Japan has long accepted male homosexuality. It was an integral part of Japanese culture throughout the Samurai eras. The tradition of male on male love was greatly encouraged within the samurai class. It was considered useful to boys in teaching them virtue, honesty and the appreciation of beauty. While at the same time the love of women was often devalued for its so called 'feminising' effect. The arrival of Christians in Japan forced the open acceptance of homosexuality into "the silence." Everyone knew it existed but did not talk about it (as is true of many things in Japan). Now that the Christian influence in Japan is deminishing, the homosexual culture in Japan is re-emerging as converstaion in polite society.
As far as female homosexuality is concerned, you are correct. The only possible extant female homosexual society to be found today is ironically among the Catholic female religous orders.
Thank you, that is news to me. I will look into it.
For what it's worth, I doubt I would put pre-Christian Japan into the list of nations I would like to emulate any more than Sparta. But it is new information and I need to look into it more carefully.
You see, this is one of the ways we judge truth claims - we look at the results they predict and the results we see. One of the beauties of Judaism and Christianity is that their truth claims are public - a part of the historical record.
One of those claims is that following the abominations listed by G-d actually destroys a society. His words were "the land will vomit you out." And that's what has happened to any nation that has followed those abominations.
Actually, as someone will soon tell me, every civilization has passed. I will respond that every civilization but one has passed. One civilization survived 2000 years of the worst attempts that every government in the world could throw at it to eradicate it. It waited until it could have a homeland again, then re-emerged in nearly the same form as it had been when the most attempt to destroy it began.
I'm sure you know, that civilization survivied 2000 years in hostile territory because it relied on G-d's commandments.
Those commandments were not given to us to hurt us, but to protect us. They are the same kind of commandments that parents give to their children when they say, "Look both ways before crossing the street." They are the same kinds of commandments that the nation gives to drivers when it establishes rules of the road. If drivers didn't obey rules of the road, driving would be either deadly or impossible.
G-d's commandments are a blessing and a delight. Those who look at them otherwise believe they know more than G-d.
That is a foolish notion.
Shalom.