Was Jesus Gay? : Play Provokes Outrage

"Corpus Christi", a play that depicts Jesus as gay, is set to open in Australia at Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival in early February. There has been predictable outrage expressed in the media. The Anglican Bishop of Sydney, Robert Forsyth, described the play as "deliberately offensive" and "historical nonsense".

The play portrays Jesus and the disciples as gay men.

Terence McNally, who wrote the acclaimed play, created a gay Jesus partly as a way of exploring the feelings of rejection and persecution he experienced as a gay youth growing up in Texas. When the play opened in the UK in 1999 in addition to taking harsh criticism from conservative Christians, McNally became the target of a fatwa issued by an Islamic group.

Assuming an historical Jesus existed, why is it considered outrageous by some to speculate that he may not have been heterosexual in orientation? In the Bible mention of homosexuality is rare, in part because it was considered taboo in the context of Jewish customs. Being homosexual in a patriarchal and homophobic culture of that time would tend to push you to the fringes. Jesus was certainly far out on the fringes. He was an outsider - in his own words "despised and rejected".

Nor was Jesus even remotely respectable. The Pharisees accused him of being a drunkard and partying with "sinners". So clearly there was an aspect of his behavior that flew in the face of conventional conduct.

There is no record of Jesus engaging in any sexual relations with women. He remained unmarried. However we do know that he spent most of his time in the company of men. There are passages in the New Testament that indicate he had a special love for one particular disciple.

While it is true that the culture of his day tended to be much more demonstrative in terms of gestures of physical affection between males, than exists for example in contemporary American culture - nonetheless the following verse from John 21:20 suggests an unusually intimate connection between the two men :

"Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?"

The Greek term used to describe the love Jesus had for this disciple is "agape".

Agape refers to spiritual love and is often used when expressing adoration or love for a deity. However it would be incorrect to think of the term as strictly Platonic or non-sexual. It can be used in association with eros. Early Greeks would have associated pagan rites - for example aspects of the Dionysian mysteries - with the spirit of agape.

There is a subtle relationship between eros and agape that is poorly understood. The fact that the Greek term "agape" was used to describe Jesus' love for this disciple is interesting. It was chosen over the more staid "philia" that describes virtuous love connected with loyalty and friendship.

While traditional Christians roll their eyes at the suggestion that Jesus could possibly have been gay, they are unable to provide conclusive evidence that his sexual orientation was heterosexual. The presence of a group of male intimates throughout his mission and references to his special affection for one in particular, raises the possibility that he was non-conformist in ways that no record of the time would have dared touch upon openly, since homosexuality was a taboo subject.

Of course I am viewing the Jesus story strictly from a historical perspective, free of add-ons from Christian theology. It is the theology spun by the Church in the process of mythologizing the life of Jesus that makes the contemplation of his possible homosexuality an anathema for many. But looked at simply as a historical narrative, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that a group of outsiders with a subversive agenda, might have been subversive of traditional Jewish conventions governing relationships also.