Premarital Sex for Everyone

Nationnews.com

 This is a real life argument I used when a girlfriend became concerned that she was sinning by having sex with me, thus earning her one way ticket to hell. Thinking back on it now, I’m not certain if her concerns were genuine or if it was her ingenious plot to get a proposal out of me. She didn’t. But at the time, I believed she was truly troubled. I grew up with a relatively advanced knowledge of the Bible, and I couldn’t remember any verse specifically referring to sex out of wedlock being a sin. With a peaked curiosity and the resolve of a man determined to continue having sex, I dusted off my bible and with the help of the internet I formulated an argument to ease her mind.

The New Testament in the Bible refers to fornication enough times to obligate me to address it if I want to appear even the least bit credible. But what does fornication mean? “Fornication” is defined as premarital sex.

Some of you reading this may be thinking game over. But nobody puts baby in a corner. Realizing I was in a little trouble, I was forced to get creative. I decided to look up the etymology for the word.

The Latin word "fornix" means an archway. The Latin word "fornicatio" means done in the archway or done under the archway. In ancient Rome, prostitutes were solicited under the arches of buildings. So the word got its meaning from what people were doing under the archways with prostitutes.

The word originally meant one specific type of sex outside of marriage and, over time, turned into all forms of sex outside of marriage. The word fornication as we use it today, premarital sex, was first recorded in 1300 AD.

The word fornication is only found in the New Testament. There is a debate among Bible scholars on if the word fornication is the correct translation for the original word. The whole New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word porneia is the word that is translated into fornication in our Bibles. “Porneia” more accurately translates into sexual sin, according to many bible scholars. Seriously, look it up. Sexual sin actually makes a lot more sense, because sexual sin is actually referenced throughout the Bible, whereas premarital sex really isn’t. (But I’ll get into more of that later.)

The Old Testament covered, rather extensively, what are considered sexual sins. Leviticus 20:10-21, Moses (or whoever wrote it) listed the sexual sins: Adultery, incest, homosexuality, beastiality, and having sex with a woman on her period. I believe this verse essentially covers what is considered a sexual sin.

The word fornication is used six times (Matthew 15:19, Mark 7:21, John 8:41, Acts 15:20, Acts 15:29, and Acts 21:25) in the Bible, the word fornicator is used twice (1 Corinthians 6:9 and Hebrews 13:4); all found in the New Testament. Every verse in the New Testament that referenced fornication lacked any context that would lead the reader to any particular meaning, for example: fornication is bad or thou must not fornicate. Go and check for yourself. I’ll wait.

The Bible does mention situations where premarital sex is wrong, but not in the way you would think. Exodus 22:16-17 says if a man takes a woman’s virginity he must pay the bride price and take her as his wife; unless the father objects to the marriage, then the man must pay the virgin price. This shows that a woman’s virginity is simply business. Virgins were worth more than women that had already known man (biblical euphemism). There is no higher moral reason for sex after marriage than to keep the woman’s monetary value as high as possible.

The best Biblical argument I can find to contest my position that premarital sex isn’t a sin is found in Deuteronomy 22:13-29. In verses 13-21, a man accuses his wife of not having been a virgin. The argument could be made, if she can’t prove her virginity going in to this marriage, then she could be put to death; therefore, having sex before marriage was a capital offense. I believe the crime is pretending to be a virgin when she isn’t. See Exodus 22:16-17, virgins are worth more. I see the crime as false advertising. If all women that were married that weren't virgins could be killed, then no widows or divorcees would ever marry; for fear of death. The next few verses in that passage from Deuteronomy involve adultery and rape. Rape seems to only be bad if the woman is engaged or married (adultery) or if she is a virgin (they have to get married).

There is a less compelling argument against sex before marriage found in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7. By using this argument the arguer has to acknowledge Paul’s position that sex within marriage is not ideal, and I have yet to witness anyone take that stance. (Catholic priests excluded.) Also, Paul makes it clear that this is only his opinion on the matter, “[b]ut this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am.” Paul preferred total abstinence, but because he was aware everyone was not as chaste as him, he figured marriage was the next best thing. This is not a strong argument that sex outside of marriage is wrong, only that premarital sex is more likely (in Paul’s opinion) to lead to sexual immorality than sex within a good Christian marriage. 

 I would also like to remind you that all of this was written when there were serious consequences for breaking the law. The penalty for all of the sexual sins, as outlined in Leviticus 20:10-21, required death, with the exception of sex during the woman’s period which meant temporary banishment. If sex before marriage were meant to be included among them, there would be a more severe punishment than paying the virgin fee and having to tell your fiancé you’re not a virgin. So I say premarital sex for everyone, that's why god invented condoms.