Why has Christianity (or at least the Cathoulic Church) always been
against homosexuality?

I guess because it wants to encourage its flock to go forth and multiply ...

It also used to be against contraception (and maybe it still is).

Because sex is regarded as one kind of guilties in the basic tenets of Christianity

Because God himself is 'against' it. He gave us the Bible as a guide
to morality. When we ignore His teachings, via Jesus, we have to pay
the price. In ancient times, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were
destroyed because of the practice. Not violence, or murder, but
homosexuality.
(Genesis 18:20) Consequently Jehovah said: ?The cry of complaint about
Sod?om and Go·mor?rah, yes, it is loud, and their sin, yes, it is very
heavy.
(Genesis 19:4-5) Before they could lie down, the men of the city, the
men of Sod?om, surrounded the house, from boy to old man, all the
people in one mob. 5 And they kept calling out to Lot and saying to
him: ?Where are the men who came in to you tonight? Bring them out to
us that we may have intercourse with them.?
(Genesis 19:23-25) The sun had gone forth over the land when Lot
arrived at Zo?ar. 24 Then Jehovah made it rain sulphur and fire from
Jehovah, from the heavens, upon Sod?om and upon Go·mor?rah. 25 So he
went ahead overthrowing these cities, even the entire District and all
the inhabitants of the cities and the plants of the ground.

The warning is there for all Christians, not just Catholics.

Very enlightening, pugwashjw65-ga, as always!

Would you also care to comment on my comment about contraception?

Was that also proscribed?

And why is/was it only proscribed by certain denominations?

My Best Wishes

Bryan

Read Leviticus, Old Testament.
Moses' laws  - besides banning all levels of incest one can imagine -
also condemn to death persons who commit homosexual acts.  They also
prohibit cross-dressing.

Since prohibitory laws are seldom made without the existence of what
is prohibited, either these things were going on, or were in Egypt and
among the non-Isrealites.

I take a different take. 

As many Christians, I take what Jesus says over anything the Old
Testament says. The Old Testament says, "An eye for an eye." The New
Testament says, "Love your neighbor as you do yourself."

There are two passages in the Bible which concern homosexuality. One,
Sodom and Gomorrah, says that that city was destroyed because of the
men's actions who lived there. However, I believe that just because
these men happened to be committing acts that God did not like, did
not mean that they were necessarily just because the men were gay.
Just as with most people who have sex outside marriage, these men were
having sexual acts that were not within marriage. That is one possible
explanation. There are many other "terrible abomination"-style acts
that they could have been committing, also. Some Biblical scholars
have taken this to mean that the people were having sex in the temple
or other things such as that. In addition, as you can see from the
quote that pugwash cited above, these men were promiscuous at a high
level and willing to have sex with anyone. They are NOT the same as a
gay person who chooses a "life partner" and stays with that person for
life. (There are many straight people out there who are also quite
promiscuous, but that is more acceptable to people for some reason,
just because they're straight.) So, God is against people who would
have sex with just anyone for any reason. That is more reasonable than
being completely against all gays.

The Leviticus line is also within some other rules that tell women to
never cut their hair, not eat certain kinds of foods (why Jews keep
kosher) and do certain things as far as hygiene goes. These things,
except homosexuality, seem very minor to us today and most non-
orthodox Jews don't do any of them. But, in those days, breaking these
laws carried the death penalty. Just the same as at some point, one
woman said, "You know, I really don't think God would mind if I cut my
hair. It just makes more sense than never cutting it in my whole
life," the same decision could now be made about homosexuality.

I don't think that it can be a sin to BE gay-- there have been many
studies which have proven that gay people are gay from birth and can't
help it. If you believe in God, then, you must see that God has
created gay people, just the same as anyone else. Here is an article
about one study:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5120004.stm

People who rail against homosexuality in such negative ways need to
look at their own lives and not "judge others, lest ye be judged."



Probono is right about churches, from the beginning, probably hyping
this "against homosexuality" factor in order to gain more followers,
just the same as the Catholic Church being against contraception.

Personally, I also find it supremely interesting that the Catholic
Church is against gay legal marriage, or civil unions, all of which
would be conducted by a judge, when it doesn't even recognize
marriages between two straight individuals held outside of the
Catholic Church! Why should it care, then, about any kind of marriage
besides what it conducts?

On a more philosophical viewpoint, there is always an "other" in
society. Hitler made the Jews scapegoats for all of Germany's problems
and the Germans mostly believed him; the Egyptians made the Israelites
into slaves; Jesus was even crucified!  You get the picture. People
are always against something that is different from them. To someone
who is not gay, it could seem perfectly natural to be against gay
people, just the same as someone who is white could think it was
perfectly natural to be racist against blacks. In fact, in the 1960s,
many evangelical religious leaders (who I usually consider to be
separate from mainstream religion) were racist and used the Bible to
back them up. When I read the Bible I see things like "love your
neighbor," but some people can see "hate everyone except yourself" and
condemn anyone who doesn't fit their conformities. Quite unfortunate,
and a sad aspect of religion.

The question is about why Christianity (or at least the Catholic
Church) is against homosexuality, not about whether we agree with this
or whether we think it is logical.
For about 1950 of the 2000 years of Christianity (more exact dates
don't matter), there is no question that homosexuality was something
Christian churches and societies and the laws in predominantly
Christian  - and also Muslim -  countries have been strongly opposed
to.  The question is why.

The Bible is the source for Christianity's understanding of what it
believes, of  its tenets.  Pugwash has pointed to the story of Lot and
Sodom and Gomorrah, which is only about Jehovah's attitude towards
homosexuality and sodomy  - fire and brimstone on their heads!  The
laws in Leviticus codify this attitude in man-made law, elevated to
God-given law by appearing in the Bible.  Until the twentieth century
this was both church and civil law.

For the question, it is immaterial whether we think this is right or
wrong, or the fact that some branches of Christianity have now changed
their attitude.

Keystroke --

While I've followed many of your comments and answers with great
interest, I beg to differ with you on this one. You said "There are
two passages in the Bible which concern homosexuality". If you are
saying "There are ONLY two passages...", well, that just not an
accurate statement at all.

On the other hand, you implied that most modern Christians take what
is offered in the New Testament over what is offered in the Old
Testament. While it's true that many people would agree, your own
mention of this fact serves to dispute the theories you presented.
Assuming one subscribes to the Bible as truth he must consider two
Biblical facts:

1) The Apostle Paul was visited by Jesus Christ Himself and was
directed what to do throughout his life. He was given the knowledge of
what to say by the Holy Spirit and virtually every word that came from
Paul's mouth is widely

2) Paul said this in his letter to the church at Rome (Chapter 1
beginning in verse 22):

Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and
creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the
lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between
themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and
served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for
even their women did change the natural use into that which is against
nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working
that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of
their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things
which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,
deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in
them that do them.

So you see my friend there ARE more than two places in the Bible where
homosexuality is expressly forbidden. SPEAKING FROM A NON-RELIGIOUS
VIEWPOINT AND SOLEY AS A RESEARCHER OF FACTS it is true that some
Christian practitioners claim that their interpretation is that it is
not a sin to BE gay, only to act upon it. Others (more in line with
the official Catholic view) maintain that in his letter to the Romans
Paul (speaking as inspired to do so by God) finds that not only is the
physical act of sodomy or fornication considered a sin, but also the
"lust", the "vile affections" and the "reprobate mind".

So Top19-ga...

Having pointed out the substance and origin of the New Testament
prohibition in the context of many Christian beliefs, including
Catholicism, does this suffice as an answer?

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

I'm sorry, I got distracted and my first fact was incomplete. It shoudl have said:

1) The Apostle Paul was visited by Jesus Christ Himself and was
directed what to do throughout his life. He was given the knowledge of
what to say by the Holy Spirit and virtually every word that came from
Paul's mouth is widely considered by modern Christians to have been
the inspired Word of God.

I recently did a work about bible references as regards this matter.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=468306