christianity once had same-sex ceremonies akin to marriages:

Prof. John Boswell, the late Chairman of Yale University’s history department, discovered that in addition to heterosexual marriage ceremonies in ancient Christian church liturgical documents, there were also ceremonies called the "Office of Same-Sex Union" (10th and 11th century), and the "Order for Uniting Two Men" (11th and 12th century).

These church rites had all the symbols of a heterosexual marriage: the whole community gathered in a church, a blessing of the couple before the altar was conducted with their right hands joined, holy vows were exchanged, a priest officiated in the taking of the Eucharist and a wedding feast for the guests was celebrated afterwards. These elements all appear in contemporary illustrations of the holy union of the Byzantine Warrior-Emperor, Basil the First (867-886 CE) and his companion John.

Fascinating stuff. The article provides quite a bit of detail. This was the first I had heard of this. It does present a challenge to the claims of contemporary Christians who abhor homosexual marriage because the concept of marriage has "always" involved one man and one woman.

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The Bible and homosexuality: a vew from West Wing

Here's a not-so-subtle reference to "Dr. Laura" by West Wing.  I'm posting as my personal protest to the passing of Prop 8 in California. I suspect that all of those California Bible-thumpers who successfully voted in favor of bigotry are resting content tonight.   And no, you don't have to be…

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Sex-ed lite bill to be introduced in Utah

Under a bill to be introduced soon in Utah, sex education teachers would be criminally liable if they "deviate from state law governing sex education, which requires that it focus on physical and emotional development of adolescents, healthy relationships and the threat and prevention of diseases." The bill is being…

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Maybe he’s not actually “gay”

Senator Larry Craig’s defiant claim that he is “not gay” is an interesting one.  He didn’t say “I don’t hang around in public restrooms where men commonly have sex with men.”  He said he was not “gay.” 

Is it possible for a man to have sex with other men but not be “gay”?  I suspect that most people would claim that a man who has sex with other men is, by that very fact, “gay.” But is it that simple?

Scientist Alfred Kinsey argued that “heterosexuals” and “homosexuals” were both located on the same continuum running from “Exclusively heterosexual” to “Exclusively homosexual.”  This continuum is represented in Kinsey’s scale of sexual orientation.  He argued that society’s efforts to pigeonhole people into one type or the other was a political move.  It was possible, according to Kinsey, that a man (or a woman) might be predominantly heterosexual, but only incidentally homosexual.  Perhaps, this is what Senator Craig meant when he claimed that he was not “gay.”  Perhaps he was honestly (and desperately) claiming that he liked sex with women as a rule, though he did the public restroom gig with other men on the side.

Senator Craig obviously feels the pain of the “gay” label a lot more than he feels the pain of being caught in a restroom where men commonly have sex with other men.  Thus, his continued protests denying his alleged homosexuality.   But maybe he’s protesting the “gay” label for yet another reason.   Maybe he is honestly (and …

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