Dirt, Greed and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and their Implications for TodayConducting a thorough examination of sexual ethics in the New Testament, this work argues that the New Testament writers did not construct a new sexual ethic from the ground up, but took over existing cultural patterns and refocused them, pushing some elements from the centre to the periphery. This suggests a pattern of ethics for contemporary life. Discussing biblical notions of purity and property, which dominate ethical ideas in the New Testament, the author characterizes sex as one of the rich blessings of creation, "to be received with delight and thanksgiving". Countryman's generous and eirenic views on sexual matters, based as they are on solid biblical research, are a welcome intervention in an area which unfortunately, in Christian circles, tends still to be dominated by conservatism and misinformation, rather than by liberal principle. |
Contents
DIRT | |
Interpretation | |
GREED | |
Mediterranean World | |
PART 3 | |
New Testament Sexual Ethics and Todays World | |
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Common terms and phrases
adultery become belong biblical Christ Christian church circumcision committed concern context Corinthians culture Dead Sea Scrolls Deut disciples distinction divorce Essenes faith father flesh Gentiles God’s gospel Greek harlotry Holiness Code homosexual homosexual acts household human husband idolatry important impurity incest individual interpretation Israelite issue Jesus Jewish Jewish Christians Jews Judaism kind Leviticus Luke Luke’s male man’s Mark’s marriage married matter Matthew means Mishnah modern moral offense one’s passage Paul Paul’s person Peter Pharisees Philo physical purity pleonexia porneia principle prohibition prostitutes pseudo-Phocylides purity code purity ethic purity law purity rules purity system Qumran ref 1 n ref1 reference regarded reign rejection relationship Romans Sadducees Scripture sense sexual acts sexual ethics sexual intercourse sexual property simply sins slave social society Sodom suggests teaching temple Testament texts theological things Torah tradition unclean violation whole wife woman women