ADULTERY ?

[kazanova3]

ADULTERY ?

Adultery is considered a sin in all religions. The Bible decrees the death sentence for both the adulterer and the adulteress (Lev. 20:10) . Islam also equally punishes both the adulterer and the adulteress (Quran 24:2). However, the Quranic definition of adultery is very different from the Biblical definition. Adultery, according to the Quran, is the involvement of a married man or a married woman in an extramarital affair. The Bible only considers the extramarital affair of a married woman as adultery (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22, Proverbs 6:20-7:27).
"If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel" (Deut. 22:22).

"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death" (Lev. 20:10).

According to the Biblical definition, if a married man sleeps with an unmarried woman, this is not considered a crime at all. The married man who has extramarital affairs with unmarried women is not an adulterer and the unmarried women involved with him are not adulteresses. The crime of adultery is committed only when a man, whether married or single, sleeps with a married woman. In this case the man is considered adulterer, even if he is not married, and the woman is considered adulteress. In short, adultery is any illicit sexual intercourse involving a married woman. The extramarital affair of a married man is not per se a crime in the Bible. Why is the dual moral standard? According to Encyclopaedia Judaica, the wife was considered to be the husband's possession and adultery constituted a violation of the husband's exclusive right to her; the wife as the husband's possession had no such right to him. 15 That is, if a man had sexual intercourse with a married woman, he would be violating the property of another man and, thus, he should be punished.

To the present day in Israel, if a married man indulges in an extramarital affair with an unmarried woman, his children by that woman are considered legitimate. But, if a married woman has an affair with another man, whether married or not married, her children by that man are not only illegitimate but they are considered bastards and are forbidden to marry any other Jews except converts and other bastards. This ban is handed down to the children's descendants for 10 generations until the taint of adultery is presumably weakened. 16

The Quran, on the other hand, never considers any woman to be the possession of any man. The Quran eloquently describes the relationship between the spouses by saying:

" And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in that are signs for those who reflect" (Quran 30:21).

This is the Quranic conception of marriage: love, mercy, and tranquillity, not possession and double standards.



IslamiCity

[LippyChick]

The issue is dumb ass, we in the west don't live under Christian/Biblical law. Now murderous un-elected government cut bit's of us for transgressing the bible. Is this what you want to bring upon us?

Even to be put death in the USA you have to be tried by a jury of your peers, not some git whose right is divined by an accident of birth.

To dress up murder as love, what an ass. I'm beginning to see where you're coming from Skinner.

LippyChick

[Nonson]

LippyChick,

According to the doctrines of Cretinism those who live by secular law are servants of the Devil. Of course, all sane people pass the age of three days knows what wild-eyed monstrosities are ejected from the Sour Womb of Cretinism. We meet them every day in every spot in creation. Our punishment for being shinning examples of perfection in a world of those who push around the dung of the gods.

Nonson
2.01.01

[andrewblow]

KAZ,

Oh boy - every now and then you really do make a fool of yourself !!

Firstly - you are on the wrong thread. This subject should be on the 'religion' page and you know it. If you want to either preach, or upset people - at least make it the right people.

Secondly, you have - due to your poor understanding of the English language AND your real lack of true Bible teaching - completely missed the point here.
Sexual intercourse between a married man and a married woman (other than man and wife) is condemned in the Bible as adultery. We call it 'double adultery.
The same action between a married person and a single person is also condemned in the Bible as adultery - we call it 'single adultery'
The same action between two people NEITHER OF WHOM ARE MARRIED is called 'FORNICATION' and is just as rightly condemned in the Bible, so 'adultery', or 'fornication' - both are equally condemned by God, because neither fall within His best designed way for the people he created.

So don't play with words KAZ, just trying to catch people out - we know better. It's about time you caught up.

ANDREW

[Nonson]

Not wanting to do a deconstruction of applicable Scripture on the subject of Adultery I offer the following article by Revs. Bill and Kris Tenny-Brittian of Living Waters Ministery.


Is biblical adultery the same as adultery today?

This week's question came from a conversation I had with a parishioner about morality. The question was: One of the ten commandments says, "Thou shall not commit adultery." But did that mean the same then as it does now?

It seemed like a simple question. Adultery should be easy to define. Why, everyone knows adultery is having intercourse outside of marriage. Right? Wrong. Apparently the Old Testament has a very different understanding of what adultery is.

To begin with, the Old Testament regards marriage differently than we do today. For one thing, it was perfectly alright to have a number of wives as well as concubines. Abraham had only one wife, Sarah, but it was perfectly moral and legal for him to have intercourse with Hagar so that he might have an heir (Genesis 16.2). On the other hand, Jacob had two wives and two concubines and he had children by all four. Now, before the notion that child bearing has anything to do with the definition of adultery, according to 1st Kings 11.3 Solomon had 300 concubines and he certainly didn't have children with all of them (indeed, there is some doubt whether he even had relations with all of them, since that same verse claims he had 700 wives as well!).

Another example is Judah, who had relations with a woman he thought was a prostitute but turned out to be his widowed daughter-in-law (Genesis 38). And are there words of condemnation for his act? None, because she was a widow. Why not? Because adultery, in the Old Testament, has to do with having sexual relations with a woman who is married or is otherwise "possessed."

To understand the Old Testament concept of marriage we must realize women were considered chattel within their culture. A daughter was considered a liability to a family and a dowery was expected to be paid to the groom when he "took responsibility" for her. A woman was first the property of her father and later of her husband. She was bound to sexual fidelity in her marriage, but he was not bound by these same rules. If the husband wanted to (and could afford it), he could take responsibility for a concubine, a woman kept for sexual relations but without rights of inheritance, he could marry another wife, or he could frequent a professional prostitute. He could engage within any of these relationships without fear of reprisals either legally or morally. However, his wife or concubine could be killed for engaging in similar activities.

Apparently, adultery was defined differently for differing circumstances. Adultery for a male was defined as having sexual relations with a woman who was the property of another. Adultery for a married woman (or for a concubine) was having sexual relations with anyone not her husband. And professional prostitutes were never guilty of adultery, nor were the men who visited them.

By New Testament times definitions of adultery had begun to change. Although prostitution was still practiced and was legal, adultery had commonly come to mean any sexual relationship outside of marriage*even for a man. However, polygamy was still practiced among those who could afford it.

The definition of adultery has clearly changed over the years. In the Old Testament women were considered property and men were allowed to practice a rather open sexual life. But as time passed the definitions changed and according to Jesus' even having lust in one's heart constituted adultery (Matthew 5.28). Today adultery is defined as sex outside of marriage by either spouse*and polygamy is strictly prohibited. So, no, the prohibition of adultery in the ten commandments didn't mean the same then as it does now. But I wouldn't advocate a return to the "old ways." I don't think the idea would catch on with my wife* or the rest of society either!

Nonson
2.09.01

[Nonson]

As is seen in the above post the defining of adultery between the Old Testament times and the New Testament era are radically different. Since women are no longer considered the "property" of her father or husband those applicable parts of the OT Scriptures are now null and void, and are/were replaced by the somewhat more modern views of the NT ideology. Ministers and other disseminators of Christian doctrine make a grave mistake in not striking from their theology the OT doctrines which refer to the woman. Only in this way will they be able to free their minds of the handicap put on them by such teachings, and permit them to see the woman as something more than a mere stigma in the annals of spirituality.

Nonson
2.09.01

[Stephen_Bailey]

Adultery?

The best friend I ever knew was a German girl called Ellen. She was (probably still is?) absolutely STUNNING to look at - and a real nice person too.
I met her in 1992 when she lived in England and we were inseperable for a year, until she went back to Germany. I fancied her like crazy, but never tried to take 'matters' further. I'm nothing special (in any department!) and didn't want to spoil our friendship.
We phoned and wrote each other frequently, remaining very close friends.
Then, she met a Macedonian "Asylum-seeker" in Berlin. She fell madly in love with him, he fell madly in love with her E.U. citizenship - and they got married.
She seemed totally content; although I thought her husband sounded a bit of a 'prick'. He wouldn't work or learn German, ALL her friends gradually became Macedonian - and he wouldn't let her comunicate with me.
Of course she still did; secretly.
In 1995 Ellen came on a week's holiday to England - alone; staying with her Aunt.
She wanted to spend most of the week with me (and my girlfriend, Maxine).
Max' was quite happy about that - until they met!
( I guess there IS such a thing as "female intuition"? )
My 'feelings' towards Ellen hadn't changed one bit, but I was DETERMINED to respect her marriage and our friendship - and I put all "impure thoughts" to one side.
I was on leave that week and Max' was working; so the 2 of us DID spend most of the time together.
After a couple of days I suddenly realised Ellen was dropping the kind of 'hints' she'd never done before.
I decided I was reading something into this that wasn't there; so I brushed-off all her 'overtures.'
Then came 'Wednesday night'.
I'd said I would phone Ellen that afternoon, but decided not to and was just about to leave to meet my girlfriend when Ellen turned up at my flat, with a bottle of red wine.
So, I stayed in.
We sat on the floor, watching tv, chatting and drinking. I honestly didn't realise she was gradually 'inching' closer and closer to me.
Eventually i did realise and everything became very "tingly"
by this time, we were around 2cm apart.
She took my hand. I noticed her wedding-ring and said (utterly amazed) "Ellen! We're looking at each other like, Lovers!?"
She gave me an incredible smile and said - "I always did."
Then she removed the ring - followed by "everything else."

All I can say about the following 3 days is

And then she returned to Germany.
I (stupidly) imagined we would remain friends for life.
No.
Maxine realised what'd been going on and dumped me on the spot.
meanwhile, back in Berlin: Ellen's Husband and Father met her at the airport and both instantly guessed she'd been "interfered with".
I'll never know what 'discussions' took place, but in the end she blamed ME for seducing HER !!!!! The husband left her, she went off to try and get him back - and I haven't heard from her since. That was in March 1995.

It was (easily) the best 4 days of MY life; but I lost the best friend I ever had.
Was it worth it ?? I'll always wonder. What do YOU think????

S.B.