Kengor_Catholic_Ancient Greece_042213
The cultural tsunami that is gay marriage is crashing upon us. And make no mistake, this tsunami gains astonishing force every day, with a corresponding damage we can’t begin to imagine. The number of people swept along, especially young people, is breathtaking. Legalization and acceptance by the vast majority of Americans, let alone a small majority, seems rapidly upon us.
As the tsunami storms ahead, I’ve heard many gay-marriage opponents observe that our culture is going the way of ancient Greece.
But that may be only partly true, and, frankly, an insult to ancient Greek pagans. Consider a fascinating article by Robert Reilly at Catholic Exchange. Reilly writes:
“Though some ancient Greeks did write paeans to homosexual love, it did not occur to any of them to propose homosexual relationships as the basis for marriage in their societies. The only homosexual relationship that was accepted was between an adult male and a male adolescent.”
Of course, that in itself is wicked, though Americans will probably warm to that someday as well. Nonetheless, notes Reilly, this male-male relationship in ancient Greece was to be temporary, as the youth was expected to get married—that is, a heterosexual marriage—and start a family as soon as he reached maturity. Such was the cultural expectation.
Reilly says that the idea that someone was a “homosexual for life” or gay “as a permanent identity” would have struck the Greeks as extremely odd. Reilly says that there wasn’t even a word for “homosexuality” in Greece at the time (or in any other language until the late 19th century). He says that homosexual relationships between mature male adults were not accepted by Greek culture.
What does this mean? Well, it means that modern Americans are relentlessly pursuing a level of depravity far surpassing even the ancient Greeks. Think about that.
As Catholic Christians, we’re supposed to have hope. But it’s hard to have hope for a culture and country quickly descending to cultural hell in a hand-basket. I’m increasingly realizing every day that my only hope can be in Christ and His Church.
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