Triptychon

The three framed texts show the historical development of three clauses in the German Criminal law. They start with the first appearance in the legislation of the German Reich in 1872 and undergo several changes during the times of the Weimarer Republic and the Nazi regime right up to its current wording in the criminal code of the Federal Republic of Germany. The clauses 166, 175 and 180 are not hung in their numerical order but according to their content. So clause 166 - which in its original version deals with the punishment for blasphemy - is guided on both sides by two clauses that regulate human sexual behaviour. Namely the so called sodomy or homosexuality clause and the clause concerning procuration. When reading the texts, it becomes clear that the culpability of blasphemy, sodomy and procuration is declared only by means of moral. Both, the secularisation and democratic processes led to strong modifications of the linguistic usage and after all of the legal situatio n. As procuration nowadays is only of interest concerning prostitution and the legal protection for children and young persons, clause 175 was deleted without substitution when homosexuality became legalized and the legal protection of the Christian god becomes a protection of all gods and even other world views. Together the texts can be seen as a triptych. Analogue to the illustrations of the history of Christ in traditional altarpieces the law texts document the loss of authority by the institution church.The three framed texts show the historical development of three clauses in the German Criminal law. They start with the first appearance in the legislation of the German Reich in 1872 and undergo several changes during the times of the Weimarer Republic and the Nazi regime right up to its current wording in the criminal code of the Federal Republic of Germany. The clauses 166, 175 and 180 are not hung in their numerical order but according to their content. So clause 166 - which in its original version deals with the punishment for blasphemy - is guided on both sides by two clauses that regulate human sexual behaviour. Namely the so called sodomy or homosexuality clause and the clause concerning procuration. When reading the texts, it becomes clear that the culpability of blasphemy, sodomy and procuration is declared only by means of moral. Both, the secularisation and democratic processes led to strong modifications of the linguistic usage and after all of the legal situatio n. As procuration nowadays is only of interest concerning prostitution and the legal protection for children and young persons, clause 175 was deleted without substitution when homosexuality became legalized and the legal protection of the Christian god becomes a protection of all gods and even other world views. Together the texts can be seen as a triptych. Analogue to the illustrations of the history of Christ in traditional altarpieces the law texts document the loss of authority by the institution church.