tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376955256463224749.post6326962414143223967..comments2023-09-07T12:03:43.350-07:00Comments on Theological Sushi: Marriage and Divorce in the New Testament Part II: Matthew's Use of PorneiaB. C. Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02828477115799852133noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376955256463224749.post-55577177568677126772018-08-19T20:45:02.435-07:002018-08-19T20:45:02.435-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06759887778252095686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376955256463224749.post-79986120208028651632017-08-09T11:20:25.999-07:002017-08-09T11:20:25.999-07:00I think we're in agreement. The two reasons th...I think we're in agreement. The two reasons the incest laws are exist is for creational (i.e., mutations the ancients thought occurred due to inner-familial relations) and preservational (the threat that often occurs in familial rivalries, e.g., Rachel and Leah).<br /><br />The ritual laws definitely teach the morality of the law. I just wanted to make the clear distinction that the prohibition in Leviticus 18 is for the same moral reason as the rest of the prohibitions, and is for a moral reason, as opposed to the ritual reasons found in the rest of the book. Ritual purity displays a picture of moral purity, but the prohibition concerning the menstrual period in Chapter 18 is for a moral reason, not a ritual one. That was the only point there. B. C. Hodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02828477115799852133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376955256463224749.post-64606459548501933402017-08-09T08:07:35.603-07:002017-08-09T08:07:35.603-07:00Hi Bryan,
I hope you don't think I am arguin...Hi Bryan, <br /><br />I hope you don't think I am arguing against your post, instead I am trying to enhance it. <br /><br />Yes, the words "I am the Lord your God" surround chapter 18 like "quotation marks" which makes it a unified whole. However, within this unified whole there are two sections. <br />The first section which prohibits marriage with close family connections is often associated with incest in the sense of genetic birth defects. I just don't believe this is the main thrust of the message because it goes beyond blood relatives.I believe it is more relational in scope.Most of these situations would simply be adultery if the marriage was still intact. Men are obligated to provide and support women who are close family members, not to sexually exploit them. Think about the wealth and power a man would gain over his brothers by marrying his mother or step mother. It would be armed conflict right away. <br />The next section has 5 prohibitions with idol worship being in the middle. The point is very clear: to destroy seed in an idol is like destroying seed in an illicit sexual act. In our day abortion serves as the picture of the giving seed to an idol because this is the result of what heterosexuals have accepted in their own sexual practices. <br />Ritual impurity is not about cleanliness in the sense of personal hygiene. If this were the case then any society or individual with access to more advanced hygiene products and practices would be more pure than others. It would make Jezebel more pure than a believer living in poverty. <br />The purity laws taught morality and in the case of family purity it taught a married couple the proper context of sexuality and this is why it is contained side by side with the four other restrictions in Lev. 18 Naamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13945916814126324706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376955256463224749.post-82869357675236271782017-08-08T11:41:39.448-07:002017-08-08T11:41:39.448-07:00Hi Naama,
Actually, Lev 18 is a single unit. Ver...Hi Naama, <br /><br />Actually, Lev 18 is a single unit. Verses 1-5 and 24-30 create an inclusio that binds the whole thing together. This means it is all about the "seed" which is an idiomatic term for children. Incest threatens the life of the child either in its creation via possible mutation or in its preservation, as in the case of Leah and Rachel's children. Incest deals with both the one flesh union that makes, for instance, a father's wife one with the father, and therefore, makes sex with her incest with the father (hence Reuben's sin being incestuous, the man who has his father's wife in 1 cor 5 etc.). <br />The prohibitions in other Leviticus texts are often about cleanliness/ ritual purity. Here, however, the author makes it clear that these practices are prohibited because they threaten the childrens' creation and preservation in some way, I.e., they are illegitimate sexual acts because they are anticreational. B. C. Hodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02828477115799852133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6376955256463224749.post-51825429091787593952017-08-07T23:07:29.052-07:002017-08-07T23:07:29.052-07:00Hi Bryan
As you are well aware, there are two se...Hi Bryan <br /><br />As you are well aware, there are two sections in Leviticus 18. First are the prohibitions on close relations. In a sense it is not about incest because non blood relatives are also listed. It is about relations that would cause family tensions-including children.<br />Secondly,the last section is about prohibited sexual relations. The prohibition of not sacrificing children to idols forms the main memorable point of the whole message with very sharp teeth. There are two prohibitions before and after placing it right in the center.The confusing problem is child sacrifice is not a sexual act? Maybe not, but it makes the point crystal clear. The term for people or semen is seed (zera) The point is we are not to destroy our seed like the pagans. <br />The other confusing prohibition is when a wife is menstruating or having a miscarriage. In the bible blood is life and the wife is experiencing death when life is exiting her body. The prohibition is we are not to have sex and mix seed when life is exiting the wifes body. This prohibition or the others like it in Leviticus 15 only applies to married couples-not singles. The message is not held hostage by strict science where a tiny tiny chance of a pregnancy could happen during a womens period deflects from the authenticity of the message of teaching couples the proper use of our sexuality. <br /> Naamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13945916814126324706noreply@blogger.com