Fornication - Meaning

Midlife Crashes

Asked a question about a week ago regarding pre marital sex. Unfortunately it was deleted before I had a chance to read the responses.

I was looking to answers to my question and found this http://www.the-goldenrule.name/Fornication_GREEK/

Most importantly this quote
The Bible does forbid fornication. Unfortunately the English word "fornication" has been applied to almost anything religious leaders want it to mean. …
What we need to understand is what Paul and other Bible authors meant by the word fornication or porneia. And what did the word mean in the historical context in which they were writing? The Greek term for fornication was never used for any sexual activity outside of marriage. Nor was it ever applied to free erotic love in general. …
In Paul's time the original word porneia (translated as fornication) was used exclusively for cultic, pagan sexual practices including temple prostitution, sexual slavery, and ritualized pedophilia (pederasty). It represents true pornography and the ugly, godless side of sexuality. It is closely tied to idolatry and the forbidden sexual rituals to false gods. It can only be understood to refer to sexual practices associated with those cruel, violent, and now illegal activities. It never had anything to do with true, intimate love-making among consenting people who love their God.
Doesn't the Bible teach sex is only appropriate within a monogamous marriage?
Absolutely not. In fact, nearly all the noble characters of the Bible were either polygamous or celebate. If you are looking for a role model of a monogamous, neo-puritanical marriage, the Bible is not the place to find him or her. Both David and Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines, the later to whom they were not married. …
You may not hear this from your favorite pulpit or radio program, but Jesus himself declared a way far different from monogamy. Any mainstream minister that spoke of himself with 10 virgins would be driven out the door in seconds. That alone tells us something of the artificial, repressed state of many Christian discussions.

I was wondering what peoples interpretation of this was.
Every where else on the internet translates fornication or "porneia" to sexual immorality.

BQ. Are all mortal sins equal. Is fornication seen as bad as murder or adultery.

Thanks to anyone who responds.

tony81

Op, your source is spammy. Also the bible does not just zoom in on the word "fornication" (a word you have an issue with and pick holes in because the traditional definition meant "idolatory") but actually gives many examples of forbidden behaviour including sexual acts.

ResearchWill

Can't answer your post OP, did comment on the original thread, think it was deleted because of personal information you gave, so prob best to keep any personal info out this time, BTW I am only guessing why it was deleted.

tommy2bad

Midlife Crashes wrote: »

Asked a question about a week ago regarding pre marital sex. Unfortunately it was deleted before I had a chance to read the responses.

I was looking to answers to my question and found this http://www.the-goldenrule.name/Fornication_GREEK/

Most importantly this quote
The Bible does forbid fornication. Unfortunately the English word "fornication" has been applied to almost anything religious leaders want it to mean. …
What we need to understand is what Paul and other Bible authors meant by the word fornication or porneia. And what did the word mean in the historical context in which they were writing? The Greek term for fornication was never used for any sexual activity outside of marriage. Nor was it ever applied to free erotic love in general. …
In Paul's time the original word porneia (translated as fornication) was used exclusively for cultic, pagan sexual practices including temple prostitution, sexual slavery, and ritualized pedophilia (pederasty). It represents true pornography and the ugly, godless side of sexuality. It is closely tied to idolatry and the forbidden sexual rituals to false gods. It can only be understood to refer to sexual practices associated with those cruel, violent, and now illegal activities. It never had anything to do with true, intimate love-making among consenting people who love their God.
Doesn't the Bible teach sex is only appropriate within a monogamous marriage?
Absolutely not. In fact, nearly all the noble characters of the Bible were either polygamous or celebate. If you are looking for a role model of a monogamous, neo-puritanical marriage, the Bible is not the place to find him or her. Both David and Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines, the later to whom they were not married. …
You may not hear this from your favorite pulpit or radio program, but Jesus himself declared a way far different from monogamy. Any mainstream minister that spoke of himself with 10 virgins would be driven out the door in seconds. That alone tells us something of the artificial, repressed state of many Christian discussions.

I was wondering what peoples interpretation of this was.
Every where else on the internet translates fornication or "porneia" to sexual immorality.

BQ. Are all mortal sins equal. Is fornication seen as bad as murder or adultery.

Thanks to anyone who responds.

So much wrong with the quote in bold I don't know where to start.
The Greek term for fornication was never used for any sexual activity outside of marriage. Nor was it ever applied to free erotic love in general.
Just not true, the term referred to prostitution, the Greek word comes from 'under a bridge' where ladies of the night plied their trade.
Yes it explicitly forbids sex with prostitutes. It had nothing to do with cultish pagan practices. (They are condemned elsewhere, in case you think their alright )

If you are looking for a role model of a monogamous, neo-puritanical marriage, the Bible is not the place to find him or her.
Apart from all the examples of monogamous marriages which btw were the norm and not so remarkable, the bible isn't the place to look. So what? the sexual practices of Solomon or David weren't the point of the story.

Jesus himself declared a way far different from monogamy.
He did? I got the impression that he pretty much condemned adultery and told us that any thought was the same as adultery.


Anyway your missing the point, the obsession with what people do with their dangly bits is as old as time and will always exist but it's not the whole story.
Theirs lots about charity, not lusting after money and doing good deeds that never gets the same attention.
Fornication is just one form of sexual immorality and yes all sins are equal, in that they keep us separate from God and that they are all forgivable.
Obviously they are not all equal in the damage they do to us or the society we live in. The bible isn't just a cultural record or a set of rules to organize a society around; it's that and more. It's a record of mans relationship with God and a way for us to learn how to relate to God and each other.

PDN

tommy2bad wrote: »

So much wrong with the quote in bold I don't know where to start.
The Greek term for fornication was never used for any sexual activity outside of marriage. Nor was it ever applied to free erotic love in general.
Just not true, the term referred to prostitution, the Greek word comes from 'under a bridge' where ladies of the night plied their trade.

You could start by not muddling up your Greek and your Latin.

The Greek word porneia comes from porne - which means a low class prostitute.

The bit about under bridges refers to fornix in Latin. It meant an arch of a bridge and later a brothel.

Midlife Crashes

tony81 wrote: »

Op, your source is spammy. Also the bible does not just zoom in on the word "fornication" (a word you have an issue with and pick holes in because the traditional definition meant "idolatory") but actually gives many examples of forbidden behaviour including sexual acts.

Really? Many other sources I've seen also translate fornicator to prostitute.

Few more question . I read Corinthians today and realised that even if fornication doesn't mean pre marital sex, being guilty of sexual immorality would still condemn you to Hell What constitutes sexual immorality, is it just vaginal penetration or everything else sexual.

tommy2bad

Midlife Crashes wrote: »

Really? Many other sources I've seen also translate fornicator to prostitute.

Few more question . I read Corinthians today and realised that even if fornication doesn't mean pre marital sex, being guilty of sexual immorality would still condemn you to Hell What constitutes sexual immorality, is it just vaginal penetration or everything else sexual.

Wondering how far you can go?
Morality isn't a legal term with a definition that permits x and forbids y, it's about respect and showing love for yourself and others. If your behavior leads to sin then it's immoral.
Whether thats shoplifting or one night stands or fiddling your taxes.

The real question is, how would I feel if someone did this to me, not can I do this and stay inside the law.

J C

Here is what Jesus Christ had to say about sexual morality

Mt19:3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”


Mt 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Mt 5:31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[f] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Not much room there to morally justify fornication or multiple wives or partners!!!