The Christian Tradition - Essay Example

The Christian Tradition Theology can be best described as a branch or area of study, which analyses the attributes and characteristics of God and the relationship with the universe. Theology is practiced in such a way that religious leaders look at the word of God from an academic angle and try to apply what is learned in class to the real life situation. Religious beliefs have been always confronting each other and trying to show their supremacy and answer the question of who are the true believers. Religions are varied ranging from Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism among others. For this case, I will deal with Christianity. Christianity is a kind of religion, whose teachings and values are based on the life and mission of Jesus Christ. Believers view God as their Supreme Being. The Christians advocate for some values and morals in society and at the same time preach against others. Some of the current issues being widely discussed and are against the will of Christians are: abortion, same sex marriage, death sentence, among others. In this context, the paper will examine the issue of same sex marriage (Badgett, 56). Same sex marriage is sometimes called gay marriage and this does not single out women. It entails both men and women. According to the bible in Proverbs 5:18-19, this is how marriage is seen, ’so be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married -   pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love’. It means that a man and a woman were created for each other not for the other fellow man or woman. Gay marriages started a long time ago in some parts of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. This is from the evidence gathered for a long period of time from Egyptian artifacts, which do not only show the existence of same sex marriage, but also the finding of pharaonic tomb for a couple of that kind shows that the marriage was legal under the kingdom’s rules and regulations. In Mesopotamia, documents exist that depict a range of marital performances. It is in fact noted that these were highly condemned by the Israelites when they were leaving Egypt for Canaan. The same sex marriage idea spread to other places of the western world. Its history describes that the societal status made aged or older people to behave as mentors to the young males who had not even attained the adult age. This relationship consisted of courtship and thus a faith that it was a symbol of masculinity (Newton, 19). In Leviticus chapters 18 and 20, there is a distinct description of punishment for the gay marriage partners. This does not however affect the homosexuals only but also there is a denunciation of incest, ritual offering of children as sacrifice and adulterous women. Christians always ask themselves what drives these right-minded individuals to indulge in such acts of disobedience to the holy book; the Bible. Eventually, the inspiration of a Christian focus on the proliferation as major to marriage became apparent in Classical law during the late empire. During those days, sexuality and not just homosexuality was supposed to be for giving rise to children. The excessive involvement in sexual activities both within and outside the limits of marriage was prohibited by almost all religions including Christians, Muslims and in the Judaism religion with the most condemnation being driven towards homosexuality (Jason, Adriana & Shawn, 89). With time, the Eastern religions had views on homosexuality, different with their counterparts from the West. For instance, the Hindu tradition’s restriction was not stiff on homosexuality, instead they viewed it as a pervasion. In their early traditions, they considered mixed race marriages and affairs as belligerent. Up to today, the Buddhism religion of japan tolerates highly the same sex marriage and admires it for its mystery. Due to this, there are no any kinds of limitations or sanctions imposed towards the homosexuals in japan despite the fact that there are no legal unions recognized for gays. This has made sexuality remain a private affair. As for the Buddhists in Asia, especially India, Tibet and China, their views for homosexuality are neutral. In India for example, romantic love between same-sex marriage couples is unopposed to the national rule. The Hindu custom provides for some freedom for commendable and dedicated same-sex unions within societies. The Hindu national government does not provide the same privileges to the gays as the ones experienced by those of the western world. This is why the same sex partners are not free to marry in India (Newton, 90). Confucianism is a philosophical system that emerged from the guidance and teachings of Confucius, who was a philosopher from China. His ethical teachings were mainly sociology and politics but it is sometimes regarded as religion. Confucianism therefore emphasized the significance of the presence of lineage and family. It however did not punish homosexuality as strongly as it did to adultery. There were sometimes when there occurred same-sex agreements or bonds for women and men. There are some researchers who have discovered a possibility of the presence of institutionalized men-men sex and possible unions in stories. This has however not been covered by the traditional sources of China (Jason, Adriana & Shawn, 103). The process of colonization of the world as was done by the Europeans tends to shed light into homosexuality. This is because of their interaction with varied cultures of the world. The best instance of transgendered unions occurred when the Europeans encountered with the traditional people of North and South America. The same incident was also encountered in African cultures where same-sex marriages included an arrangement called “female husbands”. These female husbands were often infertile and presumed cultural functions of men inclusive of seeking damages if their wives were having affairs outside their marriage without their consent. The emergence and rise of the church in Europe was heavily disadvantageous to the same sex unions. These unions enjoyed sovereignty during the early Middle Ages. The church looked tolerant of them and provided for their remembrance of the acquaintance brotherhood. They looked to be precarious of non-procreative unions. The first ever laws against sodomy came into use in the 13th Century. From there onwards especially in the West, all kinds of unnatural or abnormal sexual behavior began to be fated. This made people to begin to realize that same sex marriages were a serious threat to them. This changed the mere belief that it was just unnatural. They therefore started receiving the same treatment as witches, Jews and heretics. In addition in the 19th Century, the idea of heterosexuality became to be taken as the normal sexual positioning. If there existed any norms, they were taken as diseases, which if they were not cured, they were to be bottled-up. This led to the barring of gay marriages in the whole West. It is during the Nazi rule that the peak of discernment was achieved against the gays and was therefore classified as a lesser race (Badgett, 13). There was this research that was carried out and it was done in around 150 societies around the world. It was realized that more than two thirds largely accepted gay marriages and that the difference between heterosexuality and homosexuality was narrow. Most of those who were studied showed that they were in agreement with homosexuality and heterosexuality. The term “gay” has had a great deal of debating currently especially in the American arena. It has therefore gained a very significant importance as it now demotes gay affairs to a second class, strange rank (Neill, 38). In terms of allowing same-sex marriages and associations, Denmark became the first republic in the world to allow such. This was way back in 1989 when calls for stoppage of gay associations had heated up. This led to the coining of the term ‘registered partnerships’. Netherlands on the other hand gave equal status to same-sex marriages. By the year 2005, Germany followed by Canada, France, and Spain followed suit to fluctuating grades of acknowledgement. Studies further reveal that those who became openly gay in the 60s and 70s presented firmness and permanence amongst the same sex nuptials. During that period, these associations were fatally bound by social bias, economic discrimination among other hurdles hurled on their way. In a country like the United States of America, various dinterpretations of the constitution have greatly supported the gay community. This is mainly due to the provisions by the constitution on the right to privacy and equal protection, thus meaning that marital discrimination is unlawful (Neill, 90). Conclusion From my point of view, religion especially the Christianity must be right on whether gay marriages are right. The holy book of Christians the bible has verses which are very clear about same sex marriages. This means that a man was created to be accompanied by a woman as husband and wife. I therefore want to join the ongoing debate on the validity of homosexuality. I want to commend the Republic of Uganda under the leadership of their President Yoweri K Museveni for their condemnation of the act and passing a bill that seeks to punish those involved. This is also against God’s will and going against his wish of reproduce and fill the earth. To sum up, the idea of gay marriages and homosexuals has come a long way and therefore might take a long time to eradicate it. It has now become a global problem affecting all religions ranging from the Buddhists of Japan, the Muslims of Iran, the Christians of the Americas and as far down as East Africa. It will require the intervention of religion to end this vice. Work Cited Badgett, M. V. Lee. When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. NYU Press, 2009. Jason Pierceson, Adriana Piatti-Crocker, Shawn Schulenberg. Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America: Promise and Resistance. Lexington Books, 2012. Neill, James. The Origins and Role of Same-Sex Relations in Human Societies. McFarland, 2008. Newton, David E. Same-sex Marriage: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Read More