Are the ancient law codes relevant to today’s discussion, either those that tolerated homosexual behavior or later codes that dealt harshly with homosexuals?
Are the ancient law codes relevant to today’s discussion, either those that tolerated homosexual behavior or later codes that dealt harshly with homosexuals? The Revisionist Answer The later Christian emperors used their influence to change the legal standing of homosexual behavior so that law came to restrict it. They did this out of a Christian bias and a misinterpretation of Scripture. These prejudiced laws should have no standing in today’s culture. The Biblical and Historical Answer Because proscription of homosexuality begins with regulations of Leviticus 18 and 20, calling for the death penalty, this dismissive attitude seems premature. Paul (1 Tim. 1:8–10) includes homosexuality in his list of immoralities that he believes society should proscribe. The Mishnah and targums, intertestamental literature , Philo and Josephus, and early Christian church fathers share this emphasis in any reference remotely dealing with the subject. Even the Greeks did not allow un