What Do You Think Jesus's Sexual Orientation Was?

[Skwim]

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I ask because the subject came to mind after reading the following.

"Comedy Group’s Headquarters Nearly Firebombed Over Netflix Show with Gay Jesus

"As we posted about earlier this month, Netflix is airing a Portuguese-language satire called The First Temptation of Christ, by the comedy team Porta dos Fundos, in which Jesus is shown in a same-sex relationship.

That description alone was enough to generation over a million signatures on a petition and incur the wrath of the son of Brazil’s president.

But now the outrage is getting worse.

On Christmas Eve, the headquarters of Porta dos Fundos were nearly firebombed when two Molotov cocktails were thrown into the building."​

Personally, I don't see any need for Jesus to be heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual. I think he was most likely asexual.

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[lukethethird]

Look in the mirror.

 

[columbus]

I see absolutely no reason to consider the possibility that Jesus was anything other than a good ole straight boy.
Tom

ETA ~I meet guys every day. I always assume that they're normal, unless I have a reason to think differently. I generally don't care, so I don't even question it. ~

 

[ChristineM]

Jesus was obviously keen to be with men, wheather that was a homosexual need or a reaction to the chauvinism of the period, who knows?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I think the intent of the thread is to invite.

 

[metis]

To the OP, I have no clue and am not willing to speculate as that would just be just a guess. However, with that being said, it would be highly unusual for a man back then to be unmarried unless he was a "nazir".

 

[Left Coast]

Look in the mirror.

I'm Jesus?

 

[Earthtank]

Ahhh Netflix trying to remain in the streaming wars by being controversial. From a moral stand point, that's pretty low. From a business/capitalistic standpoint, questionable.

 

[Estro Felino]

Biglino, Italian philologist, Greek and Hebrew expert says Jesus and Mary Magdalene were in a relationship..or even married...so he was into women.

 

[Muffled]

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I ask because the subject came to mind after reading the following.

"Comedy Group’s Headquarters Nearly Firebombed Over Netflix Show with Gay Jesus

"As we posted about earlier this month, Netflix is airing a Portuguese-language satire called The First Temptation of Christ, by the comedy team Porta dos Fundos, in which Jesus is shown in a same-sex relationship.

That description alone was enough to generation over a million signatures on a petition and incur the wrath of the son of Brazil’s president.

But now the outrage is getting worse.

On Christmas Eve, the headquarters of Porta dos Fundos were nearly firebombed when two Molotov cocktails were thrown into the building."​

Personally, I don't see any need for Jesus to be heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual. I think he was most likely asexual.

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​

I believe I agree. I believe God would consider it an unnecessary distraction and since Jesus is part creation that function did not have to be built in.

 

[Muffled]

Jesus was obviously keen to be with men, wheather that was a homosexual need or a reaction to the chauvinism of the period, who knows?

I believe some pastors believe that God favors men as leaders rather than women. The Apostles may be evidence of that..

 

[Vouthon]

I don't know and don't really care, to be honest. His sexuality doesn't matter to me.

But I cast my vote for "Other" because our categories of sexual orientation did not exist in the first century CE. No one at the time identified as 'heterosexual', 'homosexual', 'asexual' or 'bisexual'.

Defining sexuality in terms of orientation - which gender one is solely or predominantly attracted to - is a modern 19th century phenomenon arising from psychology. There were no sexual 'identities' before the 19th century West adopted them in the sciences.

Ancient people in the classical era and Roman Empire understood sexuality to be defined by practice and status. The question was not, "do you prefer men or women?" but rather, "are you a penetrator or one of the penetrated?"

Elite males were the penetrators and in Greco-Roman culture this could be with women or male slaves, who were the penetrated.

In Judean culture, the focus was again on how you had sex (i.e. vaginal or anal), not to whom you were sexually attracted.

So Jesus, like everyone else at the time, wouldn't have understood our modern psycho-social categories of sexual orientation - straight, gay, bi - and nor would he have personally identified with any of them.

He didn't even fit anywhere in the paradigm / scale of first century Roman-Judean sexuality - neither a penetrator nor one of the penetrated.

As such, the OP's question is incredibly anachronistic and out-of-step with the intellectual world of premodern societies.

The one thing we do know for certain from the ancient first century sources is that he was celibate, and indeed St. Paul notes in one of his letters (the earliest Christian literature from the 50s CE) that he was imitating Jesus through his own celibacy. So Jesus chose to define himself outside the then normative social categories of penetrator/penetrated that were standard in the Roman Empire, in embracing a celibate lifestyle.

Practically every other apostle and early first century Christian was married, so his celibacy was out of synch with mainstream Judaism of the period and the norm in his own movement.

With that being said, celibacy was normative amongst the Essene sect of Judaism, which was then one of the most prominent first century Jewish sects alongside Pharisaism, Sadduceeism and Christianity.

Prior to Jesus, John the Baptist and the Essenes, the only famous Jewish celibates had been the prophet Jeremiah as well those under a Nazirite vow.

As to what motivated his choice to live a celibate life, if it might have arisen from his sexuality or lack thereof, is impossible to discover 2,000 years later with no extant first century sources to rely upon for this information.

So we will never know if he was heterosexual, asexual or homosexual etc. and these terms would have held no meaning for him anyway.

Any attempt to divine such is nothing but tarot-reading. For that reason, I'm not even going to speculate.

 

[Muffled]

Biglino, Italian philologist, Greek and Hebrew expert says Jesus and Mary Magdalene were in a relationship..or even married...so he was into women.

I believe he can say whatever he likes but there is no Biblical evidence to support it.

 

[ChristineM]

I believe some pastors believe that God favors men as leaders rather than women. The Apostles may be evidence of that..

Which is why i mentioned chauvinism. Certainly the bible promotes chauvinism i see no reason why blind obedience to the teachings of the bible would produce anything other than chauvinism.

And, according to the NT JC himself toed the line of convention

 

[Salvador]

If Jesus were transsexual, then Jesus would've transcended sexual gender or sexual orientation. Right?

 

[danieldemol]

Ahhh Netflix trying to remain in the streaming wars by being controversial. From a moral stand point, that's pretty low. From a business/capitalistic standpoint, questionable.

So out of firebombing and being controversial it was being controversial that stood out for you?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

If Jesus were transsexual, then Jesus would've transcended sexual gender or sexual orientation. Right?

No. And we have no reason to assume he was trans. Just as we habe no grounds or reason to assume any sort of sexuality.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Biglino, Italian philologist, Greek and Hebrew expert says Jesus and Mary Magdalene were in a relationship..or even married...so he was into women.

Still, there is absolutely nothing in the Bible to suggest that there was any sort of sexual or romantic relationship between Mary and Jesus.

On the other hand, there is quite a bit of evidence that Jesus held one apostle, John, in very special affection. John is cited in the Bible to have rested his head on Jesus's shoulder, or on his lap, and also seems to have some sort of special, "insider" information into Jesus's thought. He is also the only disciple who did not flee, but was present at Jesus's execution -- and note that Jesus takes care to ensure that John and Mary accept one another as "family."

Another odd part of the Bible is Mark 14:50-52.

14:51 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
14:52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

I am aware of a "Secret Gospel of Mark," discovered in 1958 by Morton Smith (1915-1991), an American professor of ancient history at Columbia University, which contains the following text:

'And they came into Bethany, and a certain woman, whose brother had died, was there... she prostrated herself before Jesus and says to him, 'Son of David, have mercy on me.' But the disciples rebuked her. And Jesus, being angered, went off with her into the garden where the tomb was... Jesus rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. And straightway, going in where the youth was, he stretched forth his hand and raised him... the youth, looking upon him, loved him and began to beseech him that he might be with him. And going out of the tomb they came into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days Jesus told him what to do and in the evening the youth comes to him, wearing a linen cloth over [his] naked [body]. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the kingdom of God.'

It is certainly not clear that this "Secret Gospel of Mark" is authentic, but neither is there anything to suggest that it is not. There were a very great number of such texts around the world, not least those discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945.

 

[Earthtank]

So out of firebombing and being controversial it was being controversial that stood out for you?

If not for the controversy there would have been no firebombing. While i never have and never will condone violence (unless self defense). The firebombing was in reaction to initial action, i am not taking sides as to who is right and wrong here, just stating a fact.

 

[George-ananda]

I voted 'heterosexual'. I believe Jesus married Mary Magdalene and children were conceived.