Teaching of Old Testament on Sexuality
Sexuality is a vital topic for all Christians. This is because sexuality is closely associated with morality and ethics. From the teachings of the Old Testament, there is a defined Christian framework for sexual ethics as well as the concept of vulnerability in Christian sexual ethics. This essay provides a critical evaluation of the Old Testament teachings on sexuality focusing on both the feminist approach and the ethic of sex and gender.
In the Old Testament, all that God had created, including sex is proclaimed as “good,” because it is the act necessary to emotionally connect and procreate. From the Biblical account of creation (Genesis 1-2), it is God’s intention that human beings be “fruitful and …show more content…
Women are taught to control themselves so that they do not tempt men. This is illustrated in the Islamic culture where women wear a hijab (face covering) to protect themselves from the potential violent abuses of men – rape. There are many accounts of brutality against women in the Old Testament. As illustrated in Judges 19:25,29:
. . . the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
The Bible views rape as a gross violation of the human body and is punishable by death (Menn …show more content…
However, there are many contradictions to this. Men were allowed to have concubines (examples: Jacob had Zilpah, and Abraham had Hagar) but women were expected to be virgins prior to marriage and had to remain faithful. In the Old Testament, there is blatant condemnation for homosexuality. As seen in Leviticus 20:13, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” These scholars, believed that homosexuality was going against nature for God created a woman for Adam, not a man. However, throughout the Old Testament there are same-sex friendships which are apparently deeper than the husband-wife bond. For instance, 1 Samuel 18:1 states that Johnathan loved David as “his own soul.” It was understandable for a man to connect with another man because of their superior intellect.
Therefore, God’s texts on sex and gender from the Old Testament provides to humanity the moral and ethical values that are accepted in the Christian faith. On the other hand, the feminist position of today’s contemporary society is that it is unethical for people to commit adultery (Freitas 16). This concurs with God’s teaching about
Sexuality is a vital topic for all Christians. This is because sexuality is closely associated with morality and ethics. From the teachings of the Old Testament, there is a defined Christian framework for sexual ethics as well as the concept of vulnerability in Christian sexual ethics. This essay provides a critical evaluation of the Old Testament teachings on sexuality focusing on both the feminist approach and the ethic of sex and gender.
In the Old Testament, all that God had created, including sex is proclaimed as “good,” because it is the act necessary to emotionally connect and procreate. From the Biblical account of creation (Genesis 1-2), it is God’s intention that human beings be “fruitful and …show more content…
Women are taught to control themselves so that they do not tempt men. This is illustrated in the Islamic culture where women wear a hijab (face covering) to protect themselves from the potential violent abuses of men – rape. There are many accounts of brutality against women in the Old Testament. As illustrated in Judges 19:25,29:
. . . the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
The Bible views rape as a gross violation of the human body and is punishable by death (Menn …show more content…
However, there are many contradictions to this. Men were allowed to have concubines (examples: Jacob had Zilpah, and Abraham had Hagar) but women were expected to be virgins prior to marriage and had to remain faithful. In the Old Testament, there is blatant condemnation for homosexuality. As seen in Leviticus 20:13, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” These scholars, believed that homosexuality was going against nature for God created a woman for Adam, not a man. However, throughout the Old Testament there are same-sex friendships which are apparently deeper than the husband-wife bond. For instance, 1 Samuel 18:1 states that Johnathan loved David as “his own soul.” It was understandable for a man to connect with another man because of their superior intellect.
Therefore, God’s texts on sex and gender from the Old Testament provides to humanity the moral and ethical values that are accepted in the Christian faith. On the other hand, the feminist position of today’s contemporary society is that it is unethical for people to commit adultery (Freitas 16). This concurs with God’s teaching about