Historian says gays caused downfall of Rome

[The Philosopher]

from The Times of India

A top Italian history professor has caused outrage after he claimed that the Roman Empire fell due to the rise of homosexuality.

Roberto De Mattei, 63, a devout Roman Catholic, had already raised eyebrows by saying the Japanese tsunami was "divine punishment", and now with his latest claim he faces calls to resign.

"The collapse of the Roman Empire and the arrival of the Barbarians was due to the spread of homosexuality," the Daily Mail quoted the vice-president of Italy's prestigious Centre for National Research as saying in a radio interview.

"The Roman colony of Carthage was a paradise for homosexuals and they infected many others. The invasion of the Barbarians was seen as punishment for this moral transgression." It is well-known that effeminate men and homosexuals have no place in the kingdom of God, he said. "Homosexuality was not rife among the Barbarians and this shows God's justice throughout history," De Mattei stated.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Historian-says-gays-caused-downfall-of-Rome-sparks-row/articleshow/7930908.cms">Click Here To Read More


Maybe we should become Republicans. :hide:

[Faygo Kid]

1. I thought it was because of that emperors-birth certificate controversy.

Everyone knows Caesar was born in Kenya.

Makes as much sense as this version of history.

[Scottybeamer70]

2. Heh.....

Must be Anita Bryant's long lost brother.

[The Magistrate]

3. What A Foolish Fella, Sir

Everyone knows Rome fell because people forsake their native deities for the Levantine imposter, and were punished accordingly....

[RetiredTrotskyite]

16. Indeed

Thank you!

[Turbineguy]

4. So it wasn't because

the Romans came to love yellow meat loaf?

Quite frankly, I always had my doubts about that theory.

[drokhole]

5. Well, they did just find that gay caveman...

...I'm sure that was the beginning of their end:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/gay-caveman-found-prague_n_846246.html

:sarcasm:

[Skip_In_Boulder]

6. Oh Jeez, are they dragging out the Rome fell because of Homosexuality again?

I can't begin to count the number of times this has been debunked over the years. The world really is a simple place for these folks, isn't it?

[Lithos]

7. Must of had some old fashioned Roman Defrutum

Damn historical re-enactments will get you everytime.

[marew]

8. So much garbage! n/t

[Vehl]

9. LOL

I wonder how he got his PHD? but then again there seems to be no shortage of religious nuts getting PHD's nowadays.

[mysuzuki2]

10. The historian Michael Grant once wrote that each generation sees

the issues of its own age in the fall of Rome. Gibbon during the enlightenment saw the negative effects of Christianity as the cause. The victorians saw that sexual promiscuity was the issue. Many modern historians see one cause as the failure of the rich to support the state by paying their fair share of taxes. I think de Mattei may be several generations behind.

[WatsonT]

11. Not much of a history professor

Homosexuality in that nation was always a common occurrence.

In fact towards the end, as they Christianified, it became less common.

Many things caused Romes fall, but it wasn't who was screwing who (unless you count inbreeding, they had some screwy emperors that could be explained that way).

[BillStein]

18. and wouldn't a competent history professer know...

Carthage was destroyed long before the barbarians invaded? And wasn't Carthage a Phoenecian colony, not a Roman one?

[Drale]

12. Well his career is over

Historians don't take crack pots lightly, I have seen many a crazy person who claim to be historians because of a bachelors degree, come up with some theory that has no basis in fact, lose all credibility and pretty much never make any money again.

[Meeker Morgan]

13. Yeah baby. They tolerated homosexuality ...

They tolerated homosexuality. Well sort of. Emperors did what they pleased.

And after hundreds of years and conversion to Christianity ...

[qazplm]

14. alexander was sure

unable to do great things due to being bisexual.

[closeupready]

15. How fitting that the Vatican finds redemptive a fallen empire that tortured dissidents, enslaved

conquered populations, among other vile things.

You would think that those who are alleged to have saved the world from such tyranny would be praised, but I guess the Vatican would have liked to have seen even more people die in the jaws of lions? How fucked up is that.

[dickthegrouch]

17. Just goes to show how enduringly attractive same-sex relations are

I always ask myself what these idiots are so afraid of?
They must be a whisker lash away from accepting the lascivious advances of some gorgeous temptation.
How they looooove to flagellate themselves with their pious pomposity.
I just wish they wouldn't foist their wonderful fantasies on us and make us suffer for their inability to get on with it. :)

[marginlized]

19. Bringing down empires is so mundane...

I feel so much more powerful when I cause Tsunamis and Earthquakes

[joeybee12]

20. Actually, assholes like this "historian" caused the downfall of Rome...

which was a very tolerant society...it fell for many reasons, including becomeing Christian and losing its tolerance.