All About Sex...In the Bible

All About Sex…

        in the Bible

Alla Peace

&

John Anderson

Copyright © 2012 by Alla Peace & John Anderson.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2012902887

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4691-6870-8

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CONTENTS

Part I

Preface

Short History of the Bible

Part II

Adultery

Bestiality

Erotica/Pornography

Fornication

Homosexuality

Incest/Inbreeding

Marriage

Nudity

Prostitution

Rape

Seduction

Part III

Birth Control

Circumcision

Firstborn: Baby Boy/Birthright

Harlot of Babylon and Papacy

Jesus’ birthday

Virginity

Was Jesus Married?

Woman as a Man’s Property

Biblical Sciences on Related Subjects

Epilog

Part IV

Sex Symbology

Glossary

Glossary of persons

Geographical Glossary

Bibliography

ENDNOTES

Part I

Introduction

Ye shall know the truth and

the truth shall make you free.

—words of Jesus Christ in John 8:32

Those, who have privilege to

know, have the duty to act.

—A. Einstein

Preface

Etymology. Latin seco, secare (to cut, divide) and sexus or secus, (gender),

Definition. The word sex has two meanings: (1) biological structure of organism, distinguished as male and female, and (2) an activity based on attraction of individuals. The meaning of sex as a sexual intercourse first attested 1929 by English novelist, David Herbert Richards Lawrence (1885-1930).

*     *     *

The Bible is the book of wonder in many ways. It is the religious book, worshipped by 2.1 billion adherents; records of historical events that took place from approximately 1500 BC till the beginning of AD; physical characteristics of Old Testament god, his guidance and cruelty; biography of Jesus Christ, his teaching and miracles; basic scientific facts; mythology; and all about sex.

Approximately for the past two millenniums, Christians have grown to revere and hold the Bible as the sacred word of god—infallible, absolute, divinely inspired, and to be used as the source of moral standards we should follow in our own lives. We will examine many stories in the Bible, which can be used as instruction on how one should not live his life and show the depravity and ugliness to which our ancestors stooped.

Certainly, the Bible does contain some of god’s advice for us to follow, but most of the Old Testament (OT) seems more like a man-made cultural history book than one of divine inspiration. God, quite frequently called as a man in the Bible, is lying, immoral, outrageously sadistic, and one who, according to Jesus, had no right to be worshipped as god (s e e Adultery. Story of Old Testament god). Patriarchs are corrupted and cruel, and kings and their generals are ruthless conquerers; women (with a few exceptions) are manipulative and rude. All of these are in addition to pornographic hymns for sexual pleasure.

Thirty-three percent of all human population blindly follow the false rituals set by the papacy in opposition to biblical text. For example:

-   The church announced Mary as a perpetual virgin, while the Bible states that after Jesus’ birth, she lived normal married life with her husband (Matt.1:25).

-   Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger (Luke 2:7). Nevertheless, guests with gifts did not come at that time, but much later, when Mary was in her house with the child, i.e., when Jesus was about two to three years old (Matt. 2:9, 11). But the church settled on the observation of their visit at Jesus’ birthplace. Besides, the Bible never mentioned that the wise men were kings and three in number (Matt.2:1).

-   Jesus’ birthday is celebrated on twenty-fifth of December, when simple calculation from the date of the birth of John the Baptist brings us the Jesus’ birthday to September/October. This falsification was made by papacy, which tries to adjust Christianity to Paganism (s e e Related Subjects. Jesus’ birthday).

The list of the church’s transgressions against scriptural texts can go on forever, but not all of them will be covered here.

Since ancient time, sex was (and still is) a reason for many crimes, cruelty, depravity, prostitution, slavery, venereal diseases, wars, and even business. For thousands of years of human history, until 1848 (when a movement for women emancipation started in the United States), the men, who constituted the rules of a way of living, established that women were just the pleasure objects of their sexual hunger, in addition to be a reproductive system for a heir.

Through thousands of years of history of mankind, sexual magnetism rules all aspects of human activity. This idea, known as Freudianism, was first introduced in 1805 by Austrian physiologist and neurologist Sigmund (Sigismund) Schlomo Freud (1856-1939) in his work Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. He developed the theory, which postulated that unconscious and subconscious sex drive is the main force that guides and motivates all human individuals’ social behavior.

We agree with this view and can easily guess that the biblical writers did too; otherwise, there would not be so many verses devoted to all aspects of sex and descriptions of human characters through their sexual conduct. We believe that sexual behavior, as a magnifying glass, emphasizes the real sometimes-hidden personality.

From this view stems the purpose of our book, which is from only one standpoint—a sex theme—shows the truth of what the Bible and its heroes are and credibility of leading authorities of whole Christianity, papacy (s e e Related Subjects. Harlot of Babylon and Papacy).

It is hard to believe that the Bible, the most precious holy book in the world, seems more like a manual for lovemaking similar to the Indian love guide Kama Sutra.

The book that you are holding in your hands is divided by topics in alphabetical order.

It consists of special chapters on associated subjects, such as circumcision, Mary’s virginity, Jesus’ birthday, analysis of the meaning of whore of Babylon described in biblical Revelation 17, and some scientific facts on related issues.

So here it is—the Bible stripped from its holiness.

Notes:

*   All biblical quotations are taken from King James Version (KJV), unless otherwise noted.

**   All emphasis of biblical quotations are ours.

***   The data of ancient kingdoms and their rulers and some events vary in different sources.

Short History of the Bible

Bible

Etymology. Egyptian byblos (papyrus). Greek biblia (books) and singular biblion (paper, scroll, book). The name of Holy Book was possibly derived from the name of Phoenician port Byblos (also known as Gebal, modern Jbeil, west Lebanon), from which Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece.

The Christian Scripture was referred to Ta Biblia (little papyrus books) as early as ca. 223 AD.

Definition. The Christian Bible is the sacred book of Christianity. It combines thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven books New Testament

The order and contents of the Bible are varying between denominations.

Genesis

Etymology: Greek/Latin genesis (beginning, creation, generation, nativity, origin) linked to genos (birth, descent, race).

*     *     *

The fact is that we do not have any of the original texts that have been included in the Bible. They have been lost, and all we have now are copies of copies that suffer from accidental or deliberate errors and omissions.

The Scriptures—particularly the Old Testament, which covers the period beginning approximately in sixteenth/twelfth century BC—were not written or dictated by God or Christ as it is commonly believed (2 Tim. 3:16; John 6:45), nor was it completed in Jesus’ lifetime. More likely, they are bits and pieces of ancient remote and unknown texts written by the gods aliens. Somehow original text came into the possession of biblical writers and were later combined together by early Church Fathers.

The Bible was not written by most of its assumed original authors. It is essentially anonymous. Most of the books of the Bible are pseudepigraphical.*

The Christians have been taught that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, called Pentateuch, which are often referred to as Torah. Outside of the more conservative seminaries and churches, it is commonly held that Moses did not write these books, that they are a compilation of works by numerous writers over an extended period of time. Archaeological excavations, linguistic analyses, and comparative studies of biblical books led to a conclusion that the Pentateuch is a hybrid document that was written after Moses’ death and much later than the events took place. Besides, Moses could not write his own epitaph: "Moses . . . died there in the land of Moab . . ." (Deut. 34:5).

Not too many people realize that John the Evangelist (the assumed author of the fourth Gospel of the New Testament) did not know Jesus and wrote the Gospel (if he really did) at least two generations after Jesus’ crucifixion. Most scholars regard the Gospel of St. John as anonymous and date it to 69 AD while Jesus was crucified in about 33 AD.

According to A. Q. Morton’s†computer analysis (stylometry),‡ only letters (epistles) of First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Philemon, and Romans could be written by Paul, assuming that the remaining nine§ were written in the name of Paul by unknown persons.

The biblical manuscripts were written by more than forty writers from different regions, countries, and cultures in four different languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin) on papyrus, leather, clay tablets, and parchments over a period of two thousand years, counting from the first five books of Moses, whose writing is in question itself.

These Scriptures were freely combined together, interpreted and edited by early Church Fathers in their own way and understanding.

In ca. 190 AD, a Church Father and a bishop of Lyon (east-central France), Irenaeus (125-202), selected for the New Testament twenty books from among forty or more Gospels.

In 367, a theologian, bishop of Alexandria (north Egypt), and a Church Father, Athanasius of Alexandria (ca. 296?-373), was the first person who named twenty-seven books of the New Testament.

In 382, Pope Damasus I (r. 366-384) commissioned Catholic priest St. Jerome (ca. 347-420) to revise the old Latin version of the Bible. Jerome’s revision, called Vulgate (commonly used translation), became officially proclaimed as Latin version of the Bible.

In 1546, the Council of Trent (northeast Italy) added seven deuterocanonical books¶ to the Bible.

In 1611, under supervision of the King of England, James I (r. 1567-1625), the Bible in English (KJV) was published for the use of the clergy and the church members only! It contained eighty books including fourteen books of Apocrypha. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew text; the New Testament, from Greek; and Apocrypha, from the Greek and Latin.

In 1672, the Book of Revelation was finally accepted by the Synod of Jerusalem (central Israel).

In 1885, Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward White Benson (r. 1883-1896), officially removed Apocryphal books (except Dan. 13) from KJV, leaving only sixty-six books, which now called the Authorized King James Version or King James Revised Version.

So our complete Catholic Bible is ONLY approximately

125 years old.

In summary, the facts are:

-   We do not have original text (but copies from copies).

-   The writers of the Bible are unknown, and it was translated, altered, and freely edited by different people of different countries in four different languages in different time periods.

-   The Bible describes the physical appearance and dreadful character of "god" as an ordinary man, which no one religion will dare to do; perversion and corruption of patriarchs; pornography; and Pagan rituals (services, holidays, garments, names of the days of week, etc.), which are accepted by church.

For two thousand years, the Christian Bible, which consisted of the sacred books of the Jews and was copied from ancient unknown manuscripts by Massoretes, called Massoretic Texts or Jewish Bible (Hebrew canon—three hundred manuscripts), was most commonly associated with the Old Testament. The Massoretic Texts were written in all capital letters with no punctuation or paragraph separations, which can cause tremendous mistakes in interpretations. For instance:

Authorized Personnel Only! No Visitors Allowed.

If we will change the punctuation, the meaning can be very different:

Authorized Personnel Only? No! Visitors Allowed!

Based on this example, we can guess what differences can be in translations, no mention the various meanings of most of used words.

There are more than one hundred modern versions and more than two thousand discrepancies** (in KJV).

The discrepancies found in the Bible could not only relate to the absence of original texts and multi-translations, but also to religious orientation of an interpreter and intentional expulsions of certain parts.

The modern publications try to correct the errors, but they are still very far from being perfect due to the absence of original texts.

Proclaimed as holy, inspired by "god", a guide to righteousness for common man, the Bible was forbidden to be translated or read by a layman until mid-nineteenth century. We will discuss the reasons for that in the following text.

Part II

Main Subjects

Adultery

Etymology. Latin adulterium or adulterate (to corrupt).

Definition. Sexual infidelity to one’s spouse, and a form of extramarital sex.

*     *     *

In many cultures, adultery was severely punished. According to James DeMeo’s Saharasia,†† in 1300s in Japan, a husband had the right to decapitate his adulterous wife or concubine or alternatively cut off her nose, fingers, or breasts.

Under the Law of Moses, the penalty for adultery was death by stoning (John 8:4-5).

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Ex. 20:14)

" . . . Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife . . ." (Ex. 20:17)

" . . . thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her." (Lev. 18:20)

" . . . That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery . . ." (Matt. 5:32)

" . . . Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery . . ." (Matt. 19:9)

"And the man that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." (Lev. 20:10)

"If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die." (Deut. 22:22)

"Moses in the law commanded us, that such [woman who was taken in adultery] should be stoned . . ." (John 8:5)

Story of Old Testament god

Before we will come to the stories of god’s love affairs, we would like to refer to biblical descriptions of his physical characteristics in order to find out who he was.

The Bible described the physical parts of god’s body, which were seen:

-   arms (Jer. 27:5)

-   back (Ex. 33:23)

-   ears (2 Chron. 6:40; Job 42:5)

-   eyes (Deut. 11:12; 2 Chron. 6:40; Job 34:21, 42:5; Ps. 11:4; Prov. 15:3; Jer. 16:17; Amos 9:4, 8; Heb. 4:13) eyelids (Ps. 11:4) face (Ex. 33:11, 20)

-   feet (Ex. 24:10; Ps. 18:9)

-   hands (Ex. 33:23)

-   heart (Gen. 6:6)

-   legs/walking (Gen. 3:8; Amos 9:1)

-   mouth (Deut. 8:3; Is. 1:20)

-   nose (Gen. 2:7, 8:21; Ex. 15:8) voice (Ex. 19:19; Acts 9:7)

God also spoke with

-   Abraham (Gen. 17:1, 18:2, 13; Ex. 6:3)

-   Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:9-19)

-   Aaron and Miriam (Num. 12:5-8)

-   Eliphaz (Job 42:7)

-   Ezekiel (Ez. 1:28)

-   Isaac (Gen. 26:2-5; Ex. 6:3)

-   Isaiah (Is. 6:1)

-   Jacob (Gen. 32:24-30, 35:9; Ex. 6:3)

-   Job (Job 42:1-6) a man (Deut. 5:24)

-   Moses (Ex. 33:9, 11, 34:10; Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:10)

-   Sarah (Gen. 18:15)

-   Solomon (1 Kings 6:11) priests, elders, and nobles of Israel (Ex. 24:9-11)

In addition, this Old Testament’s god is frequently called as a "man."

" . . . three men [one of them was the Lord] stood by him [Abram] . . . ." (Gen. 18:2)

" . . . and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he [‘god’] saw that he prevailed not against him [Jacob], he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint." (Gen. 32:24-25)

"The Lord is a man of war . . ." (Ex. 15:3)

"Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine." (Ps. 78:65)

" . . . upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of man . . . This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord . . . ." (Ez. 1:26, 28)

" . . . The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." (Acts 14:11)

Genesis was written between 16th and 13th century BC. It is impossible to imagine that at that time, someone could visualize the True God as a common man, unless those who saw him had no doubts that this being, whom they worshipped was a man known by name God.. Not too often, the Bible makes such clear statements, calling god a man with full descriptions of his physical appearance. Any of the other great religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or even Paganism) would never identify Absolute/Brahman (Hinduism), Allah (Islam), or Great Spirit (Paganism) as a man; that would be inappropriate, disrespectful, and unacceptable.

The descriptions of Old Testament god as a man and all parts of his body lead us to an easy conclusion that he certainly had other parts that drove him to sexual desires.

Who was this man? We do not know for sure, but one thing is for certain: he was not a True God, and Jesus proved it.

John

" . . . Ye have neither heard his [Jesus’ father] voice at any time, nor seen his shape." (5:37)

" . . . he that sent me is true, whom ye know not." (7:28)

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father . . . ." (1:18)

What is Jesus saying (John 5:37, 7:28)? Nobody ever knew, saw, or heard the True God. That means that the one whom Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Job, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the priests, elders, and nobles of Israel saw and whose voice Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Solomon, and David heard many times was NOT the True God. The True One is that whom we know not (John 7:28).

Jesus declared that Old Testament god is NOT a True God at all! Do Christians listen to what the Bible, Jesus, and John said? Do we need more than Jesus’ words?

Can we finally face the truth, hear what the Bible tries to place into our mind, and stop worshipping the Old Testament god (not the One whom Jesus called Father through the whole New Testament)?

In addition to many beautiful (so to speak) characteristics (s e e Epilog), this god was a womanizer and depraved man.

God committed adultery with Abram‡‡/Abraham’s§§ wife, Sarai¶¶/Sarah.*** His attraction and his fascination with her had a long history.

Genesis

" . . . he [Abram] lift his eyes and looked . . . three men [one of them later called Lord] stood by him . . ." (18:2)

" . . . he woman [Sarai] was taken into Pharaoh’s house." (12:15)

" . . . Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house . . . because Sarai Abram’s wife." (12:17)

" . . . and Abimelech . . . took Sarah." (20:2)

" . . . Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife." (20:18)

Two kings (pharaoh of Egypt and Abimelech of Gerar) took Sarai/Sarah to their harems. In both occasions:

-   Abraham called Sarai as his sister (12:13, 20:2) in order to save his skin (12:12, 20:11).

-   Kings did not know her marital status (12:18, 20:5) but did not touch her yet anyway (12:19, 20:4);

-   God severely punished the kings, their families, and their peoples (12:17, 20:18), and Abram was heavily rewarded by kings (12:16, 20:14-16).

Using a type of ultimatum, god finally was able to have his way with her, without asking her husband for permission to sleep with his wife, without any concern about what Abraham would feel if his wife would have a child by another man (18:2), not to mention what Sarah’s opinion might be.

After god’s angry emotions that had been released by destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he relaxed in the bed of a married woman, ignoring, of course, her own will.

He needed a break!

" . . . Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken . . . For Sarah conceived . . . ." (21:1-2)

Throughout the Bible, the use of word "unto can be confused. Most of the time, it is not used in connection with sex. Usually, the world unto, in the case of having sex, is used with an additional word in."

" . . . he [Abram] went in unto Ha’gar, and she conceived . . . ." (16:4)

" . . . Thou must come in unto me . . . . And he lay with her that night . . . she conceived . . . ." (30:14-17)

" . . . her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife . . . ." (Deut. 25:5)

In the case of Sarah—because the word unto used without in—theologians explained Sarah’s pregnancy as god’s miracle.

The meaning of this term becomes clearer when we read biblical verses, where the word unto without in (!) definitely signifies intercourse:

" . . . Esau . . . took unto the wives . . ." (28:9)

" . . . she [Leah] . . . said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me . . ." (29:34)

"Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite . . . , Shuah, and he took her, and went unto her, and she conceived, and bare a son . . . ." (38:2-3)

"Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness [have sex] . . . ." (Lev. 18:19)

" . . . seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her . . . ." (Deut. 21:11)

"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire . . ." (Song of Sol. 1:14)

It is obvious now that god impregnated Sarah in a most ordinary way (did unto Sarah . . . (21:1) Not a word about miraculous conception!

*     *     *

God also committed adultery again in his demanding way with Hannah,††† Elkanah’s wife; with Elisabeth,‡‡‡ Zacharias’s wife; not to mention his visit to the virgin Mary,§§§ Jesus’ mother.

" . . . Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived . . . ." (1 Sam. 2:21)

" . . . his [Zacharias] wife Elisabeth conceived . . . . Thus hath the Lord dealt with me . . ." (Luke 1:24-25)

" . . . Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." (Luke 1:41)

" . . . she was found with child of the Holy Ghost . . . Mary thy [Joseph’s] wife . . . is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." (Matt. 1:18, 20)

" . . . thou shalt conceive . . . The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee . . . ." (Luke 1:31, 35)

We guess that one of the ten commandments (Ex. 20:1-17) given to people by this god and words of Jesus have no meaning for this philanderer.

"Thou shall not commit adultery." (Ex. 20:14)

" . . . whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matt. 5:28)

This man, god, deserved the plague more than misfortunate pharaoh and King Abimelech! Would the True God punish innocent kings, have sex with married women, and break the major moral standards? We doubt it.

This so-called god was an amoral man, very powerful one, but not Divine, probably an alien. More than three/two millenniums ago, by corrupting the name of True God, whom Jesus called Father, he forced the simple little men to worship him. Today, 2.1 billion people, without asking any questions, continue to do so.

Story of David and Bathsheba

Second Samuel

" . . . David sent messengers . . . and she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness . . ." (11:4)

"And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child." (11:5)

" . . . Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle . . . that he may be smitten, and die." (11:15)

"Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Ex. 20:13-14 cf. Deut. 5:17-18)

"Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife . . ." (Deut. 5:21)

"Only virgins may marry, no widows, divorced or loose women." (Lev. 21:14)

The Bible states that Bathsheba¶¶¶ got pregnant after first meeting with David,**** being purified from her uncleanness [menstrual].

If a woman has her periods on a regular basis (twenty-seven to thirty-one days), then she hardly can get pregnant right after the period is over; the period is the time when the unfertilized egg is being flushed out of the uterus (womb). Generally, ovulation (release of an egg or ovum) takes place on an average of about fourteen days after a woman’s monthly period. Immediately after a period, the uterus is not physically ready for being conceived. Largely though, most women cannot get pregnant right after their period although there is no rules without exceptions. What was the reason to mention Bathsheba’s period in the first place? What does the Bible try to reveal? We suggest that David impregnated Bathsheba not at first date (after her period) but after a few occasions of seeing her.

However, David—the King of United Israel, the most celebrated king, and god’s begotten son (Ps. 2:7)—committed awful crimes in all points.

-   He committed adultery and actually forced (equal to rape) a married woman, Bathsheba (11:4).

-   He slept with his neighbor’s wife—prohibited by law (Lev. 18:20).

-   He impregnated her (11:5).

-   He gave the order to send a woman’s husband, Uriah, into the battle, where he would be killed (11:15).

-   He betrayed Uriah’s loyalty, who was his mighty man (23:39). Uriah’s commitment was not only to his king and to the nation, but also to David’s general, Joab (11:9-11). How ironic it is that Joab was the one who was commissioned to arrange his death (11:14-15). That means that David not only endorsed his own immoral act, but also forced Joab to do the same.

-   After Uriah’s death, David married Bathsheba, a widow, which was prohibited by Jewish law (Lev. 21:14).

-   In this one incident, David broke three commandments (Ex. 20:13, 14, 17; Deut. 5:17, 18, 21), which, according to Jewish law, required capital punishment—death (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22).

-   And what about Bathsheba? What did she think and feel about her husband’s murderer? David couldn’t care less, unless it was mutual decision.

Did David and Bathsheba die in the act of god’s punishment? No. The only thing god did was kill Bathsheba’s and David’s firstborn son (12:14, 19) and take, like pieces of furniture, David’s wives from him. Why did David’s wives and an innocent baby have to pay for David’s depravity?

" . . . thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife . . . , I [‘god’] will take thy wives . . . and give them unto thy neighbour . . . ." (12:9, 11)

However, the story of David and Bathsheba is controversial. We believe that the woman set up the whole event and instigated David’s actions (s e e Seduction. Story of Bathsheba). But even so, David’s sins are unforgiven.

Story of Herod Antipas

Leviticus

"Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness [have sex] of thy brother’s wife . . . ." (18:16)

" . . . if a man shall take his brother’s wife . . . , he . . . shall be childless." (20:21)

" . . . the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife . . . the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." (20-10)

" . . . while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress . . . ." (Rom. 7:3)

" . . . Herodias . . . his brother Philip’s wife: for he [Herod Antipas] had married her." (Mark 6:17)

-   Herodias,†††† a grand-daughter of a King of Judea, Herod‡‡‡‡ the Great (r. 37-4 BC), married her half uncle Herod Philip I (4 BC-33 AD), a son of Herod the Great.

-   Herod Antipas§§§§ (r. 4 BC-39 AD) was another son of Herod the Great, a ruler of Galilee (north Israel) and Perea (modern west Jordan) and a brother of Philip I (Luke 3:1, 19). He divorced his first wife, Phasaelis, who was the daughter of Nabataean (north Arabia) King Aretas IV (r. 9 BC-49 AD), and married Herodias while Philip was still alive (Josephus Antiquities 18:5, I3).

This type of behavior was considered by Jewish law as adultery and required a death penalty for both partners (Deut. 22:22).

In 36 AD, Aretas IV (Phasaelis’s father), invading Judea¶¶¶¶ (or Judah) and capturing territories along the West Bank of the Jordan River, attacked Herod Antipas and defeated him.

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The Hebrew attitude toward adultery changed over the years. In the early history of Israel, adultery was a capital offense with no chance of excuse (Deut. 22:22; Lev. 20:10). Shortly afterward, the death penalty for adultery seems to have disappeared and been replaced with compulsory divorce.

Women may have escaped the death penalty, but their position in society was unstable and shameful; they could not ever marry again.

" . . . neither shall they take a woman put away [divorced] from her husband . . . ." (Lev. 21:7)

" . . . neither shall they take their wives . . . that is put away [divorced]; but they shall take maidens . . . ." (Ez. 44:22)

" . . . whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery . . . ." (Matt. 5:32 cf. 19:9; Luke 16:18)

Story of Jesus and an Adulteress

John

" . . . the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him [Jesus] a . . . woman taken in adultery, in the very act." (8:3-4)

" . . . he . . . said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her . . . Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more . . . Ye judge after the flesh." (8:7, 11, 15)

Jesus***** went easy on an adulteress because he realised that everyone, with no exception, is a sinner in something, and we have no right to judge. As Paul states:

" . . . There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." (Rom. 3:10-11)

"For all have sinned . . . ." (Rom. 3:23, 5:12)

Even Jesus Himself does not take that right of judgment.

" . . . I judge no man." (8:15)

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged . . . ." (Luke 6:37)

" . . . wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself . . ." (Rom. 2:1)

Bestiality

Etymology. Latin bestia (beast), bestialis (like a beast).

Synonyms: zooerastia, zooerasty, and zoophilia from Greek. Zoon (animal) + philia (friendship or love).

Definition. The practice of sex (intercourse) between a person and an animal (beast).

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The custom originated in ancient Paganism, when gods of Fertility and Agriculture rejuvenated the life of nature in the spring. According to the Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, the practice was widely acceptable in ancient societies of Hittite empire (modern Turkey), Egypt, and Mesopotamia region.

Temples of Khajuraho (central India), which were dedicated to Shiva, portray in sculptures all kinds of sex, including bestiality performed by man.

From Middle East, the practice spread into Greek society, where sacred prostitution and ritual bestiality were observed by many ancient writers and historians. The Greek historian under Persian rule, Herodotus of Halicarnassus (ca. 484-425 BC, southwest Turkey), in his History of Greco-Persian War (book 2, § 46), informs us that in his time, a surprising thing happened in Egypt—a male goat had intercourse publicly with a woman. Extraordinary sculpture of Greek god of Sensuality and Sexuality, Pan, making love to a goat was found in ruins of Pompeii (south Italy).

An Empress of Russia, Ekaterina II, Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796), as famous for her social and political platform as she was infamous for her sexual appetites. She had a secret room constructed and filled with paintings and sculptures depicting the most detestable sexual acts imaginable. Even the individual items of furniture were decorated out of elements depicting giant sexual organs. Many of the images show rape, pedophilia (sex with underage children), and bestiality in realistic and graphic anatomical details. Officially she died from a stroke, but some rumors exist that she died in bestiality act. It does not really matter how she died—the presence of pornographically decorated specific furniture and erotic painting with bestiality scenes speak for themselves.

Such a practice is commonly held as repulsive in our modern culture—bestiality is still frequent among Sicilian and Calabrian (southwest tip of Italy) herdsmen. In Germany, sex with animals is not specifically outlawed.

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"Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death." (Ex. 22:19)

"Neither shalt thou lie with any beast . . . neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto . . . ." (Lev. 18:23)

"If a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. If a woman approach unto any beast and lie down thereto, thou shall kill the woman and the beast: they shall surely be put to death . . . ." (Lev. 20:15-16)

"Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast . . . ." (Deut. 27:21)

The Bible totally condemns sexual relations with animals.

We can also assume that it was in practice in ancient Israel; otherwise, the Jewish law would not even mention it.

Israelites, who were caught in the act of bestiality, faced the death penalty for themselves and the animal they had defiled.

The prophet Jeremiah††††† mentioned bestiality. He placed these words in god’s speech, who was blaming Israel (northern kingdom) and Judah (southern kingdom) for turning away from him. It was a habit of god to talk in vulgar, allegorical language about Israelites’ unfaithfulness.

" . . . Israel committed adultery . . . and Judah . . . committed whoredom and adultery with . . . stocks." (Jer. 3:8-9)

God would not compare unfaithfulness with bestiality if it would not be in practice.

Erotica/Pornography

Erotica.

Etymology. Greek ertikos or erotikos (sexual love and desire). Derived from the name of Greek god of Fertility, Love, Lust, and Sex—Eros (Roman Cupid/Amor).

Definition. The passion of love and sexual pleasure. It stimulates sexual arousal by using emotional imagery and feeling of sexual beauty of human body to the level of art. Erotica does not have impression of sexism (sexual discrimination), racism, and justification, and it is venerated by all human beings.

Pornography.

Etymology. Greek porne (prostitute) + graphein (to write), pornograpos (writing about prostitutes), pornographia (writing or drawing of harlots). In other words it means a written description or illustration of prostitutes or prostitution. Originally, porno meant bought, purchased, exported, sold.

Definition. The depiction of sexually explicit acts in a sensational manner, with the entire focus on the physical act, so as to arouse quick intense reactions. It is lower level than erotica and has nothing to do with beauty of love. It is just naked sex with all its variety.

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The history of erotic depiction includes music, painting, sculpture, theater, and writing that shows scenes of a sexual nature throughout time. In recent time, each new technique—such as computers, motion pictures,