We note that in the Julian Marriage
Laws, homosexuality is not prohibited.
Non-consensual relations with a free male is prohibited.
Therefore the interpretation of Lev
18:33 and 20:13 which was revised to prohibit homosexuality was not in response
to Greco-Roman praxis which was perceived as “abominable” because such praxis
was not considered abominable.
The interpretation of Lev 18:22 and
20:13 was revised as an intensifier to the Julian Marriage laws: the Julian marriage laws were enacted to
ensure the growth of the Roman population and specifically the growth of the
elite classes within the Roman Empire.
The purpose of the revision of the interpretation of Lev 18:22 and
20:13 was to ensure the proliferation of
the newly-developed cuilt via population growth.
We also note that the Julian laws
do not prohibit divorce, but there are penalties for failing to remarry.
This would suggest that the parts
of the gospels that address divorce are not aimed at Judean law (even thought
the text references “Moses” for the purpose of attaching the narrative to
Judean socialization), rather they are aimed at Roman law, with the intent of
strengthening it, rather than with the intent of abolishing it.
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