Idolatry & Sodomy

By Erven Park

God frequently warns of His great wrath with those who practice idolatry and which is amply expressed beginning with the First of the Ten Commandments: "...thou shalt not have strange gods before Me." Many mistakenly think of idolatry as the worship or rendering to objects or symbols. In reality it is the denial of God who is replaced by a creature "that is treated as an end in itself." ¹ In fact, a common subject of idolatry is one's own self! Rebellion is also an adjunct of idolatry: "Because it is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel; and like the crime of idolatry to refuse to obey." ²

Idolatry is the first sister of "pride" which "is the beginning of all sin..." ³ Inordinate self-love is a virulent form of idolatry and is of which we shall here discuss. "We will follow either the God of the Bible, or worship ourselves. We thus advance toward a state of society in which not only man but every impulse in each man claims priority." ⁴

By the above title you will note we chose to use the designation "sodomy" which is the ancient and Biblical term given for the sexual depravity of "unnatural sexual relations." "Sodomy," or "sodomite," is the more proper word in that it has no ideologically intentioned subtleties that have become attached such as do the expressions: "homosexual, gay, lesbian, transsexual, gender," on and on. In our day we all too often witness the examples of a convoluted language employed and put to the service of deception. Utilizing the "Standard College Dictionary" ⁵ we see: "Sodomy: Unnatural sexual relations, especially between male persons or between a human being and an animal." "Sodomite: One guilty of sodomy." Those two nouns⁶ service accuracy quite adequately.

Most all are aware of the perverse nature and activities of sodomites. It is the cause(s) of this condition, which is in the forefront of much of today's ruminations on the subject. Moreover, the substance of this debate consists of a great abundance of smoke with scarcely any emission of light. It is said, "sodomy remains the sin that dare not speak its name." We might also ask: Is it the sin that dare not name its cause?

There are essentially two schools contributing their thesis on the subject at hand. They are the fields claiming to be science and that of metaphysics, of which religion is the predominate entity. The teaching of metaphysics on sodomy has been rather consistent and relatively unchallenged for centuries. So-called science is the "newcomer on the block." We state "so-called," because some claiming the mantle of being scientific cannot meet the legitimate criteria of that discipline.

Let us first examine the "newcomer." "Science: Knowledge of facts, phenomena, laws, and proximate causes, gained and verified by exact observation, organized experiment, and ordered thinking." ⁷ We have two contenders here. The medical (organic) profession and that of the relatively modern fields of psychiatry and psychology, which concern themselves with the functions of the human mind.

THE MEDICAL

The medical profession as spoken of here, its study and expertise, encompasses the spectrum of living organisms (biology). Research and development in this field are somewhat straightforward in that bodily organs, their needs and functions, are identical in all of those of, say, the human species. Such environments are reliable in yielding answers to science in that consistent results can be established through controlled experiment and verification; e.g. normal temperature is fixed at approximately 98.6 degrees (F). There have been attempts in the recent past by certain individuals who claim to have discovered biological phenomenon contributing to the sodomite condition. Interestingly it has been revealed that these individuals themselves were sodomites with their own agendas. The exactitude attendant in the science of biology, however, allotted very short life spans to these charades. True science provides scant elbowroom for the theatre of smoke and mirrors.

THE PSYCHIATRIC

The professions of psychiatry and psychology, however, pose a distinctly different environment. The practitioners of these vocations labor mightily in convincing all that theirs is science but the individual workings of the mind do not lend themselves to consistency in result. Vagaries are abundant. The human intellect is touched by a multitude of appetites and emotions, any one of which an individual's free will might choose to act upon and which could be entirely different from that of another's choice. "People differ so widely in character, beliefs, temperament and intelligence that it is impossible for them to be affected in the same way." ⁸ The practitioners of psychiatry and psychology also do considerable damage to the credibility of their own profession by their notorious inconsistency in public attestations. We see regularly the spectacle in the courts of the land employing these doctors to give expert testimony on issues whereas the other side will have just as qualified individuals of the same profession giving exactly the opposite conviction. One has as much cogency as the other for the simple reason that both are dealing in hypothesis (conjecture). True science does not bestow certification upon speculations. It would be more appropriate, probably, to consider these professions as crafts, but certainly not verifiable and substantiated science. This lack of certifiable verification obviously also lends itself to the caprice of expediency (self-interest).

This shucking of scientific constraints was vividly demonstrated in the scandalous and politicized acts of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1973. Prior to that time the membership of the APA considered and listed the sodomite condition as a mental "illness' or "disorder." In 1973, however, "the board of trustees of the APA voted to no longer classify homosexuality (sic) as a disorder, but as a normal variant of sexual expression. The decision was confirmed by a 6-to-4 margin in a vote of APA membership. Yet, four years later, a survey found that 69 percent of APA members still considered homosexuality (sic) 'pathological." ⁹

Of that decision, clinical psychologist Joseph Nicolosi states: "Though many mental-health professionals see homosexuality (sic) as a disorder," he said, "few are willing to say so publicly. It's not politically correct, and they would be harassed, called bigoted and homophobic, and charged with inciting hatred." ¹⁰

Nicolosi contends that the APA's 1973 decision "was a political decision made under pressure from gay activists within the profession. " "It was an emotional appeal," he said. "The activists claimed that if we changed the diagnosis and said homosexuality (sic) was not a disorder, we would be contributing to alleviation of ostracism and discrimination. That may be a good intention, but it's not good science - to change diagnosis for social and political purposes." He points out, too, that subsequent decisions of the APA removed pedophilia, sadism and masochism from the "disorder" lists. ¹¹

Such deplorable conduct by so-called professions that boast of being a science serves well in eradicating what semblance of credibility that still exists with those occupations. That is unfortunate because there are conscientious and able practitioners of the craft of psychiatry and psychology who are capable, and do contribute real benefits to certain of those afflicted with detrimental mental conditions. The sodomite ideologues in there midst, however, care not for other than society gives unmitigated license to their invidious compulsions to lust.

We find that even though the psychiatric/psychological crafts have the least to offer in verifiable certitude, they are nevertheless in the forefront in making pronouncements and postulating on propriety. One will ask, "why is this so?"

The answer is precisely because (as pointed to above) this profession presently enjoys credibility (rapidly declining) as a legitimate science while at the same time permits employing contradiction in its teaching. Falsehood is given relatively uncontested parity with the truth, so to speak. Moreover, the ideologue can be fully aware he is inculcating falsification but also sees he is able to do so with impunity in a milieu where certitude (in mental processes) cannot be produced. It is the fertile ground to the militants whose obsession is the upheaval of Christian morality, and who have loathing of the Commandments.

Furthermore, we had better come to understand that this is no longer a peculiarity but a battle that is at our doorsteps. Do not be assuaged by the belief that the demented element is small in number and surely no more than an unpleasant irritant. History has proved the unerring truth that an organized and militant minority (even a very small minority) will prevail over any lackadaisical and slothful majority. The Nazism of Hitler, the Fascism of Mussolini and the Communism of Lenin/Stalin are all bloody modern day witnesses to this fact of life. Every age and culture has its population of evildoers, but it is the "lukewarm" that make it possible for them to come to power.

METAPHYSICS - CHRISTIAN

"Metaphysics - The branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science." ¹² Some will ask how metaphysics could claim to the study of "principles" that transcend "those of any particular science." Conventional/legitimate science comes to its truths by the means of observable, repeatable and certifiable experience. Christian metaphysics rely upon God's Revelations in attaining the interior truths (ontology) of mankind that, of course, are totally unobservable to the human species. Moreover, Revelation is verifiable through nature's own laws, which are immutable.

By example, every transgression of, let's say, the Ten Commandments, without exception will demonstrate to having negative results. Furthermore, again using the Commandments, you will note that it is man's intellect that is being addressed -- a substance that is quite beyond human micro examination. Yet, Revelation is unerring in prescribing what is good (moral) and bad (immoral) for that person, and the mightiest efforts of man notwithstanding, its solemn declarations prove always to be true. Something, moreover, that can never be claimed by the temporal mind/intellect sciences.

Seek as you might, you will not find a so-called science that has equal credentials in credibility. When it comes to the contemplation of the human soul (being), man fantasizes, God reveals! Those disclaiming God (making god of themselves) are left to their own devices and truth is concealed from them. Their credibility can endure only with those they are able to mislead, or those who want to believe what they are hearing. The latter will comprise the majority of their following, unfortunately.

There is no denying, then, the extraordinary credibility of metaphysics (through Revelation) in its addressing human morality. That many arbitrarily reject it's teaching does not in the least nullify its flawless record of foretelling outcomes, good or evil.

Question: "Does the Bible (Revelation) specifically address the condition of sodomy?" Answer: Most emphatically so, in both the Old and New Testaments. Moreover, not only does it describe and condemn its immoral properties repeatedly but also it gives identification to its very causes.

Question: "Is there any solemn obligation vested in the faithful to accept and adhere to the authority of the Bible teaching on morals." Answer: The following is what Vatican Council II has to say on the subject of the authority of the Bible:

"The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn. 20:31; 2 Tim. 3: 16; 2 Pet. 1: 19-21; 3: 15-16), they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the church herself. (Cf. Vatican Council I, Const. Dogm. De fide catholica. C. 2 -de revelatione: Denz. 1787 #3006.) To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while He employed them in this task, made full use of their powers and faculties (Cf. Pius XII, Encycl. Divino Afflante Spiritu, 30 Sept. 1943) so that, though He acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever He wanted written, and no more.

"Since, therefore, all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred Scriptures. Thus 'all Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work'" 2 Tim. 3: 16-17.¹³

This official Church instruction on the authority of Biblical teaching, and its veracity, reveals a further reality. Those who disclaim or misquote legitimate Revelation are not just disobedient but are formally guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit ("Since, therefore, all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit..."). The ordained who indulge in such utter travesty go beyond even that to debase the Sacrament of Orders in their degradation of their oath of fidelity to God that they swore to at their ordination. It should be said also that those who follow such false shepherds are progressing to a grim fate indeed. No less blameworthy are bishops who allow such hirelings to function under his jurisdiction to the jeopardy of the faithful in their flock.

For those desiring a quick reference to some Biblical testimony on sodomy you might refer to the following: Gen. 19: 1-28 - Lev. 18: 22 - Lev. 20: 13 - 3 Kings 14: 24 - 3 Kings 14: 12 - 4 Kings 23: 7 - Wis. 14: 26-27 - 1 Cor. 6: 9-10 - 1 Tim. 1: 9-10 - 2 Peter 2: 6-10 - Jude 1: 7-8 - Romans 1: 21-32.

The Roman Magisterium has also written extensively in its warning and condemnations of sodomy. We draw particular attention to one sentence of the Vatican document:¹⁴ Declaration On Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, issued in 1975, and further examine its startling testimony. On Homosexual Acts: "Sacred Scripture condemns them as gravely depraved and even portrays them as the tragic consequence of rejecting God. No. 8 - cf. Romans 1." One will immediately note that there is a cause shown for this "gravely depraved" condition. The cause being that of "rejecting God." Scriptural reference is made to "Romans 1." This obligates us to take a serious look at St. Paul's teaching in Romans 1. It is as follows:

"Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen. "Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations with females into that use that is against nature Males did shameful things with males and thus, received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper. They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious towards their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only practice them but give approval to those who practice them." ¹⁵

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered the creature rather than the Creator..." This is a revealing of the condition of a person consciously putting him/herself before God: the "revered creature" being one's self -- a condition more commonly referred to as "narcissism" (self-adulation), the first sister of pride. These acts of the individual are not formal or public, but interior acts. Only God thus knows of them. It would seem that justice would deem such comportment to be of mortal consequence only after the individual had attained the age of reason.

It may well be here to point out that in the hierarchy of sin, the lower type would be such as sins of the flesh. The highest and worst kind is intellectual sin, which stems directly from interior pride leading to the act of disobedience.¹⁶ Pride is named as the most devastating of sins and its source is exclusively intellectual. Its deadliest offspring is idolatry (disdaining God for the creature).

It would be entirely appropriate to associate pride much more predominantly as an affliction of the intellectually competent. Does this have anything in common with the sodomite intellect? Yes it does. The market research by the editors of The Advocate, the nation's largest gay publication, shows "gays have an annual income of $62.000 - nearly twice the national average.¹⁷ Earnings directly reflect intellectual acumen, so yes, the sodomite population, as a whole, reflects high intellectual attainment.

"Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged the natural use into that use which is against nature. Males did shameful things with males and thus, received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity."

Before proceeding we should acknowledge that there are quite obviously factors regarding involvement in those taken up in sodomite activity. There are those who may have experienced rape, bondage or abuse whereby theirs is a victim's entanglement. There are others that do not have uncontrolled inclinations to sodomy but are involved for reasons of financial or material considerations. These types of regrettable exposures can lead to addiction but they are not the persons being addressed in Revelation by St. Paul.

What you see in "Romans" above is the lamentable soul "handed...over (by God) to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies." These are the ones, then, having been "handed over," who are unable to control their inner compulsions to "same sex, sex," as Dr. Socarides calls it. Moreover, they are made victim of "the lusts of their hearts" which translates to the "King Midas" curse! Not only will you be given to your lusts but it shall be overpowering and serve to "the mutual degradation of their bodies."

It becomes quite apparent from "Romans" 1 that God is a participant in addressing these persons' particular idolatry by the fact it is cited in three separate instances that "God handed them over to impurity...God handed them over to degrading passions...God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper." One cannot but note that "handed over" is not worded in a manner reflecting the terrible consequences spoken of possibly coming about but, rather, they are avowed as givens!

The sodomite condition, then, is not biological/physical, it is spiritual! No wonder the atheistic or agnostic secular disciplines are all over the wall. They haven't a clue and their mindset while in that state will assure that they never will.

One organization (solidly Catholic) that is acknowledged as most successful in assisting persons in severing the hellish shackles of sodomy goes under the name of "COURAGE." ¹⁸ Its founder and leader is Fr. John F. Harvey, O.S.F.S., who has spent over 30 years in study and ministry to persons immersed in the sodomite culture. COURAGE now has chapters all over the U.S. and in foreign countries as well. Fr. Harvey's COURAGE organization also has the formal approbation of the Pontifical Council for the Family (Vatican). Fr. Harvey affirms Church teaching that sodomite acts are "intrinsically disordered," and that sodomy is primarily a spiritual disease caused by a person's rejection of God and His authority. In a recent speech given in Norwood, Ohio, "Fr. Harvey spoke of homosexual inclinations as a spiritual crisis, therefore requiring a spiritual solution." ¹⁹

Before departing from St. Paul's Biblical instruction in Romans 1, we would note that the sodomite condition does not just encompass the defilement of their bodies through depraved sexual acts. We quote:

"They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice, full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious towards their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless and ruthless..."

Now one might be tempted to think this listing of defects to be an allegorical piling on, so to speak. Any who have read serious studies published on the sodomite persona, however, will discover that these faults are all indeed traits commonly exhibited in these persons. One thus gains a greater comprehension of the "hellish" milieu these people get themselves impressed into. As just one source we would site as reference "HOMOSEXUALITY - A Freedom Too Far (321 pages), by well known psychoanalyst Charles W. Socarides, M.D., answering 1000 questions often asked about the sodomite person and culture.

Furthermore, being intelligent as most all are, the sodomite individual sooner or later has to come to grips with the awareness that something is radically wrong. His unrelenting and overpowering compulsions are to activity that is directed to bodily degradation, rampant venereal disease and death. The whole lifestyle is a total contradiction to meaningful reason. He knows the above listed aberrations are conditions of his state. It is not at all surprising, then, to find that many want desperately to escape the bonds of this god-awful environment and its debilitations.

All is not bad, however. With the knowledge that sodomy is a "spiritual crisis" of a type that generates a pronounced withdrawal of God's supporting presence in the individual, it does open important doors of cognizance that should be of benefit to all of us. Being "spiritual," there are two realities that come to the forefront in any sober considerations of this subject. They are (1) effect and (2) remedy.

THE EFFECT

The Bible is unerring and where it reveals God's pronouncements on consequences to the human creature given to a particular offense, it shall be done. There is no question! God quite distinctly gives the cause and effect of the sodomite condition that He informs stems from self-love (idolatry). The effect of this is to grant the offender his indulgences but to such a degree that it becomes a self-destructing curse. God withdraws significant internal (ontological) sustenance and he is "handed over" to an overwhelming concupiscence, which becomes the master.

For, although the offender placed his gratification as first, he becomes a slave to uncontrollable compulsions to gratification that cannot be satiated. Lust becomes a monster that takes no rest. Moreover, the curse is compounded by its unrelenting affinity to personal debasement in acts, which go directly against nature and reasoning -- confounding dynamism's that compel to the unclean and loathsome, obsessions to punish rather than care for the bodily entity. We could go on, but the sodomite behavior directed to self-destruction is documented in mountains of material going back in all of recorded history.

One predominate trait of the sodomite is hate, a self hate to begin with. This is undoubtedly a natural outgrowth of their coming to the knowledge that they do not have control over their inordinate sexual appetites and demand. This self-hate is undoubtedly the seedbed for the other corruptions spoken of by St. Paul in Romans above.

THE REMEDY

There are emphatic assertions made on both sides of the issue of remedy for the sodomite condition. Some testify to their successful extrication from the culture and can give as witness their current normal lifestyle, even to successful and happy marriage and the blessings of children. There are others of the sodomite culture who vehemently declare that a true sodomite cannot become heterosexual in preference or practice. Ironically, there is truth in both of these allegations. This is not predicated on the premise that there are two forms of the sodomite condition, however; there is only one.

The answer to this seeming quandary lies in the choice of means taken in seeking the remedy. There is only one door leading to cure and that is the same one he had chosen to depart from God through. He must first recognize and acknowledge his error and offense and return through that door to the arms of the loving God who awaits him. As a "Prodigal Son," of which he is, he begs God's forgiveness and assistance. Such restitution, sincerely made, will never, repeat, never, be denied the aid appealed for! The more they give themselves up to the will of their Creator, the sooner and more complete the release from their distress.

On the other hand, the one who seeks remedy while their personal idolatry is maintained holding pride of place, shall find their efforts fruitless and rejected. While they remain in such a state, there shall be no release granted from their sodomite state of being. Their hate shall mount and their personal degradation shall increase.

Those sincerely seeking remedy, then, must go by the path to God and repentance. Those organizations or groups that do not profess and follow such a course may afford succor but not a cure. As formidable as the sodomite affliction is, miraculously the "Divine Physician" who holds its remedy -- God, is also infinitely merciful, and He who holds all healing as but a matter of His divine will. Good news indeed!