by Jordan Redman Staff Wrer Do you know what the word gay really means? The word gay dat back to the 12th century and om the Old French “gai,” meang “full of joy or mirth.” It may also relate to the Old High German “gahi,” meang impulsive.
Contents:
- A GAY SUBCULTURE THE 12TH CENTURY?
- THE HISTORY OF THE WORD “GAY”
- JOHN E. BOSWELL, 47, HISTORIAN OF MEDIEVAL GAY CULTURE, DI
A GAY SUBCULTURE THE 12TH CENTURY?
This sectn of Boswell's work pots up some of the stctural flaws of his study, my opn. "Stctural flaws" do not necsarily mean "rrect data and evince" but rather that the large-sle nclns are shaped by the ways which that evince is terpreted. And his qut to fd evince for the existence of a postive gay subculture, there are tim * 12th century gay *
Pope Francis has spoken openly about homosexualy. In a recent terview, the pope said that homosexual tennci “are not a s. “If someone is gay and he search for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?
However, the pope has also disuraged homosexual men om enterg the prithood. He tegorilly stated another terview that for one wh homosexual tennci, the “mistry or the nsecrated life is not his place.
Many gay prits, when terviewed by The New York Tim, characterized themselv as beg a “ge” as a rult of the church’s polici on homosexualy.
THE HISTORY OF THE WORD “GAY”
As a scholar specializg the history of the Catholic Church and genr studi, I n attt that 1, 000 years ago, gay prits were not so rtricted. In earlier centuri, the Catholic Church paid ltle attentn to homosexual activy among prits or laypeople. The Bible plac as ltle emphasis on same-sex acts as the early church did, even though many Christians may have been tght that the Bible clearly prohibs homosexualy.
02% – are sometim terpreted as prohibg homosexual acts.
Even wh those, apparent referenc to same-sex relatns were not origally wrten or unrstood as tegorilly dictg homosexual acts, as morn tim. Christians before the late 19th century had no ncept of gay or straight inty. They have unvered how siar mistranslatns, misntextualizatns, and misterpretatns have altered the meangs of the ancient scriptur to legimate morn social prejudic agast homosexualy.
JOHN E. BOSWELL, 47, HISTORIAN OF MEDIEVAL GAY CULTURE, DI
For example, stead of labelg all homosexual acts as sful the ey of God, ancient Christians were ncerned about excs of behavr that might separate believers om God.
He uld not have been liverg a blanket nmnatn of homosexualy or homosexuals bee the ncepts would not exist for 1, 800 more years. Gay sex, as such, ually went unpunished.
Early church lears didn’t seem overly ncerned about punishg those who engaged homosexual practice. I have found that there is a remarkable silence about homosexual acts, both theologi and church laws for over 1, 000 years, before the late 12th century.