Getting medieval about "same sex marriage"

Who better to do so than an actual medieval canon lawyer, Hostiensis (d. 1270), who addressed the topic a few centuries before it was even an issue? Dr. Ed Peters explains.

Comments

[Evan]

It's certainly important to employ sources like this- not only because the public is ignorant about the teachings of the Church, but also because the academic advocates of things like "same-sex marriage" aren't as ignorant as the wider public. They actually offer quite sophisticated arguments.

Eugene Rogers, for instance, bases his thoughts on sexuality upon the moral theology of Aquinas and Barth. This isn't just an ambiguous cry for sexual liberation- these are real theological arguments for us to meet. In Rogers' anthology Theology and Sexuality (which is weighted heavily to issues of homosexuality in particular), he recalls medieval sources just as Dr. Peters does, with the intention of setting a precedent: http://www.amazon.com/Theology-Sexuality-Contemporary-Readings-Blackwell/dp/0631212779/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227276786&sr=8-1

We do indeed need a sustained argument to meet this, I agree. But I think the problem is more serious than simply an ignorant public, and it shouldn't surprise us that unorthodox positions can make an awfully formidable case. They always have, and just as we shouldn't fear that the Church has no adequate response, we also shouldn't pretend that what we're up against is simply a bunch of people who don't listen to the Sunday homily. Thanks for pointing out this source.

[Ed Peters]

Good observations Evan.

[Thomas]

I can see it now:

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, appeared on this Sunday's Meet The Press and discussed the issue of same-sex marriage in light of her home state's recent ban and her Catholic faith.

"I strongly support the rights of gays to marry. As a devout Catholic, I know that this is an issue my Church has struggled with from the beginning. This modern ban is something that only dates back to Hostiensis 750 years ago."

Shortly thereafter, the set lights melted her face off.