By Dalal Akoury MD Addiction Courses Addiction Courses best-addiction-treatment-education Integrative Addiction Treatment for Physicians Natural Addiction Treatment Certification outpatient addiction treatment Preceptorship Addiction Treatment rapid addiction recovery rapid addiction recovery for busy executives Sex addiction February 10, 2016

Understanding Biblical sexuality

When one reads across the Bible, a wide range of topics are presented throughout is chapters. It primarily contains teachings that guide the human race on how to morally live. One human fundamental topic that has been explored throughout the scriptures book is sexuality. The Bible gives teachings on how human can exist morally as far as sexuality is concerned. There are those scriptures citing that talk of sexuality in great details. According to the Bible, sex as a practice is mainly viewed as a reproductive practice through which God, on the creation time intended for man to use to feel the Earth. Apart from reproduction, sex was also a manifestation of love between two married individuals and was sacred. Here down is how the Bible views sexuality.

According to the Bible, Genesis, sex was supposed to be practiced by married individuals, who after becoming husband and wife, became one flesh. This infusion into one flesh or soul was enabled through making love. Gen 2:24, 25 reads, “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh”. Sex, as portrayed in the Bible, is, therefore, a tool for bonding a husband and wife into a lasting relationship.

Sexuality in the Bible is also viewed as a manifestation of marriage. Couples, according to the Bible, become married through an act of making love to each other. In the book of Exodus, the Bible says that having sex is in its self a form of marriage. It says, in the book of Exodus 22: 16, 17, “If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. So the bible’s view on sexuality does differ greatly with the view taken by the contemporary world.

The Bible also portrays sex as a Godly gift that should be treasured and shared between two individuals who love each other and most importantly, husband and wife. Genesis talks of making love as a show of a man’s love to his wife, and the joy the two get as a result of doing the act. Gen 24: 67 say, “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and her married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”

The Bible, therefore, emphasizes the purity of people and should therefore only be practiced when and only if one is married. Meaning that pre-marital sexual activities is not encouraged by the bible. And even those who get married are allowed by the Bible to practice fidelity in marriage. So married couple should only have sex with their marriage partners. Sex, therefore, had two purposes mainly, having children and for pleasure in marriage.

Sexual vices such as rape are also talked about in the bible. The Bible condemn such acts and just like in the contemporary society, the scriptures also provide for penalties subjected to those commit such offenses. In the ancient society, rape was punishable by death. The book of Deuteronomy clearly spells out the penalty. In Deuteronomy 22: 25, 27 we are told that, “But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no-one to rescue her.” The book also in different chapters, speaks strongly against other sexual immoralities such as pre-marital sex, and cheating among the married.

Prostitution is also condemned very strongly in the Bible. Viewing sex as a sacred gift given to man by God purposely for pleasure and reproduction after marriage, the bible is against prostitution as a practice. In the book of Leviticus, God gives Moses set of rules to help the Israelites live with high morals. One of the immoralities they are warned against is prostitution. In Leviticus 19: 29, it reads, “Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.”

Sexual immorality is also advised against in the Bible. In the book of first Thessalonians, the Bible advice humanity to desist from sexual immorality. 1 Thessalonian 4: 3-5 says that ” It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.” This sums up sexuality as viewed by the Bible.