Full Text - Analele Universitatii din Craiova. Istorie

Analele Universităţii din Craiova, Seria Istorie, Anul XV, Nr. 2(18)/2010
everyone’s gift. Thus, Paul regards marriage and sexual communion between
man and woman not as sinful or immoral, but as a gift from God given to the
majority of people. Marriage could require much more attention under hard
political and social circumstances, but such crises may put people under great
moral pressure and increase temptation to sexual laxity. Because marriage is a
sacrament blessed by God, the upholding of it is the best safeguards of morality
in society, and therefore Christians should be the bearers of this tremendously
beautiful, and at the same time respectful sacrament 1 . Another reason why Saint
Paul may have advised the Corinthian men not to touch women, was because a
certain extremist attitude arose among some Christians, who regarded sexual
union, even inside marriage as sinful. In the minds of the antinomians who were
rising in the corinthian communitites, the teaching about liberty became
perverted, by misunderstanding the cult of Apollo and transforming it into a
cloak of lasciviousness. Other parties, perhaps of Essene proclivites,
disapproved matrimony as involving an inevitable stain, or seeing it as sinful
and dirty. This was in fact the gnostic spirit which led the people to believe that
matrimony was something belonging to the evil demiurge. Thus, the ascetic
gnostics strove to destroy by severity every carnal impulse 2 . There were some
in Corinth who tried to practice celibacy inside marriage, something
condemnable by Christian morality. This decision was apparently unilaterally
taken by one partner and was not a mutually agreed on decision. Such a practice
often led to immorality on the part of the other mate, which of course was
contrary to the spirit of self sacrifice for the love of the other, preached by Jesus
Christ.
According to the researchers Walvoord and Zuck, Paul condemns them
to stop this practice unless three condition were met:
1. The abstention from sexual intercourse was to be a matter of mutual
consent on the part of both husband and wife.
2. They were to agree beforehand on a time period at the end of which
normal intercourse would be resumed.
3. This refraining was to enable them to devote themselves to prayer in a
concentrated way 3 .
Further on, Saint Paul emphasizes that each man should have his woman
to be his wife, partner, friend and eternal companion for the kingdom of God.
1
D. Prime, Opening up 1 Corinthians, Leominister: Day One Publications, 2005, p. 62-63.
2
“Antinomian Gnostics argued that the life of the spirit was so utterly independent of the flesh
that what the flesh did was of no consequence. We find the germs of Gnostic heresy long before
the name appeared”. The Pulpit Commentary: 1 Corinthians, Spence-Jones, H.D.M., Ed.,
Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 2004, p. 223.
3
J.F. Walvoord, R.B. Zuck & Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible knowledge commentary :
An exposition of the scriptures (1 Co 7:5), Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, p. 56-58.
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