So this is a topic from another forum(a pentecostal christian -one) I recently joined in a look for good topics to discuss and possibly get some topics to talk about. After I posted a 1.0-version of the text below, they removed my post and the administrators said their finals words(all that could've been debunked by the post I made) and locked the whole topic. Luckily I saved my answer, and after the ridiculous response to my(in honest opinion, not even snarky of sarcastic, but quite civil in tone) post, I decided to go deeper into the matter and do a 2.0-post of it in my own blog(and this time I didn't try to keep a civil facade). I wrote it in finnish, and I'll translate it to the best of my abilities here.
Porneia - Root of all evil
Porneia. This word is behing all the passages, that in the modern version talk about fornication/adultery. All in all it appears 26 times in the New Testament. Here's a few passages as an example:
The funny thing here is, that neither fornication or adultery is entirely an accurate translation. When the word porneia is used in texts outside the bible it has always meant prostitution(trading sexual favors for material gain) or sexual deviancy(pedophilia, zoophilia).[1][2] Nowhere outside the christian writings is porneia translated to mean premarital sex.
Against prostitution
Now if you take a quick look at the passages I provided in the light of this thought, it changes the whole thing. Thessalonians were just suggested to abstain from excessive prostitution. The whole idea doesn't lose momentum at all, if you consider the other passages about sexual behavior peppered into the New Testament. Most of these passages simply warn to "give into desires" and letting the lust take control. Even one of the most prominent passage against premarital sex in the seventh chapter of the corinthians starts to sound like a much more reasonable "just control your lust"-type of notion.
So how do the rest of new testament passages handle daylight when looking at them with this notion of prostitution, not premarital sex? Surprisingly well. Adultery is present in the passages as well, but the notion of prostitution(NOT premarital sex) fits in quite nicely.
Pornos, the word used in Hebrews is referring to male prostitutes and moichos is a paramour. Since the letter was directed at a predominantly male congregation, the passage could be read as condemning adultery and homosexuality. Propably a warning against the culture of ancient Greece, where sexual neutrality(almost pansexuality?) was the social norm. So passages actually telling one that premarital sex is a bad thing are absent, unless you count the references to "lustful behaviour". But those passages use the word porneia, and as discussed earlier, therefore reference excessive practice of prostitution, rather than premarital sex.
Quick, grasp at straws!
What about the often quoted passage from genesis, even cited by Jesus himself?
Two becoming one flesh is surprisingly accurate as a translation.[5] Man separates from his parents and joins his wife. The original passage in Genesis describes the final hours of the creation, where a lonely man is created a mate to...well, mate with. Even though one can understand it as a carnal reference to sex, I think a more figurative interpretation is required when considering the the passage in Genesis. Man has just acquired a partner made from his own flesh. Couldn't the passage be just as well a metaphor of a man becoming "whole" again? There are also several passages in the bible where a couple is described as one person. Two people, a common goal. Shared family, shared resources. Two becoming one.
Even though this passage is describing prostitution, I'd like to note that Paul has a fairly suspicious relationship with sexuality in general. This whole chapter in the Corinthians is devoted to Paul elevating himself to a pedestal and his way of life as well. Ignoring all the biblical passages towards marriage, Paul promotes abstinence from all manners of sexual conduct and announces celibacy as the proper way. But since you feeble weaklings can't cope with it like I can, you better get married.
Marriage before church
The Early church held the whole concept of marriage pretty undesirable.[6] Like Paul, many early teachers held the ideal of celibacy(also a word that originally only ment someone living alone, only much later came to mean someone abstaining from sexual pleasure) and ascetism as a goal. When you look at history, there are a few decades where the official opinion of the church was that a marriage was a private promise made to god, and none of anyone elses business. Even after church required couples to get "an approval" from the clergy, no rituals were included[7](excluding the possible local pagan rituals, which followed with the culture, obviously). Only as late as the 13th century the church started to become involved, but there are still numerable clergymen in the 15th century that opposed the whole idea of wedding ceremonies in churches[8]. Marriage clearly wasn't a church-controlled deal in the first place, which would also indicate that the early church left it up to the couples in love, how to specifically express their love.
Towards a pro-sex interpretation
So far we've seen that mostly because of the translation(specifically the era in which they were made) have had a huge impact on deforming the message therein. Ancient Greece might not have had the words we today have to describe things, so it's entirely possible that the new testament isn't speaking about sex-life of couples in the first place. Unless there's animals or other "perversions" involved. Of course it is also possible that the interpretation of Paul is accurate and he infact does speak against all sexual activities. No matter what the case really is, we have to look at the bigger picture(every bible-thumpers favourite word: CONTEXT!). We are looking at texts from an era, where church father idolized celibate hermets and tried to encourage everyone to a similar life. Ancient Greece was also flourishing. To the much more "conservative" middle eastern religious folk, a culture that endulged in sexuality as freely as the greeks did must have seemed like an orgy. Prostitution was a taxed profession, pederastry was commonly accepted method of tutelage and it was considered normal for a family-man to have homosexual relations on the side.
There are also the notions of wedding night's virginity, all of them relating to the old jewish customs. Leviticus 21:12 tells of the high-priests, and how they must choose as their wives a virgin from their fathers bloodline. Deuteronomy 21-22 describes how a girl of israel brings shame to his family if not deemed virgin on her wedding night. The very same chapter also sets a 50 silverpiece fee and a forced wedlock to a man who rapes a girl, and a death-sentence for adulterers. Nearby can also be found the instructions on how to deal out your heritage in the cases of polygamy, the law on stoning insubordinating children and the ban of clothes made from two different types of cloths. So this passage is buffered before and after with laws and orders that have been long discarded as the most ridiculous and arhaic orders in there.
What now?
The New Testament doesn't seem to be that adamantly against sex. It merely promotes responsible sexual conduct. Promiscuous behavior is looked down upon, as is prostitution. The original meaning of marriage in the early church would seem to have been a personal promise to god, although some even considered it as a form of prostitution(Tatianus, for example[9]). As long as you can distinguish between "being overtaken by lust" and "a natural continuum to a relationship", I don't see why one should hold their virginity until marriage. It's a pleasure that even the bible is clear to declare a gift of god(see The Song Of Solomon for soft porn).
On a personal opinion, I also am pro long relationships as I consider them a more healthier option, since all that energy spent looking for a new partner can be spent otherwise.
Sources:
[1]: http://goldenrule.name/Fornication_GREEK/
[2]: http://wordinfo.info/unit/1730
[3]: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dpo%2Frnos ja http://www.myetymology.com/greek/pornos.html
[4]: http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?q=moichos&rc=LEX&rc2=LEX+GRK&ps=10&s=References ja http://www.myetymology.com/greek/moichos.html
[5]: http://qbible.com/hebrew-old-testament/genesis/2.html
[6]: http://www.the-goldenrule.name/Marriage--EARLY_CHURCH_against_marriage.htm
[7]: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.viii.v.html
[8]: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/ATLAS_EN/html/history_of_marriage_in_western.html
[9]: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Tatianus
Critique, stories about discussing(or loudly debating) the topic, comments? Go!
Porneia - Root of all evil
Porneia. This word is behing all the passages, that in the modern version talk about fornication/adultery. All in all it appears 26 times in the New Testament. Here's a few passages as an example:
The funny thing here is, that neither fornication or adultery is entirely an accurate translation. When the word porneia is used in texts outside the bible it has always meant prostitution(trading sexual favors for material gain) or sexual deviancy(pedophilia, zoophilia).[1][2] Nowhere outside the christian writings is porneia translated to mean premarital sex.
Against prostitution
Now if you take a quick look at the passages I provided in the light of this thought, it changes the whole thing. Thessalonians were just suggested to abstain from excessive prostitution. The whole idea doesn't lose momentum at all, if you consider the other passages about sexual behavior peppered into the New Testament. Most of these passages simply warn to "give into desires" and letting the lust take control. Even one of the most prominent passage against premarital sex in the seventh chapter of the corinthians starts to sound like a much more reasonable "just control your lust"-type of notion.
So how do the rest of new testament passages handle daylight when looking at them with this notion of prostitution, not premarital sex? Surprisingly well. Adultery is present in the passages as well, but the notion of prostitution(NOT premarital sex) fits in quite nicely.
Pornos, the word used in Hebrews is referring to male prostitutes and moichos is a paramour. Since the letter was directed at a predominantly male congregation, the passage could be read as condemning adultery and homosexuality. Propably a warning against the culture of ancient Greece, where sexual neutrality(almost pansexuality?) was the social norm. So passages actually telling one that premarital sex is a bad thing are absent, unless you count the references to "lustful behaviour". But those passages use the word porneia, and as discussed earlier, therefore reference excessive practice of prostitution, rather than premarital sex.
Quick, grasp at straws!
What about the often quoted passage from genesis, even cited by Jesus himself?
Two becoming one flesh is surprisingly accurate as a translation.[5] Man separates from his parents and joins his wife. The original passage in Genesis describes the final hours of the creation, where a lonely man is created a mate to...well, mate with. Even though one can understand it as a carnal reference to sex, I think a more figurative interpretation is required when considering the the passage in Genesis. Man has just acquired a partner made from his own flesh. Couldn't the passage be just as well a metaphor of a man becoming "whole" again? There are also several passages in the bible where a couple is described as one person. Two people, a common goal. Shared family, shared resources. Two becoming one.
Even though this passage is describing prostitution, I'd like to note that Paul has a fairly suspicious relationship with sexuality in general. This whole chapter in the Corinthians is devoted to Paul elevating himself to a pedestal and his way of life as well. Ignoring all the biblical passages towards marriage, Paul promotes abstinence from all manners of sexual conduct and announces celibacy as the proper way. But since you feeble weaklings can't cope with it like I can, you better get married.
Marriage before church
The Early church held the whole concept of marriage pretty undesirable.[6] Like Paul, many early teachers held the ideal of celibacy(also a word that originally only ment someone living alone, only much later came to mean someone abstaining from sexual pleasure) and ascetism as a goal. When you look at history, there are a few decades where the official opinion of the church was that a marriage was a private promise made to god, and none of anyone elses business. Even after church required couples to get "an approval" from the clergy, no rituals were included[7](excluding the possible local pagan rituals, which followed with the culture, obviously). Only as late as the 13th century the church started to become involved, but there are still numerable clergymen in the 15th century that opposed the whole idea of wedding ceremonies in churches[8]. Marriage clearly wasn't a church-controlled deal in the first place, which would also indicate that the early church left it up to the couples in love, how to specifically express their love.
Towards a pro-sex interpretation
So far we've seen that mostly because of the translation(specifically the era in which they were made) have had a huge impact on deforming the message therein. Ancient Greece might not have had the words we today have to describe things, so it's entirely possible that the new testament isn't speaking about sex-life of couples in the first place. Unless there's animals or other "perversions" involved. Of course it is also possible that the interpretation of Paul is accurate and he infact does speak against all sexual activities. No matter what the case really is, we have to look at the bigger picture(every bible-thumpers favourite word: CONTEXT!). We are looking at texts from an era, where church father idolized celibate hermets and tried to encourage everyone to a similar life. Ancient Greece was also flourishing. To the much more "conservative" middle eastern religious folk, a culture that endulged in sexuality as freely as the greeks did must have seemed like an orgy. Prostitution was a taxed profession, pederastry was commonly accepted method of tutelage and it was considered normal for a family-man to have homosexual relations on the side.
There are also the notions of wedding night's virginity, all of them relating to the old jewish customs. Leviticus 21:12 tells of the high-priests, and how they must choose as their wives a virgin from their fathers bloodline. Deuteronomy 21-22 describes how a girl of israel brings shame to his family if not deemed virgin on her wedding night. The very same chapter also sets a 50 silverpiece fee and a forced wedlock to a man who rapes a girl, and a death-sentence for adulterers. Nearby can also be found the instructions on how to deal out your heritage in the cases of polygamy, the law on stoning insubordinating children and the ban of clothes made from two different types of cloths. So this passage is buffered before and after with laws and orders that have been long discarded as the most ridiculous and arhaic orders in there.
What now?
The New Testament doesn't seem to be that adamantly against sex. It merely promotes responsible sexual conduct. Promiscuous behavior is looked down upon, as is prostitution. The original meaning of marriage in the early church would seem to have been a personal promise to god, although some even considered it as a form of prostitution(Tatianus, for example[9]). As long as you can distinguish between "being overtaken by lust" and "a natural continuum to a relationship", I don't see why one should hold their virginity until marriage. It's a pleasure that even the bible is clear to declare a gift of god(see The Song Of Solomon for soft porn).
On a personal opinion, I also am pro long relationships as I consider them a more healthier option, since all that energy spent looking for a new partner can be spent otherwise.
Sources:
[1]: http://goldenrule.name/Fornication_GREEK/
[2]: http://wordinfo.info/unit/1730
[3]: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dpo%2Frnos ja http://www.myetymology.com/greek/pornos.html
[4]: http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?q=moichos&rc=LEX&rc2=LEX+GRK&ps=10&s=References ja http://www.myetymology.com/greek/moichos.html
[5]: http://qbible.com/hebrew-old-testament/genesis/2.html
[6]: http://www.the-goldenrule.name/Marriage--EARLY_CHURCH_against_marriage.htm
[7]: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.viii.v.html
[8]: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/ATLAS_EN/html/history_of_marriage_in_western.html
[9]: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Tatianus
Critique, stories about discussing(or loudly debating) the topic, comments? Go!