Saturday, July 20, 2013

The gospels, the Julian marriage and divorce acts, Christian divorce and homosexuality


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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