Christian church performed same-sex marriages almost 2,000 years ago

A book by historian John Boswell around the origins of equal marriage is being released in digital edition for the first time in August, and discusses that almost 2,000 years ago, the Christian church performed same-sex weddings.

The book Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, looks at the origins of same-sex unions before the modern era. It was originally published in 1994.

Annalee Newitz profiles Bosewell, who is a Yale scholar and religious Catholic on his work.

Newitz reflects on Boswell’s work on the early Christian church, saying: “There were dozens of records of church ceremonies where two men were joined in unions that used the same rituals as heterosexual marriages. (He found almost no records of lesbian unions, which is probably an artefact of a culture which kept more records about the lives of men generally.)”

Boswell argues that the church in the 13th century redefined marriage “to be for the purpose of procreation”, and worked hard to cover up any trace of same-sex unions.

He also notes that there is no evidence of unions between women, and that all of the historical unions were between men.

The same-sex unions, Newitz notes, do not necessarily fit the modern definition of marriage today because of taboos around homosexuality which are a construction of modern society.

Boswell noted many cases of two people of the same-sex getting married which were consecrated by the Christian Church.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/07/30/christian-church-performed-same-sex-marriages-almost-2000-years-ago/

Gasp!  

It's ages since i read a book and this one appeals!

That is amazing! I wonder how the bigots will try to twist this revelation (pun intended)?

Probably a load of old crap but i wonder if there are lots of bi-sexual people on the Earth and homosexuality was discouraged for that very purpose to promote procreation when the death rate was much higher and people died at a younger age and over recent decades after the second world war we have become over populated so it made sense to decriminalize homosexuality and not to frown on it any more and it also made more financial sense to recognize gay unions for tax purposes etc?

Ben_Reilly wrote:That is amazing! I wonder how the bigots will try to twist this revelation (pun intended)?

I blame the Romans and the Greeks myself! Some of their pottery wouldn't get past out laws these days!

 

...You would have to put them in a bag before they could be sold!

hate to point out but 2000 years ago Christianity was a 2 bit religion regularly persecuted , the only organised group was the Coptic's and they based a lot of ceremony on the old Cult of Osiris (pretty much the whole resurrection thing is Osiris) being based in Egypt

i wonder if there are lots of bi-sexual people on the Earth and homosexuality was discouraged for that very purpose to promote procreation when the death rate was much higher and people died at a younger age

I wouldn't be surprised if that was exactly it. For another example, there are all sorts of proscriptions against stupid things in the Old Testament, like eating shellfish for example. Presumably before we knew about things like bacteria and had technology to freeze stuff or cook to precise temperatures, shellfish were far more deadly -- so it became necessary for "God" to ban them in order to promote the growth of the human race.

Hard to imagine now, but ... this:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/10/22/163397584/how-human-beings-almost-vanished-from-earth-in-70-000-b-c

I think people we not that dumb but Have always been full of hate and greed.

I think the Tribe next over the next hill was sexually open so the tribe (Romans, probably) mocked and dehumanised them so the general pppulance of the Tribe found it morally acceptable to go over the next hill and kill the the Immoral sinners and take their stuff.