188 replies to this topic

[Jonathan Ashworth]

Hello, its me again.

I enjoyed reading the responses to my list of how I differ from Christadelphians. I thought I'd write a bit more about each of the four things, starting with porn. I don't believe it is always wrong to enjoy porn.

The term "porn" is very broad. It covers a HUGE range of material, from the very subtle stuff, to the very illegal stuff. I'm not trying to say that all porn is OK. For the purposes of this argument, when I say "porn" I mean "sexually explicit material depitcing one or two consenting adults". That's the kind of stuff I enjoy.

Unfortuantely (I believe) the Bible doesn't say anything directly about porn, even though it existed in Biblical times. It is one of those things where you have to think about the general ideas in Christ's teaching rather than explicit verses.

I can watch and enjoy Formula 1 racing without wanting to drive at 120mph. I can watch tennis without wanting to win Wimbledon. I can visit art galleries and museums without coveting the beautiful things on display. Those three activities - watching racing, watching tennis, visiting museums - are OK for me.

But suppose I wasn't like that. Suppose when I visited a museum I coveted the things on display. Then it would be wrong for me to visit a museum.

When I watch or read porn I am enjoying two people doing something very beautiful together. Although I find it sexually arousing, I don't want to be one of the two people involved. I'm not looking at some blonde bimbo wanting to commit adultery with her. I'm not coveting, I'm not committing adultery in my heart. If I was doing either of those things, then I would be sinning by enjoying porn.

Now, I know that a lot of Christadelphians will be tempted to say that by enjoying porn I could cause a weaker brother to stumble. But consider this case: I know one Christian guy who is not in a position to get married. He finds that porn provides a very welcome sexual release for him. His sex drive is very strong, and he doesn't feel he could stay celibate without it. By not allowing people to enjoy porn, you would be causing this guy to stumble.

[Reuben]

The thing is, in the vast majority of cases, the two people concerned are committing adultery or are not married. That is clearly wrong from a Biblical standpoint. Therefore, in watching that material, you are getting enjoyment out of someone else's sin, thus sinning yourself.

Also, the Bible doesn't say "don't look only if you are attracted to doing the thing you're wanting looking at." Sin is sin, and we are to turn our eyes away regardless of personal inclinations. The Bible speaks of things which are pure, lovely, of good report etc, so no, I don't think its right to be watching a person stealing (for example) for enjoyment. It comes back to wether or not the actual act you are watching is sin: if it is, don't participate in any way (ie watching, reading).

Edited by Reuben, 02 January 2009 - 10:59 PM.

[Jeremy]

Romans 1 v 32. End of story.

[Jon D]

Hi Jonathan,

Perhaps you could comment on the following verses with regard to porn:

- "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." (Romans 1 vs. 29 - 32)

- "Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure." (1 Tim 5 vs. 22)

Thanks,

Elimelech

[Amy Parkin]

How is watching porn doing "all to the glory of God"? Putting our own desires first in any way, shape or form is wrong and sinful and we shouldn't want our lives to be self-centred, but God-centred.

[Fortigurn]

Jonathan Ashworth, on Jan 3 2009, 06:25 AM, said:

Now, I know that a lot of Christadelphians will be tempted to say that by enjoying porn I could cause a weaker brother to stumble. But consider this case: I know one Christian guy who is not in a position to get married. He finds that porn provides a very welcome sexual release for him. His sex drive is very strong, and he doesn't feel he could stay celibate without it. By not allowing people to enjoy porn, you would be causing this guy to stumble.

By saying it's ok to watch porn we've already caused him to stumble. With all your talk of watching porn but not coveting, and your clams that watching porn constitutes watching 'two people doing something very beautiful together', you haven't actually explained why it is that you enjoy porn. If you're enjoying porn I can guarantee that the reason why you're enjoying it is the very reason why it's a transgression of Biblical principles. And the idea that porn constitutes 'two people doing something very beautiful together' is more than hilarious.

Perhaps you would be interested in reviewing some of the recent academic literature on porn and its effects on the human mind. It's not very complimentary.

[Fortigurn]

Amy Parkin, on Jan 3 2009, 08:19 AM, said:

How is watching porn doing "all to the glory of God"? Putting our own desires first in any way, shape or form is wrong and sinful and we shouldn't want our lives to be self-centred, but God-centred.

Good points (also Jeremy and Elimelech). What we've seen here is a self-centered, rather than a God-centered, defence of porn.

[Jeremy]

Justifying something because "the Bible doesn't say anything directly about [it]" is simply legalism. The Bible doesn't say anything about wife-beating or child abuse either: are those OK for a Christian?

Amy's approach is right: we should be filling our lives by trying to gloriyify God, not trying to get away with sins the Bible doesn't specifically name.

[sarah]

so my efforts to work with someone who has now become addicted to porn are not necessary beacuse a) the bible says nothing about it and b)its 'beautiful' and c) 'although sexually arousing' its not committing adultery or fornication.

Jesus said except ye become as one of these little ones ye can not enter in the the Kingdom of God. Our aims are to be as God's dear children not dabbling in the wiles of this world.

What is porn satisfying? the cravings of the flesh or the desires of the new man within us to serve God?

[Huldah]

Jonathan, when you get around to replying I'd like to know how you make no connection between porn and lust.

The Bible has plenty to say about lust, and I don't see how porn can have nothing to do with lust.

[Rebel]

sarah, on Jan 3 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

so my efforts to work with someone who has now become addicted to porn are not necessary beacuse a) the bible says nothing about it and b)its 'beautiful' and c) 'although sexually arousing' its not committing adultery or fornication.

Jesus said except ye become as one of these little ones ye can not enter in the the Kingdom of God. Our aims are to be as God's dear children not dabbling in the wiles of this world.

What is porn satisfying? the cravings of the flesh or the desires of the new man within us to serve God?

Sometimes cravings of the flesh are fine with God.

I am not saying porn is fine though. I really feel like spewing while reading this subject. The justifications are not sound.

Your efforts to work with somebody who is affected by porn are not useless, Sarah. Just about the whole world is affected by porn. It doesn't mean we shouldn't work with them. Did i understand you right though?

[sarah]

yes Rebel you did understand me right. We have a very hard time helping this person...he says he wants help, and it does work for a little while but then he falls back again. I can not even begin to see the sense in which Jonathan is saying porn is ok. I find what you have said about cravings of the flesh hard too rebel.

and yes re lust and porn...i would be interested int hat answer too.

In fact i am very interested to see what jonathan has to say about all of the posts here.

[Rebel]

sarah, on Jan 3 2009, 02:51 PM, said:

he says he wants help, and it does work for a little while but then he falls back again. I can not even begin to see the sense in which Jonathan is saying porn is ok. I find what you have said about cravings of the flesh hard too rebel.

"Falls back again" sounds like any other addiction (and you called it addiction eariler), there are special psychological ways to overcome addiction (practical advice, helpful tips and lots more), you should research the options of professinal help and support (family, friends) help.

I didn't understand why you said the bit in italics. You mean you didn't understand what i meant by "some cravings are fine with God"?

[Jeppo]

sarah, on Jan 3 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

so my efforts to work with someone who has now become addicted to porn are not necessary beacuse a) the bible says nothing about it and b)its 'beautiful' and c) 'although sexually arousing' its not committing adultery or fornication.

I think it's important to make a distinction between 'enjoying' porn and being in the grip of an addiction. Most people can enjoy alcohol without being addicted. Painkillers do a good job (come in handy for childbirth) but some people get addicted to those too.

Sarah, are you working with someone because you have been trained as a sex addiction therapist or are you doing it as a well meaning Christian friend? It might make adifference to the outcome, that's all.

[Chris]

Fortigurn, on Jan 2 2009, 08:33 PM, said:

And the idea that porn constitutes 'two people doing something very beautiful together' is more than hilarious.

Agreed. I'd like to hear what the 'beautiful' part is. It can't be the emotional connection, so it must be the physical act itself, correct? If so, how is that not lust as defined Biblically?

[Deborah]

Jeppo, on Jan 3 2009, 06:06 PM, said:

I think it's important to make a distinction between 'enjoying' porn and being in the grip of an addiction. Most people can enjoy alcohol without being addicted. Painkillers do a good job (come in handy for childbirth) but some people get addicted to those too.

So, is a little bit of adultery okay? Perhaps fornication in moderation is fine too (just as long as we don't do it all of the time, or get addicted)?? Sorry, but your comparison with a glass of wine or an epidural doesn't make sense.

Edited by Deborah, 03 January 2009 - 05:52 PM.

[Dawn]

I hate it and believe it is sinful for a Christian to allow it. As Christians we should pursue "self-control" - a fruit of the Spirit, and anyone who gives in to porn is not growing in this.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." Galatian 5:22-23

However, in the world of unbelievers, it is a sad fact in this fallen world, that both prostitution and pornography reduce violent crime and murder -particularly against women (though of course they are crimes in themselves even when women are consenting as it is degrading for both men and women to partake in either porn or prostitution, but it is a sad fact it does reduce crime).

[Jeppo]

Deborah, on Jan 3 2009, 05:51 PM, said:

Jeppo, on Jan 3 2009, 06:06 PM, said:

I think it's important to make a distinction between 'enjoying' porn and being in the grip of an addiction. Most people can enjoy alcohol without being addicted. Painkillers do a good job (come in handy for childbirth) but some people get addicted to those too.

So, is a little bit of adultery okay? Perhaps fornication in moderation is fine too (just as long as we don't do it all of the time, or get addicted)?? Sorry, but your comparison with a glass of wine or an epidural doesn't make sense.

I was just making the point that porn itself is NOT the cause of porn addiction. Addiction is usually the sign of a deeper malaise and might require professional help.

Porn doesn't necessarily have to be mixed up with adultery & fornication. It's a wide spectrum (as the OP made absolutely clear), but I suspect you have a tendency to think of the worst case scenario, hence the knee-jerk reaction.

Here's a case for you to think about. A close friend of mind watches softcore 'porn' with his wife. It enhances their sex life, apparently. He's still happily married 10 years & two kids later. No need to invoke adultery or fornication there.

[Reuben]

Jeppo, on Jan 4 2009, 06:23 AM, said:

Porn doesn't necessarily have to be mixed up with adultery & fornication. It's a wide spectrum (as the OP made absolutely clear), but I suspect you have a tendency to think of the worst case scenario, hence the knee-jerk reaction.

I would question that. The Bible says when a person lusts after a woman, even in his heart, it is committing adultery. Are you saying that a person viewing such material isn't lusting (look up definition) in his heart?

[Deborah]

Jeppo, on Jan 3 2009, 08:23 PM, said:

I was just making the point that porn itself is NOT the cause of porn addiction. Addiction is usually the sign of a deeper malaise and might require professional help.

Ah, well, sorry for misunderstanding you. Yes, if someone has a porn addiction they most certainly need help (as opposed to justifying it).

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Porn doesn't necessarily have to be mixed up with adultery & fornication. It's a wide spectrum (as the OP made absolutely clear), but I suspect you have a tendency to think of the worst case scenario, hence the knee-jerk reaction.

Well, suspect away, but you don't know me so it might be best not to speculate whether I tend to think the worst or not. Whether porn is mixed up with adultery or fornication wasn't my point. I was just saying that anything immoral or lustful can't be claimed as okay just because you have it or experience it in small doses.

Quote

Here's a case for you to think about. A close friend of mind watches softcore 'porn' with his wife. It enhances their sex life, apparently. He's still happily married 10 years & two kids later.

Well, if that's their choice as a married couple that's up to them, but watching someone else have sex (which should be private between a husband and wife) so that you can have 'better' sex is little disturbing to me. It also concerns me that your friend revealed to you how he and his wife enhance their sex lives. Is nothing sacred anymore?

[sarah]

Rebel, on Jan 3 2009, 03:22 PM, said:

sarah, on Jan 3 2009, 02:51 PM, said:

he says he wants help, and it does work for a little while but then he falls back again. I can not even begin to see the sense in which Jonathan is saying porn is ok. I find what you have said about cravings of the flesh hard too rebel.

"Falls back again" sounds like any other addiction (and you called it addiction eariler), there are special psychological ways to overcome addiction (practical advice, helpful tips and lots more), you should research the options of professinal help and support (family, friends) help.

I didn't understand why you said the bit in italics. You mean you didn't understand what i meant by "some cravings are fine with God"?

yes i was unsure of what you meant by 'some cravings are alright with God.' Sorry for not making myself clear

[sarah]

Jeppo, on Jan 3 2009, 05:06 PM, said:

sarah, on Jan 3 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

so my efforts to work with someone who has now become addicted to porn are not necessary beacuse a) the bible says nothing about it and b)its 'beautiful' and c) 'although sexually arousing' its not committing adultery or fornication.

I think it's important to make a distinction between 'enjoying' porn and being in the grip of an addiction. Most people can enjoy alcohol without being addicted. Painkillers do a good job (come in handy for childbirth) but some people get addicted to those too.

Sarah, are you working with someone because you have been trained as a sex addiction therapist or are you doing it as a well meaning Christian friend? It might make adifference to the outcome, that's all.

without giving too much away being int he grip of an addicition is generally because you enjoy what you are addicted to. It is also often because you enjoy it that you become addicted to it. I agree most people can enjoy alcohol without being addicted to it, and yes most people enjoy food without being acdicted to it. Addictions can come in all manner of shapes and sizes with all many of substances. But whether we are talking about enjoying porn or being addicted to porn, both are wrong in the eyes of God. As subsequent posters have said, sex is private, between husband and wife, and should be revered as such. Porn is cheapening something which God has given his blessing to.

thanks jeppo for pointing out that it make make a difference whether I am trained or not. I agree.

[Jeppo]

Deborah said:

Jeppo said:

Here's a case for you to think about. A close friend of mind watches softcore 'porn' with his wife. It enhances their sex life, apparently. He's still happily married 10 years & two kids later.

Well, if that's their choice as a married couple that's up to them, but watching someone else have sex (which should be private between a husband and wife) so that you can have 'better' sex is little disturbing to me.

OK, you find it 'disturbing' but is it immoral? By the way, they aren't watching 'someone else have sex'. Softcore porn is simulated sex. Not unlike the stuff you can see on TV, usually after 9pm in the UK. It's also known as 'acting'.

As far as I can see a married couple indulging in sexual activities for pleasure could be described as 'lustful' with or without the help of some saucy material. Does marriage make this OK? Doesn't Paul say something about marriage being a good way to channel your lust if you can't stay celibate?

Deborah said:

It also concerns me that your friend revealed to you how he and his wife enhance their sex lives. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Thanks for the moral heads-up on that one Seriously though, many women will confide about their sex lives to other women. Unsurprisingly men sometimes do the same. Shock, horror, it may even be happening in an ecclesia near you! Good friends will often share intimate stuff, but you don't need me to tell you that. Whether or not it is violating something that is 'sacred' depends on the context of the discussion & the people involved.

[Jeppo]

Sarah said:

being in the grip of an addicition is generally because you enjoy what you are addicted to. It is also often because you enjoy it that you become addicted to it.

This is a common sense view of addiction that most people have (that includes those who are addicted), but it's way off target. It keeps people ill because they continue to see their addiction as a moral choice & a matter of 'willpower'. I won't say much more or else we'll go off-topic, but your friend needs professional guidance if he has an addiction.

Sarah said:

But whether we are talking about enjoying porn or being addicted to porn, both are wrong in the eyes of God. As subsequent posters have said, sex is private, between husband and wife, and should be revered as such.

That's your opinion. If that works for you I'd stick to it. Personally, I find that confiding in others about my sexual conduct is conducive to better mental health. Horses for courses...

[sarah]

Jeppo, on Jan 3 2009, 11:42 PM, said:

Sarah said:

being in the grip of an addicition is generally because you enjoy what you are addicted to. It is also often because you enjoy it that you become addicted to it.

This is a common sense view of addiction that most people have (that includes those who are addicted), but it's way off target. It keeps people ill because they continue to see their addiction as a moral choice & a matter of 'willpower'. I won't say much more or else we'll go off-topic, but your friend needs professional guidance if he has an addiction.

Sarah said:

But whether we are talking about enjoying porn or being addicted to porn, both are wrong in the eyes of God. As subsequent posters have said, sex is private, between husband and wife, and should be revered as such.

That's your opinion. If that works for you I'd stick to it. Personally, I find that confiding in others about my sexual conduct is conducive to better mental health. Horses for courses...

I see. You are of course an addiction therapist right?
yes if you ahve a difficulty with your sexual conduct go ahead ask for some help, but confiding in others regarding healthy God given sexual conduct is hardly giving glory to God now is it!

[Jeppo]

Quote

I see. You are of course an addiction therapist right?

Not quite. It's a bit more personal than that. My recovery from alcoholism started about 10 years ago (total abstinence since June 1999). I've spent the last 9 years giving voluntary service & running 'therapy' sessions in my local Cateogry A prison, as well as helping guys at the bail hostel & any waifs & strays the probation service sends my way. I've lost count of the hundreds of addicts I've 'counselled' in that time. Very serious cases too, often sent straight from de-tox. If you want me to be more specific I can PM you, but I hope this info will suffice for now.

Sarah said:

healthy God given sexual conduct

Now that's an interesting phrase. I'll be willing to bet that you'd have difficulty finding two christadelphians who could agree specifically about what constitued 'healthy' vs. 'unhealthy' sexual conduct between consenting marital partners. We're back to horses for courses. It would be rather ungentlemanly of me to ask you to define 'healthy God given sexual conduct' so I'm happy to leave it at that.

[nsr]

Can a person overcome an addiction on their own?

[Fortigurn]

Jeppo, on Jan 4 2009, 03:23 AM, said:

Porn doesn't necessarily have to be mixed up with adultery & fornication. It's a wide spectrum (as the OP made absolutely clear), but I suspect you have a tendency to think of the worst case scenario, hence the knee-jerk reaction.

In terms of the meaning of the Biblical term, porn is fornication. Full stop.

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πορνεία, ας, ἡ (of various kinds of ‘unsanctioned sexual intercourse’: Demosth. et al.; LXX, En, Test12Patr; GrBar [in vice lists]; AscIs, Philo, apolog. exc. Ar. W. φθορά Iren. 1, 28, 1 [Harv. I 220, 14])

① unlawful sexual intercourse, prostitution, unchastity, fornication, 1 Cor 5:1ab (CdeVos, NTS 44, ’98, 104–14); 6:13 (on 1 Cor 5–6 s. PTomson, Paul and the Jewish Law: CRINT III/1, ’90, 97–102); Hm 4, 1, 1. In a vice list (cp. AscIs 2:5) Ro 1:29 v.l. W. ἀκαθαρσία 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5. Differentiated fr. μοιχεία (Philo, Mos. 1, 300; s. also πορνεύω 1) Mt 15:19; Mk 7:21 (WGabriel, Was ist ‘porneia’ im Sprachgebr. Jesu?: Ethik 7, ’31, 106–9; 363–69); Hm 8:3; D 5:1 (the pl. denotes individual acts). On the other hand μοιχεία appears as πορνεία (cp. Sir 23:23) Hm 4, 1, 5. Of the sexual unfaithfulness of a married woman Mt 5:32; 19:9 (for the view that ref. is made in these pass. to forbidden degrees of marriage, s. 2 below.—JSickenberger, TQ 123, ’42, 189–206, ZNW 42, ’49, 202ff; KStaab [παρεκτός 2]; AAllgeier, Angelicum 20, ’43, 128–42. Cp. AFridrichsen, SEÅ 9, ’44, 54–58; AIsaksson, Marriage and Ministry in the New Temple, ’65, 127–42 [lit.]; s. also JFitzmyer, TS 37, 76, 197–226). Caused by lust D 3:3. διὰ τὰς πορνείας 1 Cor 7:2 (the pl. points out the various factors that may bring about sexual immorality; PTomson [s. above] 103–8). BMalina, Does Porneia Mean ‘Fornication’? NovT 14, ’72, 10–17. φεύγειν τὴν π. 6:18. Also ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς π. 1 Th 4:3 (cp. Tobit 4:12). ἐκ π. γεννηθῆναι be an illegitimate child, a bastard (cp. Cephalion [II a.d.]: 93 Fgm. 5 p. 444, 5 Jac. ἐγέννησε ἐκ πορ.; Gen 38:24) J 8:41. On ἀπέχεσθαι τῆς πορνείας καὶ πνικτοῦ Ac 15:20 (cp. vs. 29; 21:25 and s. 2 below) s. the lit. s.v. πνικτός and in BBacon, The Apost. Decree against πορνεία: Exp. 8th ser., 7, 1914, 40–61.

② participation in prohibited degrees of marriage, fornication (s. Lev. 18:16–18; cp. Acts 15:20–29, s. Bruce, comm. Ac; 21:25) Mt 5:32; 19:9 (w. some favor RSmith, Matthew [Augsburg] ’89,100; RGundry, Matthew ’82, 91: “no need to adopt obscure definitions of πορνείας, such as marriage within the forbidden degrees. … The specific word for adultery does not appear in the exceptive phrase simply because a general expression occurs in Deuteronomy” [24:1], but s. BWitherington, NTS 31, ’85, 571–76: ‘except in the case of incest’. On these pass. s. 1.).

③ immorality of a transcendent nature, fornication, in imagery, of polytheistic cult in the mystic city Babylon, which appears in Rv as a prostitute with an international clientele. Fr. the time of Hosea the relationship betw. God and his people was regarded as a marriage bond. This usage was more easily understandable because some Semitic and Graeco-Roman cults were at times connected w. sexual debauchery (cp. Hos 6:10; Jer 3:2, 9; 4 Km 9:22; on the positive side, for concern about propriety on the part of some cults s. e.g. SIG 820 [83/84 a.d.], in which an Ephesian official assures Rome that the annual autumn fertility festival is conducted ‘with much chastity and due observance of established customs’. This level of conduct prob. stands up well against activities associated with celebration of a modern Mardi Gras.) Rv 19:2. μετανοῆσαι ἐκ τῆς π. αὐτῆς repent of her immorality 2:21; cp. 9:21. ὁ οἶνος τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς π. the wine of her passionate immorality 14:8; 18:3 (on these passages s. θυμός 1 and 2). ὁ οἶνος τῆς π. 17:2. τὰ ἀκάθαρτα τῆς π. vs. 4 (ἀκάθαρτος 2).—V.l. for πονηρίας Hv 1, 1, 8 (Leutzsch, Hermas 447 n. 53). S. next entry 2.—DELG s.v. πέρνημι. M-M. EDNT.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. "Based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wr̲terbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frhchristlichen [sic] Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker." (3rd ed.) (854). Chicago: University of Chicago Press

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A. The Non-Jewish World.

I. Usage.

1. πόρνη, from πέρνημι, ”to sell,“ esp. of slaves, means lit. “harlot for hire,” “prostitute”; Gk. harlots were usually bought slaves, Aristoph. Ach., 527; ἐφασθέντα πόρνης δημοσίας, BGU, IV, 1024, p. 6, 4 ff. (4–5th cent. a.d.); ὁ Κόλοβος δὲ πόρνην με πεπύηκεν, P. Oxy., III, 528, 18; πόρνη γυνή, Archiloch. Fr., 142;1 πόρνη ἄνθρωπος, Lys. Or., 4, 9; πόρνην καὶ δούλην ἄνθρωπον, ibid., 4, 19. 2. πόρνος (from Aristoph. Plut., 155), “whoremonger” who has intercourse with prostitutes, then specifically one who lets himself be abused for money, “male prostitute”: τὴν … ὥραν ἐὰν μέν τις ἀργυρίου πωλῇ τῷ βουλομένῳ, πόρνον αὐτὸν ἀποκαλοῦσιν (opp. φίλον, σώφρονα), Xenoph. Mem., I, 6, 13; παῖδες πόρνοι, Aristoph. Plut., 155; πόρνον μὲν ἐν παισί, Phalaris Ep., 4;2 Demosth. Ep., 4, 11; Philo Leg. All., 8. 3. πορνεία, rare in class Gk., “fornication,” “licentiousness.” μοιχεύω is narrower than πορνεία (→ IV, 729 ff.) and refers solely to adultery. After her marriage the ἐραστής of the hetaira Neaira is a μοιχός, Demosth. Or., 59, 41; [ἡ δὲ Ἀφροδίτ]η παρατυγχάνουσα τῷ τοῦ [Ἄρεως πορ]νίας <και;> μοιχείας κατίς[τ]ησιν, Venus in conjunction with Mars causes fornication and adultery, P. Tebt., II, 276, 15 f. (1/2nd cent. b.c.); P. Lond., V, 1711, 30 (6th cent. a.d.); Σινώπης τῆς Θρᾴττης τῆς ἐξ Αἰγίνης Ἀθήναζε μετενεγκαμένης τὴν πορνείαν, Athen., 13, 595a; of homosexuality, Demosth. Or., 19, 200. 4. πορνεύω a. trans. “to prostitute,” Harp., s.v. πωλῶσι, commonly3 pass. of a woman “to prostitute oneself,” “to become a harlot,” Hdt., I, 93; Lys. Fr., 59; of a man, Aeschin. Tim., 52, 119; Demosth. Or., 19, 233; ἢ πεπορνευμένος … ἢ ἡταιρηκώς. τὸν γὰρ τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἐφʼ ὕβρει πεπρακότα, Aeschin. Tim., 29. b. intr. act. == pass. “to commit fornication,” Luc. Alex., 5; πεπορνευκὼς ἄνθρωπος, Phalaris Ep., 121, 1.4 5. ἐκπορνεύω,5 stronger form of πορνεύω, “to live very licentiously,” pass. in the same sense, Poll. Onom., VI, 126; with acc. “to prostitute,” Lv. 19:29; Test. D. 5:5.

II. Extra-Marital Intercourse in the Non-Biblical World.

A distinction must first be made between cultic and secular prostitution. The ultimate roots are in the pre-historical period of matriarchy and dawning self-awareness, though this period is for the most part wrapped in obscurity. It is at least clear that there are differences between oriental and especially Semitic culture on the one side and Greek culture on the other.

1. Cultic Prostitution.

In cultic prostitution6 a further distinction must be made between the single act and the permanent state. The former was a national custom in Persia which even daughters of prominent families followed and to which no shame attached.7 The latter was practised by the class of hierodules whose payment accrued to the goddess. This type of prostitution was widespread in Asia Minor in cults8 of mother deities;9 it is also found, however, in Syria10 and Egypt.11 Through the Canaanite cults (Baal, Astarte) it penetrated into the religion of Israel. On Gk. soil sacral prostitution was generally rejected. It found an entry only in Corinth and Athens, probably through the trading connections of these cities with the Orient. In Corinth esp. the temple of Aphrodite with its 1000 hierodules was famous, and an inscr, recalls that the goddess answered their prayers for the threatened fatherland in a critical hour.12

2. Secular Intercourse Outside Marriage.

The Gk. attitude to extra-marital intercourse is to be understood in relation to varying historical and social circumstances.13 Prostitutes and brothels are unknown in the Homeric age. Masters may keep a concubine (παλλακή, פִּלֶגֶשׁ) or have casual intercourse with female slaves, who are mostly carried off in war, Hom. Il., 1, 111; 8, 284. Prostitution arises with increasing prosperity and commerce. Solon (c. 594) in his laws tries to protect marriage and to prevent sexual excess. He forbids the giving up of daughters or sisters to prostitution if they have not already fallen into it.14 Among state revenues was the πορνικὸν τέλος which was collected by πορνοτελῶναι.15 In antiquity a constant source of prostitution was slavery, which made people mere chattels. Female slaves were at the mercy of their masters’ lusts. Of gt. significance for the development of prostitution was the Athenian law of purification in 451, which made a sharp distinction between natives and foreigners and denied civil rights to the children of mixed marriages (Plut. Pericl., 37 [I, 172b–f]). As a result of their changed legal status a gt. number of alien women had to become self-supporting. From this time on the professional “friend” became a common figure in Gk. society. A crisis developed in marriage. Even as early as Hdt. ἑταίρα is the euphemism for a woman who grants casual sexual intercourse for money.16

The main cause of prostitution is the Greek view of life which regards sexual intercourse as just as natural, necessary and justifiable as eating and drinking17 Only civil marriage was protected by law and custom, → μοιχεύω, IV, 732 f. Even the married man was permitted extra-marital intercourse as he pleased so long as he did not violate a civil marriage. On the other hand, all extra-marital intercourse was forbidden to the wife. Towards the practical exercise of free sex relations the judgment of the Greeks was very tolerant (Athen., 13, 590d–e), especially in the case of intercourse between young men—the age of marriage was between 30 and 35—and harlots. Only excess and overindulgence were censured, e.g., Alcibiades. On the other hand, visiting brothels was also regarded as scandalous. This ambivalence of outlook is characteristic of antiquity. Plato tries to solve the problem by compromise. Intercourse with harlots is permissible so long as it takes place in secret and causes no offence, Leg., VIII, 841a–c. With complete injustice to the wife, who was kept at home, a man sought with the hetaira what he could not find in his wife.18 But the circle of eminent hetairae was probably small.19 Most of them were sought only for reasons of sensual desire. Aristot. rightly wanted to improve the education of Greek women as a means to restrain hetairism, Polit., I, 13, p. 1260b, 15; II, 9, p. 1269b, 17.

Sparta and the Doric branch maintained sexual discipline more strongly than Athens, Corinth20 and the Ionic sphere. It was here, however, that homosexuality developed and this then spread over the whole of Greece and was practised rather than censured even by notable figures.21 Lesbianism was much less common. In a fateful way both opened the door to unnatural perversion. Various groups of harlots may be distinguished. The lowest comprises those in brothels,22 who were mostly female slaves, so that the owner had full power over them, Aristoph. Eccl., 721 f.; Demosth. Or., 59, 30.23 A somewhat higher group was that of girls with various artistic skills such as music, singing and dancing, Plat. Prot., 347d; Luc. Dial. Meretricii, 15, 2; Xenoph. Sym., 2, 1 ff.; Plat. Symp., 176e. Higher than the harlots of brothels were those who plied their trade independently and who could sometimes ask higher and even very high prices (μεγαλόμισθοι).24

3. The Sex Ethics of Stoicism.

In this very period philosophy manifests a concern to reform sexual morality. Stoicism does not reject sexual enjoyment as such (Muson., p. 71, 11) but does seek to free men from passion,25 Epict. Diss., IV, I, 21. It uniformly condemns adultery (Zeno Fr., 244 [v. Arnim, I, 58, 14 ff.]; Epict. Diss., II, 4) and extra-marital intercourse on the part of married persons. With these principles it struggles resolutely against the sexual decay of the age, Muson., p. 67, 6 ff. Muson. is the strictest. He regards all sexual intercourse outside marriage as unlawful (παράνομος) and infamous (αἰσχρός, p. 64, 1. 5. 9). He rejects even that between master and female slave, p. 66, 2 ff. The man who has intercourse with hetairae sins against himself, p. 65, 4 ff. By all unclean acts a man defiles the god in his own breast, Epict. Diss., II, 8, 13. Ocellus26 thinks chastity is best, 45f. The man who is not capable of this should at least avoid the delights of love until he is 20, and even after this confine himself to the minimum, 54f.27

B. The Old Testament.

I. Usage.

1. In the LXX the group πορνεύω is normally used for the root זנה, 28 while with equal consistency μοιχεύω is used for נאף (→ IV, 729, 14 ff.). a. The verb πορνεύω is predominantly the rendering of זָנָה, once of קָדֵשׁ, , Dt. 23:18. After the analogy of Arabic this seems to have referred originally to sexual satisfaction On the part of the woman.29 In the early period, esp. in nomadic life, it was customary for a young girl to be married in her own tribe. Sometimes young men might break the custom and marry girls from a neighbouring tribe. זֹנָה is used for the woman whose husband does not belong to her tribe.30 Ju. 11:1 is probably to be understood in this sense, and perhaps also 16:1. b. Then זנה, which in the OT, with the uniform sway of patriarchate (Nu. 25:1 is an exception), is used only of the woman, develops into the proper term for “to have intercourse with another,” “to be unfaithful,” “to play the harlot” (LXX πορνεύω 16 times and the stronger ἐκπορνεύω 36 times). It is sometimes abs., Hos. 3:3; Jer. 3:6, 8; Ez. 23:19; Ps. 106:39 etc., sometimes used with a prep., most commonly אַחַר, אַחֲרֵי , ὀπίσω and the man with whom there is intercourse (Ex. 34:15, 16; Lv. 17:7; 20:6; Nu. 15:39; 1 Ch. 5:25 etc.), also with εἰς (Lv. 20:5), or the acc. or אֶל (Jer. 3:1; Ez. 16:28), then מִן, מֵעַל , מִתַּחַת , ἀπό and the man in question (Hos. 4:12; 9:1; Ps. 73:27). אִשָּׁה זֹנָה is the occasional or professional harlot (Lv. 21:7; Jos. 2:1 [γυνὴ πόρνη]; Ju. 11:1; 16:1; 1 K. 3:16 etc.), or simply זוֹנָה (fem. part.; Gn. 34:31; 38:15; Jos. 6:17 etc.). It is worth noting that LXX always has the sharply censorious and disparaging πόρνη; only in Ju. 11:2 and twice in the Wisdom literature (never in the NT) is ἑταίρα used in the sense of “harlot.”31 Examples show that זנה can be used of the married woman who is unfaithful to her husband, (Hos. 1, 2; Ez. 16. 23) or of the betrothed who by law already belongs to her husband, Gn. 38:24. In content πορνεύω here is equivalent to μοιχεύω. In the hi זנה means “to seduce into whoredom,” Ex. 34:16; Lv. 19:29; 2 Ch. 21:11, 13; always ἐκπορνεύω in the LXX. It also has the strengthened sense of q, Hos. 4:10, 18; 5:3. c. In distinction from secular usage the OT employs πορνεύειν, like,זנה, in the transf. sense (→ 587, 1 ff.).

2. πορνεία, “whoredom,” is used for זְנוּנִים (Gn. 38:24; 4 Βασ‌. 9:22; Ez. 23:11, 29; Na. 3:4; Hos. 1:2 etc.), זְנוּת, which is lit. only in Hos. 4:11; Sir. 41:17, elsewhere fig. for “unfaithfulness to God” (→ 587, 1 ff.), and in the latter sense for תַּזְנוּת, which occurs only in Ez. 16 and 23 (22 times all told). Here, too, fornication may in some circumstances involve adultery, Sir. 23:23 → 587, 1 ff. 3. πόρνη → 585, 5 ff. 4. πόρνος, first found only in the Apocr., 3 times in Sir. 23:17, 18 vl. (no Heb. original). 5. ἐκπορνεύω, like πορνεύω, means a. “to fornicate,” Gn. 38:24; with acc. “to prostitute,” Lv. 19:19; b. “to lead into fornication” (like the Heb. hi), Ex. 34:16; 2 Ch. 21:11; c. transf. “to whore after other gods” (Ex. 34:15), “to turn aside from God,” Hos. 1:2; 4:12.

II. Fornication in National Life in the OT.

The older historical books show that the harlot was a familiar figure in national life. Veiled like a harlot, Tamar sits by the wayside and thus achieves her goal of intercourse with Judah, Gn. 38:15.32 The spies make their way to what seems to be the well-known house of the harlot Rahab, Jos. 2:1.33 Jephthah is υἱὸς γυναικὸς πόρνης, Ju. 11:1.34 Samson is acquainted with a harlot when he visits Gaza, Ju. 16:1.35 1 K. 3:16 depicts a quarrel in a brothel. Severe social problems might also drive women to earn their living in this way, Am. 7:17. Custom naturally scorned the πόρνη who distributed her favours thus. In the story of the raping of Dinah the family or brother undertook to protect and avenge the violated sister. An honourable παρθένος was not to be treated like a πόρνη, Gn. 34:31.36 It should not be overlooked, however, that זנה refers only to the woman. Extra-marital intercourse on the part of a man did not come under this concept and was not forbidden so long as he did not take the wife of a fellow-countryman. This significant distinction is probably grounded in the unequivocal patriarchalism of the OT and it is a result of the unambiguously patriarchal stamp on the view of revelation and religion in Israel, The influence of the matriarchal nature religion of Canaan with its religious interpretation of unrestricted sex shattered the strict custom of Israel. On the high places secular and sacral prostitution went hand in hand, Jer. 3:2. On the basis of their understanding of God and man the prophets combatted both as strenuously as they could, Am. 2:7; Jer. 5:7 etc. From that time onwards any religious justification of extra-marital intercourse became impossible. The later provisions of the Law developed in part out of this prophetic attack, cf. also 1 K. 14:24. Acc. to Dt. 22:21 the licentiousness of a betrothed woman37 is to be punished by stoning on the ground that she thereby commits a serious offence which threatens the whole people and that she has made her father’s house into a house of whoredom.

The social and religious ostracising of the πόρνηʼ is expressed in the law that the holy priest of Yahweh may not take such a woman to wife (cf. the Holiness Code Lv. 21:7, 14) and also in the law that if the daughter of a priest is guilty of licentiousness she is to be burned alive because she has desecrated the sacred person of her father, Lv. 21:9. No child of fornication is to be accepted as a member of the holy community of God, Dt. 23:3.38 Passages which originally prohibited cultic prostitution through the sacred Law of God became in the later tradition general prohibitions of fornication in Israel. Acc. to Lv. 19:29 the toleration or even the promoting of fornication, e.g., on the part of a daughter of Israel, defiles the whole land and brings it under the threat of God’s judgment.39 In Dt. 23:18 f. the repudiation of cultic prostitution in the original is in the LXX a general and unconditional divine prohibition of all πορνεία in the holy people. Prv. 5 warns against the πόρνη, Prv. 6:24–35 admonishes the married man not to have intercourse with a harlot, and c. 7 counsels the young man not to let himself be captivated by the charms of the prostitute. Instead he should pay heed to the true wisdom which is grounded in obedience to God, c. 8. From the repeated designation of the harlot as זָרָה it has been deduced that in c. 1–9 the warning is against surrender to the alien secular wisdom of Greece.40 Such allegorising is not supported by the very concrete depictions of the situation. On the other hand, the warnings do not seem to refer only to licentiousness. Certainly the frequently used זָרָה does not refer only to the wife of another, nor does it imply that harlots are mostly foreigners.41 The ref. is to native women, strangers to the locality, who constitute a dangerous temptation to the men of Israel.42

III. Cultic Prostitution in the OT.43

In the OT, too, a distinction must be made between secular and cultic prostitution. Acc. to the original text of the OT prostitution deriving from various Canaanite cults spread into Israel. Gn. 38:21 f. gives evidence of the “devoted to God” (קְדֵשָׁה) in Israel, → 585, 32 ff. Acc. to 1 K. 14:24 worship at the high places flourished under Rehoboam and the kedeshim are specifically mentioned. Asa ended the former and chased the latter out of the land, 1 K. 15:12. Jehoshaphat drove out those who still remained, 1 K. 22:46. A hundred yrs. later Hosea (→ 587, 2 ff.) is angered that they are still shamelessly abroad in Israel, 4:14. The Deuteronomic Law unconditionally forbids cultic prostitution. No girl is to be a temple devotee, no man a קָדֵשׁ, 23:17. Profits derived herefrom are not to be used on behalf of the temple. Josiah’s sharp attack, under which the houses of the kedeshim in the temple were destroyed, shows that the evil had made its way even into the temple cultus in Jerusalem, 2 K. 23:7. It is true that the Chronicler, who has a strong religious interest, makes no ref. to it in the par. passages, but his work is fairly obviously a later priestly revision which suppresses or reinterprets the testimonies to a syncretistic defilement of the worship of Yahweh, Lv. 19:29.

The way in which the LXX handles the unambiguous statements of the original about cultic prostitution in Israel points in the same apologetic direction. Understandably the translators avoid the loaded term ἱερόδουλοι for (קָדֵשׁ) קְדֵשָׁה, but they do not coin their own term instead, cf. Paul’s εἰδωλόθυτα. At Dt. 23:18 f., also Gn. 38:21, they use the secular πόρνη, which stands under strong religious condemnation and which transforms the prohibition of cultic prostitution into a prohibition of licentiousness in general, → line 3 f. In 3 Βασ‌. 15:12 it is said of Asa: ἀφεῖλεν τὰς τελετὰς (festal rites) ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, and cf. μετὰ τῶν τετελεσμένων in Hos. 4:14, this being the usual expression for devotees in the mystery cults. There is no LXX text for 1 K. 22:47,44 and the Heb. is left untranslated at 4 Βασ‌. 23:7 (τὸν οἶκον τῶν καδησιμ) even though, without explanation, this makes no sense for the Gk. reader, ἄγγελοι is used for קְדֵשִׁים at Job 36:14. Thus the reader of the LXX finds no express mention at all of cultic prostitution in Israel.

IV. Israel’s Unfaithfulness to Yahweh as πορνεία.

The prophet Hosea (1–3) develops the metaphor of the marriage between God and His people. The conduct of his wife is a portrayal of the infidelity of Israel to its God, who chose it and declared it to be His own people. The unfaithfulness of Israel is thus set forth in an unequivocal image of great emotional force which brings it under the sternest condemnation and renders impossible any attempt to put it in a better light or to trivialise it. This forceful metaphor is found again and again in the prophetic writings which follow.45 It is open to question whether Mi. 1:7 is to be understood in the sense of Hos. 2:7, 14, but this is obviously true in Is. 1:21, where the city of Jerusalem, once faithful and the refuge of the righteous, has now become a harlot. In 3:1–4:4 Jer. accuses Israel and Judah of playing the harlot with many lovers (3:2), of committing adultery with wood and stone (πορνεία alongside μοιχεύειν in 3:9), and of defiling the land by their πορνεῖαι (μιαίνω, 3:2). In Jer. as in Hos. the charge of infidelity goes hand in hand with an uncompromising rejection of the practice of sacral prostitution as this was found in the Canaanite cult, Jer. 2:20; 3:6; cf. Hos, 4:12–14. Shortly after the fall of Jerusalem the possibly pre-exilic author of Is. 57:7–13 adopts the metaphor of Hos. and accuses the city of being an unfaithful wife. In extended allegories Ez. develops the image (16 and 23), which also occurs once in the Ps. (73:27). In the legal books the metaphor occurs only at Ex. 34:16; Lv. 17:7; 20:5; Nu. 14:33; Dt. 31:16, and in the historical books only at Ju. 2:17; 8:27; 2 K. 9:22; 1 Ch. 5:25; 2 Ch. 21:11, 13.

In a few instances זנה is used fig. in a different sense for the commerce which woos other peoples and the political devices which ensnare them. Thus Is. 23:15–18 refers to Tyre and includes (v. 16) a song in mockery of the “forgotten harlot,” while Na. 3:1–7 speaks of the whore Nineveh who “enmeshed the peoples with her harlotry and the nations with her magical arts,” v. 4. The underlying view here is that a trading city which enters into relations with all nations is not pursuing an honest calling, cf. Ez, 16:26.46

C. Later Judaism (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, the Rabbis).

1. Later Judaism shows us how the use of πορνεία etc. gradually broadened as compared with the original usage. In the first instance πορνεία is mostly “harlotry,” “extra-marital intercourse,” Ab., 2, 8, often with adultery, Gr. Bar. 4:17; 8:5; 13:4; Asc. Is. 2:5; Treasure Cave, 12 (Riessler, 956 f.). Materially, however, it often means “adultery,” cf. ἐν πορνείᾳ ἐμοιχεύθη, Sir. 23:23. In Test. Jos. 3:8 Potiphar’s wife says of Joseph εἰς πορνείαν με ἐφελκύσατο; the “incest” of Reuben is also πορνεία ἐν ᾗ ἐμίανα κοίτην τοῦ πατρός μου in Test. R. 1:6, cf. 4:8; Test. Jud. 13:3. πορνεία can also be “unnatural vice,” Sib., III, 764; IV, 33–36, e.g., sodomy, Test. B. 9:1: πορνεύσετε πορνείαν Σοδόμων, cf. Jub. 16:5; 20:5; “unlawful marriages” contradict Rabb. principles. Treasure Cave. 37, 6 (Riessler, 985). πορνεία can then comes to mean “sexual intercourse” in gen. without more precise definition, cf. Asc. Is. 2:5: ἐπλήθυνεν <ἡ> φαρμακεία καὶ ἡ μαγεία καὶ ἡ μαντεία … καὶ ἡ πορνεία

2. In a series of warnings against sins of lust Sir. (23:16–27) portrays the whoring husband (ἄνθρωπος πόρνος, v. 17) and the unfaithful wife. Here again πορνεύω is materially μοιχεύω. The fornicator who is sexually so insatiable (23:17) that “all bread tastes good” (v. 17) and who commits whoredom on his own flesh (v. 17)47 thinks that he can sin unpunished under the cover of darkness, vv. 18–21. In his warning against pleasures (18:30–19:3) Sir. includes wine and women; these can lead to apostasy (ἀποστήσουσιν). In his teaching about shame (41:16–42:1) he also warns against the shamelessness of זְנוּת (41:17; cf. also 26:9–12). Wis. Sol. in its battle against pagan idolatry has the comprehensive judgment that the beginning of πορνεία (in the context apostasy from God) is the devising of idols (14:12), and Wis. sees in sexual licentiousness (14:24–26) a consequence of the abnegation of the true God, 14:27f. The positing of this causal connection is a basic element in Jewish apologetics and polemics, cf. R. 1:18–32.

3. The Test. XII, esp. Test. R., S., L. and Jud., contain numerous admonitions to flee πορνεία (R. 5:5) or to keep oneself from it (6:1; L. 9:9; Jud. 18:2). Among the 7 evil spirits in Test. R. (2:1) the first (3:3) is πορνεία, to whom women, being intrinsically bad (5:1), are more subject than men (5:3). In a ruinous way this spirit drives the soul away from God and leads it to idols or Beliar, 4:6; 5:3. πορνεία, which rests on nature and sense perceptions (αἰσθήσεις) acc. to 3:3, is one of the mortal sins (Test. Iss. 7:2) and is the mother of all evil (Test. S. 5:3).

Acc. to Jub. the testament of Abraham contains a warning against whoredom, 20:3. No man should commit whoredom with the wife of another, 39:6. Joseph proves his piety by recollecting the testament of his forefather in the hour of temptation and by maintaining his purity, 20:3. Fornication involves esp. the sin of paganism, 25:1. Hence all marriage ties with Gentiles are impurity and desecration of the sanctuary, 30:10. Whoredom is uncleanness and it defiles not merely the individual (30:2, 6) but the family (30:7) and the land and people of Israel (30:15); for this mortal sin there is no forgiveness, 33:13, 18.
In the Damascus. Document the members of the community are warned against the licentious princes of Judah who have gone the way of whoredom and thus fallen victim to God’s judgment, 7:1f. (8:18f.). Guilt-infected impulse and eyes full of wicked lust have already become a snare for the watchers of heaven, 4:17 (6:11). Bigamy is also branded as fornication, 4:20 (7:1). Above all licentiousness is one of the three nets of Belial, 4:15ff. (6:10f.) and with many other vices it belongs to the spirit of iniquity. In the Dead Sea Scrolls fornication is thus a mark of metaphysical dualism (1QS 4:10) and it belongs to the children of darkness, from whom the children of light must separate themselves as sharply as possible.

4. Philo, too, rejects all πορνεία, which fills souls with ἀκολασία and prefers physical to spiritual beauty, Spec. Leg., III, 51. For him the πόρνη is a disgrace, a scandal and a blot on all mankind. Whereas in other nations there is freedom for intercourse with prostitutes, acc. to the special laws of Israel the ἑταίρα is subject to a capital penalty (Jos., 43), and there is a similar punishment for homosexuality (Spec. Leg., III, 37 f.). Philo also allegorises the concept. πόρνοι stand for polytheists (Leg. All., III, 8), who are for him the sons of harlots (Dt. 23:1 f.; Migr. Abr., 69; Mut. Nom., 205). The honourable woman (Dt. 21:15–17) is for him ἀρετή, which in gen. is not loved by men, while the dishonourable woman is ἡδονή, Sacr. AC., 20 f.

Joseph.48 uses neither πορνεύω nor πόρνη. But his use of πορνεῖον, “brothel,”49 shows his familiarity with the group.50 If he does not use it in the same way as the LXX when describing certain events in the history of his people, there must be special reasons for this. What these were may be seen with some certainty from a comparison of some of his narrations with those of the OT. Thus the πόρνη Rahab becomes the owner of a καταγώγιον “inn” (Ant., 5, 7 ff.) and there is no suggestion that she might have plied a dubious trade as well (cf. Ant., 5, 13 f., 30); indeed, between the lines she is very much the hostess (7); there is here a verbal link at least with Tg. Jos. 2:1 (cf. Ant., 3, 276). Again, Ant., 5, 257 describes Jephthah, the son of a πόρνη (אִשָּׁה זוֹנָה), as an ἀνὴρ διὰ τὴν πατρῴαν ἀρετὴν δυνατὸς καὶ διʼ οἰκείαν αὐτοῦ στρατιὰν ἣν ἔτρεφεν αὐτὸς μισθοφόρων. It is expressly stated that, though he was not the son of the woman who was the mother of his brothers, he was the fruit of his father’s body by another woman in a fully legitimate way, 259. Similarly, the δύο γυναῖκες πόρναι who appealed to Solomon in his wisdom to judge between them (3 Βασ‌. 3:16) have now become δύο γυναῖκες ἑταῖραι τὸν βίον, Ant., 8, 27. Furthermore, in 3 Βασ‌. 22:38 the πόρναι who washed themselves in Ahab’s blood have not only become αἱ ἑταιριζόμεναι, but the story is divested of its immediate horror by the addition of a note explaining that hetairae were accustomed to bathe in the stream from the time that its waters mingled with the blood of the fallen king, Ant., 8, 417.51 Quite obviously the concern of Joseph. here is to show how exemplary was the moral life of his people. This is proved not least by the way in which he comprehensively describes the divine order for marriage and sex, Ant., 3, 247 ff., cf. Lv. 20:10 ff. He writes here as an apologist for Judaism. The same is true of the similar description in Ap., 2, 199 ff.,52 215. Nothing speaks more eloquently in this regard, however, than the avoidance of the group πορνεύω in passages referring to his own people. The same may also be said of the way in which he alters or softens the OT narrative when he does not avoid altogether or in part the thing to which πορνεύω refers.53

5. In later Rabb. usage זְנוּת applies not merely to all extra-marital intercourse but also to intercourse in marriages which run contrary to Rabb. decisions.54 It is forbidden for a Jew to marry a proselyte prior to conversion, a freedwoman, or a woman guilty of cohabitation outside marriage or illegitimately.55 For a priest the sphere of permissible marriage is even smaller.56 If the illegitimacy comes to light only in the course of the marriage relationship, all previous intercourse is regarded as πορνεία. Unnatural forms of intercourse are also viewed as licentious.57 Since there is no bibl. prohibition of unnatural intercourse with one’s own wife, the later Rabbinate decided that it had no power to protect wives who might be troubled in this way. Later interpretation, however, expressly repudiated the view that this absence of a bibl. statement gave the husband the right to abuse his wife. The whole discussion shows how unsure the Rabbis were in their judgment.58 One is certainly not to conclude that the Jewish husband could do as he liked with his wife as though she were merely a possession.59

Early marriage is advocated as a safeguard against fornication.60 Since all Gentiles were suspected of this, various protective measures were taken to prevent entanglement with them.61 As regards the moral responsibility of the Gentiles, the written Torah offered no guidance but later Judaism worked out an understanding on the basis of the Noachic commands. To prevent man from losing all knowledge of God after the fall, God gave Adam six basic commandments concerning idolatry, blasphemy, judging, murder, fornication and theft.62 Hence Gentiles are responsible in relation to sins of fornication. The introduction of what are called chief commandments, e.g., those concerning idolatry, fornication and murder, represents an attempt at hierarchical distinction.63 The irrevocability of the chief commandments may be seen from a resolution during the persecution under Hadrian which allowed Jews under threat of death to break all the commandments except these three. Not without some influence on the part of the moral preaching of Hell. philosophy the so-called list of vices developed in the Judaism of the Hell. diaspora.64 If the list is always a variable one, there is still a traditional core which includes adultery and fornication along with idolatry, witchcraft, murder and the like.

D. The New Testament.

The NT is characterised by an unconditional repudiation of all extra-marital and unnatural intercourse. In this respect it follows to a large degree the judgment of OT and Israelite preaching and transcends the legalistic practice of later Judaism, which is shown to be inadequate by the Word of Jesus. Jesus can and does effect this radicalising because the Gospel as saving forgiveness manifests the divine dynamic in this age. A further result of this is a basically new attitude to woman. She is no longer man’s chattel (→ 589, 26 ff.) but a partner of equal dignity before both man and God.

I. The Proclamation of Jesus.

The Gospels presuppose that there were harlots in Palestine and that their profession was in direct opposition to the righteousness required for the kingdom of God, Mt. 21:31 f.; Lk. 15:30. The Gospels also tell us, however, that the Baptist’s message of repentance and Jesus’ invitation into the kingdom of God awakened penitence for their way of life in many harlots (Lk. 7:50), and indeed brought them much more powerfully to repentance than it did the morally correct Pharisees (Mt. 21:31 f.). The forgiveness of Jesus was enjoyed precisely by these women whom the self-righteousness of the Pharisees and the Rabbis had abandoned, Lk. 7:47. To the hard-hearted and exclusive separation of the Pharisees Jesus opposes His message of unconditional forgiveness which is for all who turn from their previous way. Not the physical act is sin; the thoughts of sexual licentiousness which dwell in the heart and rise up thence are the things which defile a man (κοινοῖ Mt. 15:18 f.), and these are a strict proof of unbelief in God.

Hotly debated is the interpretation of the two passages which deal with divorce, Mt. 5:32 and 19:9.65 In Mk. 10 (→ I, 649, 22 ff.) the tempting question of the Pharisees deals with divorce generally whereas Mt. by adding κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν (19:3) refers to the dispute between the schools of Shammai and Hillel regarding the grounds of divorce.66 The clauses παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας in Mt. 5:32 and μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ in 19:9 occur neither in Mk. nor in Lk. It is mostly assumed that the simple form represents the older tradition and that in both passages the clauses may be traced back to the author of Mt.67 On the other hand, it might be objected that Mt. usually tends to a stronger view of the Torah, whereas this is a notable divergence. The later radicalising which may be observed in some verses of the special Lucan material (cf. Lk. 6:20 f.; 12:33; 14:33 etc.), and the stricter practice of the Church (cf. Herm. m., 4, 1, 4–8) at a later time, are also arguments against a late date for these clauses. Hence one has to reckon with at least the possibility that the Matthean text is original;68 it is certain not open to challenge on textual grounds.69

According to the version in Mk. and Lk. Jesus states in clear-cut fashion that the indissolubility of marriage is the unconditional will of God, cf. Mk. 10:9; Mt. 19:6. According to the testimony of Paul too (1 C. 7:10) Jesus demanded that marriage be indissoluble.70

In so doing He expressly sets aside the Jewish practice (→ 589, 26 ff.) which ascribes to the husband the one-sided and arbitrary right to divorce71 and which simply requires that he give his wife a bill of divorce which will enable her to marry again if she so chooses. The biblical ref. on which all the scribal discussions are based is Dt. 24:1, which names עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (LXX ἄσχημον πρᾶγμα) as a ground of divorce. λόγος πορνείας in Mt. 5:32 is perhaps modelled linguistically on the Heb. formula, → IV, 105, 9 ff. Shammai and his school laid stress on עֶרְוָה and saw therein a ref. to what is morally objectionable. Hillel laid the accent on דָּבָר and took this to mean “any cause” (of offence), e.g., letting food burn.72 It is worth noting that the contested additions to the saying of Jesus are found only in Mt. They are probably to be interpreted in the light of their material context. Whereas in the days of the prophets a husband might pardon his wife in the case of infidelity (cf. Hos. 3:1 ff.), in the time of Jesus the Law was stricter and an adulterous wife was forbidden to have any further intercourse with her husband or the adulterer; her husband had to divorce her.73

By means of the exception in 5:32 Mt. is telling his Jewish Christian readers that if a man puts away his wife except for her infidelity, in which case he is compelled to do so by existing statutes, he is driving her into an adulterous relation should she remarry. In another version the point is the same in Mt. 19:9. In both verses πορνεία refers to extra-marital intercourse on the part of the wife, which in practice is adultery, cf. Sir. 23:23: ἐν πορνείᾳ ἐμοιχεύθη.74 The drift of the clauses, then, is not that the Christian husband, should his wife be unfaithful, is permitted to divorce her, but that if he is legally forced to do this he should not be open to criticism if by her conduct his wife has made the continuation of the marriage quite impossible.75 In Jn. πορνεία occurs only once at 8:41. Here Jesus says that the dissimilarity between the Jews and Abraham makes them bastards. Hence their claim to be the children of Abraham is only a nominal one. Their true father is the devil, 8:44.

II. Acts.

The only word of the group used in Ac. is πορνεία, and this occurs only 3 times in verses recording the prohibitions of the apostolic decree,76 15:20, 29 and 21:25. In content the decree is a concession to Gentile Christians. There is no insistence on the Jewish Law, only on the observance of minimal requirements for the interrelationships of Jewish and Gentile Christians, 15:28. Among these is the prohibition of fornication.

As is well-known, some important witnesses to the Western Text reduce the prohibitions to three by omitting πνικτῶν (→ 457, 1 ff.) and add the so-called Golden Rule, Mt. 7:12.77 The whole decree is thus presented, not as a ritual order, but as a short moral catechism which mentions negatively the three chief sins (idolatry, murder and fornication, → 590, 1 ff.) and positively the basic ethical rule.78 In all probability however, this is a secondary simplification. The surprising combination of πορνεία with dietary regulations is due to the fact that the four prohibitions are based on Lv. 17 and 18. πορνεία here is marrying within the prohibited degrees, which acc. to the Rabbis was forbidden “on account of fornication,” Lv. 18:6–18.79

III. Paul, Hebrews and James.

Whereas the question of πορνεία is seldom dealt with in the preaching of Jesus and the primitive community, it arises more frequently in Paul. As compared with the different judgment of the Greek world and ancient syncretism, the concrete directions of Paul bring to the attention of Gentile Christians the incompatibility of πορνεία and the kingdom of God.80 No πόρνος has any part in this kingdom, 1 C. 6:9; Eph. 5:5. In 1 C. 6:9 the sexual vices (πόρνοι, μοιχοί, μαλακοί, ἀρσενοκοῖται) are put next to the chief sin of idolatry.81 The judgment which smote the Israelites, the fore-fathers of Christians (1 C. 10:1), in the wilderness when they fell victim to idolatry and lust, and thus tempted God, took place as an example (τυπικῶς), 10:8, 11. The situation of Christians is indeed much more serious, since they are at the end of the age, 10:11. In the shameful vices of unnatural sex relations, which spread like a plague in the Graeco-Roman world of his day, Paul sees the outworking of a severe judgment of God, R. 1:18 ff. → 582, 7 ff.
As individuals are to steer clear of πορνεία so it is the apostle’s supreme concern to keep the communities free from such sins, since toleration of the offender makes the whole church guilty and constitutes an eschatological threat, 1 C. 5:1 ff.; cf. Hb. 12:14–16.

Thus Paul demands that the congregation expel the impenitent wrong-doer (1 C. 5:13) and break off all fellowship with those who live licentious lives (5:9).82 2 C. 12:19–21 expresses a concern lest the impenitence of those who have committed fornication should make necessary his intervention in the affairs of the community. The πορνεία of individual members makes the whole church unclean and threatens the whole work of the apostle, which is to present pure communities to Christ, 2 C. 11:2. In contrast to the different views of the matter in the Greek world and especially in Gnosticism, Paul warns against making light of the holy commandment of God in this field, God’s mighty will for the salvation of men is ἁγιασμός, 1 Th. 4:3; cf. also Eph. 5:3–5. This includes sanctification of the body too and thus excludes any acceptance of fornication, 1 Th. 4:1–5. The Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 C. 6:19. Hence he cannot do as he likes with himself. He may not give to a harlot the members which belong to Christ, 6:15f. A man shames his own body by fornication, 6:18.83 He also brings shame on the body of Christ. Licentiousness is one of the expressions of the σάρξ, Gl. 5:19. It is totally opposed to the work of the Holy Spirit, Gl. 5:22. It belongs to what is earthly (Col. 3:5), whereas Christians should seek what is above (Col. 3:1–3). Paul again and again mentions πορνεία alongside (→ n. 80) ἀκαθαρσία, 2 C. 12:21; Gl. 5:19; Col. 3:5; cf. also Eph. 5:3, 5.84 He realises that not every one has the gift of continence, 1 C. 7:7. As a protection against the evil of fornication the man who does not have it should take the divinely prescribed way of a lawful marriage, 1 C. 7:2. Severe though Paul’s condemnation of fornication may be, there is no doubt that for him it is forgiven through Christ like all other sins (καὶ ταῦτά τινες ἦτε· ἀλλά … κτλ. 1 C. 6:11). Along the same lines as Paul Hb. ascribes the salvation of Rahab the harlot to her faith (11:31), though Jm. (2:25) takes another view and thinks she is justified by her works.

IV. Revelation.

Among the seven letters of Rev. that to Pergamon accuses the Nicolaitans of leading the congregation astray by compromising with the cultural life of the surrounding world in the eating of meat sacrificed to idols and the practising of free sexual intercourse (πορνεία), 2:14. For the author the OT model for this is the doctrine of Balaam who led Israel astray in the same fashion, Nu. 25:1 ff.; 31:16. Along the same lines the church of Thyatira is charged with tolerating a prophetess who teaches the same practices 2:20f.; the name of Jezebel is the OT reference in this instance, 2 K. 9:7, 22. Since there is mention of teaching in both instances, we are to think in terms of parties with the same basic principles, namely, libertine Gnostics85 who not only permit the eating of idol meats and free sex but who boast of this freedom as a particular proof (cf. the “strong” of 1 C. 8:10) of Christian superiority. Among the leading pagan sins to which men will cling in the last days despite all the divine judgments, Rev. 9:21 mentions idolatry, murder, witchcraft, and theft, and along with these unrestricted sexual indulgence.

In the description of the world power and metropolis of Rome, the counterpart of ungodly Babylon (c. 17–19), πόρνη and πορνεύω are used as comprehensive terms for its utter degeneracy. Like the city harlots of the day it bears its name on a golden head-band, and this name declares its nature: Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς, 17:5. It is the leading harlot of the world, the great seducer of the nations and their kings. The whoring of these with it (18:3, 9) is to be construed in the first instance along the lines of Is. 23:17; Na. 3:4. They seek its favours politically and economically. But the word embraces more than this.86 The nations ape the customs of the metropolis even to whoredom in the literal sense. Above all, the capital is called πόρνη as the centre of paganism with its harlot-like apostasy from the true God. The great temptress offers her intoxicating drink to kings and merchants in a golden cup, 14:8; 17:2, 4. The cup (→ 144, 19 ff.), which is filled with the abominations associated with fornication (17:4), promises pleasure, but from God’s standpoint it is a cup of God’s wrath, 14:8; 16:19 → V, 434, 5 ff.87 The great whore (19:2), the epitome of apostasy from the one true God and of the unavoidably related syncretistic intercourse with other gods, is contrasted with the pure community of God, the bride of the Messiah (21:9; 22:17), to which the unclean man has no access (21:27) because only the Lamb and God Himself is worshipped in it and by it. Among the manifest sinners whom the second death awaits πόρνοι are again mentioned along with idolaters, murderers and others, 21:8; 22:15.

E. The Post-Apostolic Fathers.
Herm. m., 4, 1, 1 warns against πορνεία which is the result of carnal desire, cf. also Did., 3, 3. Though πορνεία (or πορνεύω) is distinguished materially from μοιχεύω on the one side (Herm. m., 8, 3: Did., 5, 1; 2, 2; Barn., 19, 4), on the other μοιχεύω is πορνεύω (Herm. m., 4, 1, 5).88 A noteworthy fact is that there is no transf. use of πόρνη κτλ. in the post-apost. fathers. This is esp. connected with the abandonment of the terminology of the OT prophets.

Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (6:580-595). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans

There's not a lot of room for debate there.

Quote

Here's a case for you to think about. A close friend of mind watches softcore 'porn' with his wife. It enhances their sex life, apparently. He's still happily married 10 years & two kids later. No need to invoke adultery or fornication there.

In Biblical terms this is both adultery (lusting after a woman other than your wife), and fornication (committing an immoral act). In Biblical terms a sin committed in the mind is no different to a sin committed as an actual deed. This is in direct opposition to standard secular culture, which considers the act of making child porn a crime, but the act of viewing child porn a matter of personal taste.

[Fortigurn]

Jeppo, on Jan 4 2009, 08:34 AM, said:

I'll be willing to bet that you'd have difficulty finding two christadelphians who could agree specifically about what constitued 'healthy' vs. 'unhealthy' sexual conduct between consenting marital partners.

I'm willing to bet you'd be very surprised.

[Jeppo]

Reuben, on Jan 3 2009, 07:49 PM, said:

Jeppo, on Jan 4 2009, 06:23 AM, said:

Porn doesn't necessarily have to be mixed up with adultery & fornication. It's a wide spectrum (as the OP made absolutely clear), but I suspect you have a tendency to think of the worst case scenario, hence the knee-jerk reaction.

I would question that. The Bible says when a person lusts after a woman, even in his heart, it is committing adultery. Are you saying that a person viewing such material isn't lusting (look up definition) in his heart?

I suppose it hinges on what the Bible really means about 'lusting after a woman'. If a man is married can he not 'lust' after his own wife? Or does that suddenly become defined as 'love'? It sounds to me that lust is not inherently sinful (please correct me if i'm wrong about this) but it depends on who or what is the focus of this 'lust'. Randy newlyweds might be let off the hook, perhaps.

Here's something to consider. Anime pornography is big business (cartoon porn). Does this count? Can you be lustful over a non-existent female? Lara Croft, anyone?! Can one commit adultery with cartoons, in one's heart?

My personal experience tells me that getting temporarily aroused over titillating images just isn't in the same league as 'lusting after' someone in real life. Bible quotes are wonderful things for those seeking to paint the world black & white, but reality is often more complex than we like to think.

[edit: posted before seeing Fortigurn's responses]

Edited by Jeppo, 04 January 2009 - 01:12 AM.