# WWJD Re: Gay People. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 18, 2019, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146 "2019-05-18T09:06:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/1 "2019-05-18T09:06:18Z")
I actually have been hearing quite a bit about this subject, what Jesus would do concerning gays, if he were around today. It is hard to provide cites (much of it is on TV–like _Real Time_ with Bill Maher just tonight). But I just tell you straightforward what I have heard. Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Actually, the strange divisions we now have in sexuality is rather a new thing (I heard on the _History Channel_, a while ago). But he never mentioned what we would call gay sex acts, in any event. Also, Jesus was very non-conventional. He said things no one ever said before (like love those who hurt you, instead of _‘an eye for an eye’_ like people thought at the time). If he were around today, he might even endorse gay marriage. Why not? Also I got this study guide for ethics a while ago (so sorry, no cite), that said many of the old moral rules we follow today, may in fact be anachronisms. In other words, they were established for concepts and beliefs we no longer have today or that no longer apply. People, for example, used to believe a little baby was to be found in a man’s ‘seed’. So things like _coitus interruptus_ and even masturbation could be tantamount to murder. We now realize a man’s semen does not contain a little baby. Also (in RC HS like the previous), they taught us that adultery was really a property crime. Men were never punished for it. It was always the woman who was. And it also was a paternity issue too, that modern technology has also made obsolete. Finally, I am a bit agnostic myself. But I guess the premise is that Jesus was really the Son of God. Or at least he was divine-sent, in one way or another (use your imagination:)). So what do you all think? What would Jesus do regarding gays, if he was around today:)? :):):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/2 "2019-05-18T09:10:05Z")
EDIT: BTW, this discussion is open to agnostics and atheists too. Bill Maher is reportedly an atheist or agnostic. And as I said, I got some of my material for this from him too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/3 "2019-05-18T09:21:07Z")
Upon seeing that a guy was about to hurl a rock at a gay person’s head, Jesus would presumably tell said guy not to hurl said rock; I could elaborate. If a question then comes up about whether one should forgive any trespasses by a gay person, Jesus would presumably reply in the affirmative — helpfully adding that, if a gay person smacks you upside the head, you should let him do that again. And so on. ---
**Author:** ![UnwittingAmericans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@UnwittingAmericans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwittingAmericans)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/4 "2019-05-18T10:04:16Z")
What do you mean, what would he _ **do** _? Do you mean what would he say on Twitter? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/5 "2019-05-18T11:15:13Z")
I think it wouldn’t matter what Jesus, or any other religious figure, would say if they were around today. People believe the way they do and then project that onto the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. Nancy Pelosi and Clarence Thomas both read the same Bible. Ilhan Omar and the clerics of Saudi Arabia read the same Koran. Bernie Sanders and Benjamin Netanyahu are both Jewish. People believe what they want to and then see that in their religious texts. It wouldn’t matter what Jesus, Mohamed, Moses, or any other historical religious figure said if they were around today. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/6 "2019-05-18T13:46:06Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I think it wouldn’t matter what Jesus, or any other religious figure, would say if they were around today. People believe the way they do and then project that onto the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. Nancy Pelosi and Clarence Thomas both read the same Bible. Ilhan Omar and the clerics of Saudi Arabia read the same Koran. Bernie Sanders and Benjamin Netanyahu are both Jewish. People believe what they want to and then see that in their religious texts. It wouldn’t matter what Jesus, Mohamed, Moses, or any other historical religious figure said if they were around today. Jesus is supposed to return one day. I wonder if all Christians would even recognize him. “That long-haired commie pinko coastal elite has got some nerve, calling himself ‘Jesus’. Where’s his semi-automatic rifle? Where’s his MAGA hat? Where’s his ‘fuck your feelings’ t-shirt? That guy ain’t the Jesus I know! He’s probably an illegal alien! LOCK HIM UP!” ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/7 "2019-05-18T14:16:09Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Jesus is supposed to return one day. I wonder if all Christians would even recognize him. > > “That guy ain’t the Jesus I know! He’s probably an illegal alien! LOCK HIM UP!” You’re thinking of Jesús! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/8 "2019-05-18T14:24:59Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Jesus is supposed to return one day. I wonder if all Christians would even recognize him. > > “That long-haired commie pinko coastal elite has got some nerve, calling himself ‘Jesus’. Where’s his semi-automatic rifle? Where’s his MAGA hat? Where’s his ‘fuck your feelings’ t-shirt? That guy ain’t the Jesus I know! He’s probably an illegal alien! LOCK HIM UP!” Better yet: “That long-haired commie pinko coastal elite black bitch has got some nerve, calling herself ‘Jesus’. Where’s her semi-automatic rifle? Where’s her MAGA hat? Where’s her ‘fuck your feelings’ t-shirt? That N\*\*\*\*r cunt ain’t the Jesus I know! She’s probably an illegal alien! LOCK HER UP!” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/9 "2019-05-18T14:25:41Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > So what do you all think? What would Jesus do regarding gays, if he was around today:)? He would love them. > [@](#): > > Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Actually, the strange divisions we now have in sexuality is rather a new thing (I heard on the History Channel, a while ago). But he never mentioned what we would call gay sex acts, in any event. Yeah, my understanding is that homosexuality _as an orientation_, a matter of identity apart from behavior, “wasn’t a thing” back then in the old days. It wasn’t how people thought. One might even be able to argue that the Bible says nothing at all, anywhere, about homosexuality _as we understand it today_. But in any case, you’re right: Jesus never mentioned it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/10 "2019-05-18T14:55:20Z")
Yes he would love them. Jesus reached out to and embraced the social outcasts of his day — women, tax collectors, prostitutes, and others. He would do that today. And he wouldn’t tweet about it, his followers would want to but he’d tell them to wait and not tweet until his time had come. After he’d be crucified (or today, what? death by injection? electric chair?), his followers would be afraid and would not be tweeting, not until he rose from the dead, came back alive, ate wth them, and hung out with them. That’s when they’d tweet about him. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/11 "2019-05-18T15:43:02Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Yes he would love them. Jesus reached out to and embraced the social outcasts of his day — women, tax collectors, prostitutes, and others. He would do that today. And he wouldn’t tweet about it, his followers would want to but he’d tell them to wait and not tweet until his time had come. After he’d be crucified (or today, what? death by injection? electric chair?), his followers would be afraid and would not be tweeting, not until he rose from the dead, came back alive, ate wth them, and hung out with them. That’s when they’d tweet about him. What would he be crucified for today? Seems to me, his ideas in today’s world would be quite welcome and very non-controversial. Even if he leveled criticism at the Church - who hasn’t at this point? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/12 "2019-05-18T15:55:19Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > [. . .] Seems to me, his ideas in today’s world would be quite welcome and very non-controversial. [. . .] [Give away all your possessions to the poor](https://biblehub.com/matthew/19-21.htm)? [Desert your family](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14%3A25-27&version=ERV)? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/13 "2019-05-18T15:59:46Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > [Give away all your possessions to the poor](https://biblehub.com/matthew/19-21.htm)? > > [Desert your family](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14%3A25-27&version=ERV)? Yes, yes… take no thought of the morrow… Fine, crazy. But hardly crucifiable. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/14 "2019-05-18T16:03:42Z")
Perhaps the state wouldn’t execute him, but there are plenty of wackos with guns to do that kind of dirty work. I’m not a Christian (or religious at all), but I’ve often thought of MLK’s fate as a pretty good indicator of how we’d respond if Jesus came back in modern times. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/15 "2019-05-18T16:05:37Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Yes, yes… take no thought of the morrow… > > Fine, crazy. But hardly crucifiable. Hardly crucifiable (nothing’s crucifiable); but also not at all likely to be either non-controversial or quite welcome. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/16 "2019-05-18T16:33:38Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Hardly crucifiable (nothing’s crucifiable); but also not at all likely to be either non-controversial or quite welcome. Okay. I hadn’t considered the more radical elements of his doctrine. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/17 "2019-05-18T17:46:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What would he be crucified for today? Seems to me, his ideas in today’s world would be quite welcome and very non-controversial. Even if he leveled criticism at the Church - who hasn’t at this point? If he set foot in certain areas of the country he would certainly be killed by Evangelicals/Fundamentalists upset about what he had to say on a variety of topics. Whether it would be done by the State is arguable but the way we are headed it isn’t hard to imagine. It wouldn’t take much for legislatures in certain states to enact laws making it a capital offense to protect certain groups like gay people. Or women who have had abortions. Or Muslims and other non-Christians. ---
**Author:** ![l0k1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@l0k1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l0k1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/18 "2019-05-18T20:31:16Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What would he be crucified for today? Seems to me, his ideas in today’s world would be quite welcome and very non-controversial. Even if he leveled criticism at the Church - who hasn’t at this point? If he started another riot at a bank, I think that would do it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/19 "2019-05-19T00:40:42Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > What would he be crucified for today? Seems to me, his ideas in today’s world would be quite welcome and very non-controversial. Even if he leveled criticism at the Church - who hasn’t at this point? The idealized Jesus portrayed in the Bible would today be regarded, at best, as an unpatriotic socialist hippie bum. But the real (historical) Jesus also included the element of being a revolutionary fighting against the dominant state power. Put all of that together, and Jesus today would be on the FBI watchlist in a heartbeat, probably jailed for treason within months, and subjected to the modern-day version of crucifixion, possibly by being sent to Guantanamo Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146/20 "2019-05-19T00:46:27Z")
> [@l0k1](#): > > If he started another riot at a bank, I think that would do it. “Time to lose my shit, flip some tables and drive everybody outta the building with a bullwhip!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwjd-re-gay-people/834146.md?page=2)