Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhoni
Truthseeker is posting, as we all do, from our point of reference; how we were raised in our family of origin, the teachings we got throught the church, the ideas of friends, and our past and present relationships.
The Bible tells us the marriage bed is undefiled, and it has already been said that our spouse's body was given to us for our pleasure/mutual pleasure. This is why it is very important to discuss these things during the pre-marital stage.
There was one of my internships that all I did was counsel married couples in a fundamentalist pentecostal church and the ideas of what was appropriate in the marital bed was as diverse as the couples themselves.
Again, I will say that ANYTHING [act of sexuality] between a married [male and female couple] that is mutually agreed upon, that both enjoy and no one is hurt mentally, physically, or emotionally is within their Biblical right. There is an exclusion: watching pornography of others in the act is wrong and is not part of the sexual act of the married couple. This includes bringing other people into the marriage bed agreed upon or not...this is sin; adultry, fornication, and is not part of a pure Biblical relationship.
Blessings,
Rhoni
P.S. Thank you George.  And I agree that those of us who are not married but have been, are just as much an adult and within our rights to discuss these issues. |
Rhoni,
A minister gave me a book almost a year ago that illustrated how biblical sexual ethics aren’t as cut and dry as our Puritanical culture in America assumes. It goes into detail about various things that the Bible describes as acceptable that today we’d condemn.
We often forget that the Bible is Eastern literature. For example in the Song of Solomon we see the Shulamite dancing before her kinsman. She dances an erotic dance and they are reveling in her beauty. When she leaves, they desire her to come back that they might see her “navel”, a euphemism for her, “womanhood”. She isn’t condemned for the entertaining of her kinsman as she is passionately expressing her erotic feelings. If the Song was put to film, it would not be Rated – PG. In fact, it’s rather explicit literature by itself. So one could argue that a measure of erotic entertainment allowable. The issue brought to my attention was that a form of entertainment between husband and wife shouldn’t depict sinful activity or promote sinful activity, but rather normal and permissible activity.
Fornication, according to this study, is actually a very broad category that includes all prohibited activities: rape, child abuse, adultery, harlotry, sodomy, and bestiality.
Rape needs no explanation, it is when one uses force to take another.
Child abuse needs no explaination.
Adultery is viewed as a breach of the marriage contract and was typically only leveled upon a woman, but Jesus and Paul put both husband and wife on equal footing. When either has, “relations”, with another who is married adultery is committed. For example, David sought the attention of Uriah’s wife. She didn’t belong to David, she belonged to Uriah. Uriah didn’t offer her to the king to wife, therefore David committed adultery. However, if one’s spouse was aware and agreeable another partner was allowable to wife, as in the case with Abraham and Sarah and Sarah’s giving Hagar, her unmarried handmaid, to Abraham to wife. Abraham didn’t commit adultery but David did. Concubines were essentially mistresses that served the husband in a committed relationship within the auspices of the first wife. None of this was condemned, however the mistreatment of any wife or concubine was.
That brings up the subject of polygamy. Polygamy isn’t condemned in Scripture and was in fact commanded in some instances. Jesus and Paul encouraged monogamy. However there is disagreement among many scholars as to why. Most believe that Jesus and Paul essentially codified monogamy into the Christian faith by divine revelation. Others point out that Rome had already condemned polygamy and believe that Jesus and Paul were simply teaching about marriage within the context of Roman culture. Jesus and Paul therefore wouldn’t address marriage in any other context than monogamy. What may be valuable to note is that neither Jesus nor Paul condemn any Old Testament personality who engaged in polygamous relationships. In fact the majority of those mentioned by Paul in the Hall of Faith passage of Hebrews were polygamous and Paul states that they were workers of righteousness. This implies that Paul didn’t believe polygamy was a sin though marriage in Rome was strictly monogamous. From this some say that the Christian position is simple; recognize and obey the laws of your society in relation to marriage just as Jesus and Paul did.
Harlotry was essentially promiscuity, especially prostitution.
Sodomy was the temple prostitution performed primarily by males with other males and was strongly condemned, especially in relation to the worship of Yahweh. Most extend this condemnation to any form of same gender relations.
Bestiality was any relation with an animal.
The point of the book was that intimacy from a biblical perspective isn’t as puritanical as American culture would have us assume.
I asked the minister who gave the book to me if he believed what this book said and he told me that our love life is strictly between me and my wife, and that as long as we didn’t defraud or offend one another’s needs or sensibilities it was strictly our business.
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