The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Fornication = joining in with the Baal pagan fertility god worship

I found an interesting article, in today’s Patheos Catholic newsletter:

Not exactly! if a single man never desires someone to whom he is not married, what would motivate him to get married?

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that whoever looks at a wife to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27,28)

The Greek word “γυνη” can mean either “woman” or “wife.” But it can hardly mean “woman” in this context, for why would it be adultery of the heart for a single man to look at a single woman with desire? But if he looks at someone’s wife, to desire her sexually, he clearly commits adultery in his heart.

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My opinion on the subject is that while there is too much legalism regarding sex one shouldn’t embrace full hedonism without restraint.

I think there need to be a distinguishing between different types of fornication. The first being casual sex, the other being sex between a romantically involved unmarried couple. I tend to view casual sex as bad. It serves no purpose other than to satisfy primitive urges. Plus it its dull and meaningless. However sex between dating partners is a different moral question altogether. It is said that this type of sex can help a relationship grow and strengthens the bond between the two. I try to be open and remember that social context has changed dramatically since antiquity when the initial opinions were formed on the matter. In the past marriages were arranged between families purely for socio-economic reasons. The couples would only know each other a few days before the wedding. Nowadays marriages are based on mutual love ( and rightly so) which is much closer to a Christian understanding than arranged marriages. Its best that a couple know each other for a few years before committing to marriage. Sex can be and most often is part of those years. I don’t think there needs to be an aura of guilt around it which does little to help since it almost always happens.

On the other hand my opinion of pornography is completely negative. It is pure exploitation. There is nothing good or positive that can come out of it.

I try to be nonjudgmental to people who engage in these activities regardless.