Interesting Paragraph in Discover Magazine (June 2006)

[Boojatta]

Vox Populi
Sex, Lies, and Blood Sport
Gossip in the glory days of Rome was just like ours -- but written in stone

By Heather Pringle
Photography by Ferit Kuyas

Often, men boasted publicly about their amorous adventures. In bathhouses and other public buildings, they carved frank descriptions of their encounters, sometimes scrawling them near the very spot where the acts took place. The language is graphic and bawdy, and the messages brim with detail about Roman sexual attitudes and practices. Many authors, for example, name both themselves and their partners. In Rome, men who preferred other men instead of women felt no pressure to hide it.

Source:
Discover Magazine June 2006
Science, Technology, and The Future

[saltpoint]

Don't show this to Fred Phelps, Boojatta. You know how volatile he is!

[iamjoy]

1. And That's Why Rome Fell

or so the Pharisees will tell us.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. The Pharisees being American Christians, right? nt

[iamjoy]

3. Those Who Call Themselves Christian

but act in a most un-Christian manner.

The likes of Falwell, Robertson and their followers.

I realize that DU has some members who strongly believe Jesus is their personal savior. They are Christians and I do not wish to insult them by placing them in the same category (as Falwell, etc) or by bashing Christianity as a whole just because the most vocal people calling themselves Christians are bigots.

[NanceGreggs]

5. Did Jesus ever say one word about homosexuality?

According to the New Testament, he was out-and-about preaching for three years before his death. And according to some so-called Christians these days, homosexuality is one of the worst sins imaginable.

You'd think he would have had something to say on the topic, it being so important and all.

I guess the Old Testament God was equally remiss -- ten commandments, and not one of them about homosexuality. Couldn't he have handed down ELEVEN commandments, if it was that important? Or was there a limit on commandments in those days, and he dropped it in favour of honouring thy father and thy mother?

Just wonderin ...

[Boojatta]

7. Didn't Jesus say that he had not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill

it? The law of the Jews did not permit homosexual activities. However, I'm now wondering whether or not Hitler said anything about re-esablishing something like the "Holy" Roman Empire in Europe. If Hitler said something along those lines, then I'm wondering why he was so intolerant of homosexuals as to round them up, prevent them from escaping, and persecute them. Did Hitler have courts to determine who was and who was not actually practicing homosexual activities that were forbidden under the laws of the Third Reich?

Note: one argument that could be put forward in favor of same-sex marriage is that a same-sex couple that has an exclusive sexual relationship will do less spreading of sexually transmitted diseases than the many followers (of all sexual orientations) of the unwritten "thou shall be promiscuous" commandment.

[xchrom]

9. the law didn't permit eating shell fish or mixing fabris

either.

the ten commandments -- as we say we believe -- came directly from god.

the levitican laws are man's laws -- ethical they might be -- ridiculous in others.

one must always understand faith is mixture of metaphor and allegory -- not as fact as a rock is fact.

that makes the faith an idol. a dead thing.

[okasha]

10. If Jesus had condemned gays or same-sex relationships,

or the authors of the gospels had wished to portray him as doing so, he would not have healed the Roman Centurion's "beloved youth" or praised the gay man's faith as greater than any he had seen "no, not in Israel."

The connection you seem to be trying to make between Hitler and Jewish law escapes me.

[iamjoy]

8. Indirectly, Supposedly

Supposedly, Jesus rejected the civil and ceremonial laws of Judaism while supporting the ethical ones. He specifically referenced (as moral/ethical) the chapter of Leviticus (18) which condemned homosexuality. I wish I knew enough of the bible to find that quote.

I'm not saying I agree, I am just saying you have to know what the other side believes and why they do.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. I agree with you.

I'm no lover of Christianity, tho I think everyone should believe whatever they want. However, I think American Christianity is a (fascist) mess.

[rosesaylavee]

4. I thought it was the lead in their wine -

you know, lead butt. :)