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SODOMY |
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Sodomy is a term of religious origin used to characterize certain sexual acts. The term is most commonly used to describe the specific act of anal sex between two males, or between a male and a female. The term "sodomy" also may include non-coital sexual acts such as oral sex and other paraphilia. It is sometimes used to describe human-animal sexual intercourse (bestiality). Laws forbidding certain types of sex acts have been found in some pre-modern cultures and are prevalent in some industrialized nations as well.
The term sodomy derives from the name of the ancient city of Sodom, which according to a common interpretation of the Bible, was destroyed by God for its misdeeds (see Sodom and Gomorrah). In today's common language it identifies the practice of anal or oral intercourse.
Another modern use for the term, is where one human being takes advantage of another for financial gain, involving lying and deception. More usually, referred to in legal cases involving planning departments and sometimes used in modern language with Buggery, the two terms essentially describing similar lewd acts or acts of rough justice. Examples: a) He was buggered by the evidence b) She was sodomised for costs.
Sodomy: What Is It?
Sodomy is most commonly legally defined as any contact between the genitals of one person, and the mouth or anus of another. As mentioned above, the word has its origins in Christianity. It is sometimes used to mean sexual deviation, though in legal contexts it is defined as above. Throughout history, "sodomites," mostly male homosexuals and bestialists, have been punished by a largely theocratically controlled government, in hopes of stamping out "ungodly practices" that might bring divine retribution against Christian society. In medieval Europe, intercourse between a male field worker and a noble woman was legally considered "sodomy," as it was thought to cause a poor harvest. The history of the concept of sodomy is tied to the Church in most every case.
Currently, there is no federal sodomy law, though some federal land falls under maritime jurisdiction, which may have sanctions in some cases. 25 states do not have sodomy laws. 5 states have laws pertaining to homosexual sodomy only, and the remaining 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, have laws covering all sodomy, even between heterosexuals.
How some states have titled their sodomy statues
Only For Homosexual ConductThe five states with sodomy laws pertaining to homosexual conduct only....
The Dirty DozenThe twelve states with the toughest maximum penalties are...
Other States With Sodomy Laws
First century opinions
The epistle of Jude in the New Testament, however, echoes the Genesis narrative and recalls mainly the sexually immoral aspects of Sodom's sins: "...just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire" (v. 7, ESV). The phrase rendered "unnatural desire" is literally translated "strange flesh," but it is not entirely clear what it refers to. The ESV translators supply one plausible paraphrase in making the phrase refer to the illicit sexual activity of the Genesis account (cf. the language of the epistle to the Romans 1:21-32), but another theory is that it is a simply reference to the "strange flesh" of the intended rape victims, who were angels, not men.
The first known use of the term sodomy used in a more general sense to mean "crimes against nature" is found in the writings of Jewish historian Josephus (circa A.D. 96) as he summarizes the Genesis narrative: "About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, in so much that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices" (Antiquities 1.11.1). The final element of his assessment goes beyond the Biblical data, even in the New Testament. Despite the inaccuracy, this meaning is the primary one used today.
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