The Orthodox Church’s role Rsia’s anti-gay laws | Natnal Catholic Reporter

Contents:

• THE ORTHODOX CHURCH’S ROLE RSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS
• WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY
• RSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH LEAR BLAM INVASN ON UKRAE'S 'GAY PRI'

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH’S ROLE RSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS

Over the past 45 years, our society has unrgone a revolutn – there is really no other way to scribe – the prevailg cultural attus towards homosexualy and var related ‘alternative’ sexuali, an entire range of behavrs now llectively referred to by the acronym LGBTQ – Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer (this last term beg a tch-all for inti and behavrs that do not f to any of the precedg tegori). Young people are growg up an environment where sual acceptance of homosexualy and bisexualy is creasgly seen as the norm, and where dissenters om the new orthodoxy are regard wh ntempt, not only as ignorant and unenlightened, but as posively evil.

WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY

As we will necsarily discs the blogy and soclogy of homosexualy, we will first ask, advance, the pardon of any who are ma unfortable by hearg medil – pecially, anatomil – termology, which will figure certa sectns.

The mpaigns of homosexual activists over the last 40 years have largely succeed stutnalizg this new unrstandg, and have created an all-embracg belief system that is aggrsively fend agast ntradictn or skepticism om any quarter. Therefore, the proper role of psychiatry and psychology (and supportg social anizatns) for those who are dissatisfied wh their same-sex attractn is not to help them change – even if they wish to – but to help them to bee fortable wh their homosexualy. Wh rpect to the specific behavr unr nsiratn, one ethnographic study found that 21% of the historil and ntemporary cultur surveyed accepted or ignored homosexualy, 12% had no ncept for , 26% disuraged but did not punish , and 41% strongly disapproved of and punished .

The Gre-Roman world serv more of our attentn, both bee is often ced approvgly by ntemporary homosexual activists, and more importantly, bee was to this environment that Christiany first emerged.

RSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH LEAR BLAM INVASN ON UKRAE'S 'GAY PRI'

By ntrast, homosexual relatnships between adult men were nsired appropriate, pecially for the ‘passive’ partner, and were often an object of sult and mockery by ic wrers. The Greek archaic perd poets, Sappho of Lbos (7-6th centuri BC), wrote much that is homoerotic character, and the procs gave our ntemporary terms Sapphic and Lbian. In the Roman army, strikg ntrast to Greek – and now ntemporary Wtern – views, homosexual nduct between soldiers was severely punished as a ser breach of ary disciple.

Islamic cultur, although sharg the proscriptns agast homosexualy of other Abrahamic religns, have as a matter of practice taken the view that perative terurse is not effemate, and that only the passive partner is ‘homosexual. Do not be ceived: neher the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexualy, nor thiev, nor the greedy, nor dnkards, nor revilers, nor swdlers will her the kgdom of God. Send, that the act of anal sodomy is regard as a much greater fall than certa other homosexual behavrs; and third, that even anal sodomy is grouped wh a number of other sexual ss, such as adultery.

It is clear om the nons and wrgs of the Fathers, that homosexual fornitn, at least the ntext of anal sodomy, is regard as more ser than heterosexual fornitn, jt as adultery is so regard.