Why Is Homosexuality Wrong

History Section #2

When looking at history, homosexuality extends back as far as records go. It is not something that simply “sprung up” as if it were a flower in a bare field in the last century or even the century before that. Homosexuality has been around since the beginning of recorded time. Cultures of the past took different views on homosexuality. Contrary to what some may believe, it was not seen as negative or something to be looked down upon by all previous civilizations. Along with this, Christianity was not the first to voice its criticism or take up the hatred of same-sex relations. In order to achieve, or to begin to achieve, an answer to this paper’s research question: “On what basis do Christians believe homosexuality is wrong?”

With a few exceptions, a reverse of what happened after 342 occurs. A mass decriminalization of Sodomy begins, where, in the 1700s and 1800s many places including Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, France, and more, decriminalize same-sex acts, sodomy. In 1836 an important event, the last execution by a government for the reason of homosexuality, transpires. This, in a sense, defines this third section on the history of homosexuality: a slow and gradual change towards acceptance marked with the ending of extreme laws and punishments. This century, the 1800s, had many more course-altering events. One relating to the word “homosexuality” itself. Contrary to what many may believe, the term “homosexuality” was not used until the late 19th century where a German law student publishes a pamphlet including it. The term did not become popular until the early 1900s. Along these lines, it is important to clarify that for the majority of Christian history, the word “homosexuality” was not used in the Bible. In fact, homosexuality first appeared in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible in 1946. This, however, does not mean that the Bible never mentioned same-sex acts, only that “homosexuality” had not existed to define these acts. This section and the next, “The Mass Legalization of Homosexual Marriage and Rights” do experience some overlap due to their similarity and