Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site cadovax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!tektronix!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrba!cadovax!jefff From: jefff@cadovax.UUCP (Jeff Fields) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Christianity and Sex (Etymology of "fornication") Message-ID: <138@cadovax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 25-Sep-84 13:41:38 EDT Article-I.D.: cadovax.138 Posted: Tue Sep 25 13:41:38 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 28-Sep-84 06:21:06 EDT Organization: Contel Cado, Torrance, CA Lines: 55 Thank you Jeff Gillette and Charley Wingate for pointing out the irrelevancy of the latin origin of the word fornication and Pauline doctrine. I did take a rather extreme leap in logic in arguing that Paul was down only on prostitution. In future postings I will hopefully make less conclusions based on such sophomoric arguments. Actually, my whole argument was based on a discussion that I had a few years ago with a Classics major. I do however want to make a linguistic and historic point. The original meaning of fornication was prostitution. Page 722 of _Webster's_ _New_ _Twentieth_ _Century_ _Dictionary_ _of_ _the_ _English_ _Language_ (Second Edition, unabirdged) has this entry for fornication: fornication, n. [LL. fornicatio (-onis), from fornicari, to fornicate, from fornix (-icis), a vault, a brothel in an underground vault] 1. voluntary sexual intercourse between an unmarried woman and a man, especially an unmarried man: it is generally forbidden by law. "Fornication is the act of incontinency in single persons; if either party be married it is adultery." -Wharton 2. in the Bible, (a) any unlawful sexual intercourse, including adultery; (b) a forsaking of the true God and worshipping of idols Which brings me back to some controversial assertions I made about prostititutes hanging out in early Christian and Jewish temples. Presently I have no references to back up these claims. I will work on it. Remembering my conversation with the Classics student, I recall that the early Christians before the Emperor Constantine had to worship secretly in underground vaults. These vaults were used, in some cases, by prostitutes. After Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, pagan temples were converted into Christian churches. Prostitution had been sanctioned by some pagan cults worhsipping in the temples later to become churches. I conjecture that some of these churches inherited the curse of prostitution. In regards to my assertion about Jewish temples, I stand corrected. There was indeed one Temple in Jerusalem. Whether or not prostitutes frequented the Temple is highly conjectural. It does mention in Mark 11:15 that Jesus expelled "those who were buying and selling there;". Perhaps some of the people Jesus kicked out were prostitutes and there clients. In closing, I concede that the Pauline letters condemned sex per se, even in the case of marriage. Paul believed that he was living in the "End Times" before the second coming of Christ. Why bother with sex as procreation when the Final Judgement is right around the corner? Jeff Fields -- I once was sad that I had no shoes until a met a man that had no feet.