Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Okay, I've done some thinking, and I've decided that my head is about to explode. In order to let out some of the mounting pressure, I'll reveal the course of thought that brought us to Situation: Critical and request attempts to prove me wrong.
I occasionally take ideas that have occurred to me, and try and take them to their logical conclusion, to see what limits might be present, and what something actually means. Reading the Bible, I came across 1 Corinthians 7:8-10, where Paul basically says that unless you really can't control your urges, you shouldn't get married. This obviously means no fornication, either. Out of curiosity, I looked in the index of my New American Standard Bible, which includes a synonymous phrase with each entry, so "raiment" might have "clothing" next to it in italics. Only, there was nothing next to fornication. I went over to Dictionary.com, and was told that it was "[s]exual intercourse between partners who are not married to each other." Well, what is intercourse? A synonym is "exchange." Thus, sexual intercourse must be an exchange of a sexual nature, or, in other words, things that a heterosexual would not do to people of their own sex. Well, apparently since fornication is sexual intercourse with someone not your spouse, then things you wouldn't do to another woman if you already had a wife are banned. If this is the case, then pretty much anything beyond holding hands and a kiss on the cheek is off-limits.
I've checked my logic, and I can't find mistakes. However, since it's my own logic, that means I'm the last person who should be trusted to evaluate it. Any thoughts?
I occasionally take ideas that have occurred to me, and try and take them to their logical conclusion, to see what limits might be present, and what something actually means. Reading the Bible, I came across 1 Corinthians 7:8-10, where Paul basically says that unless you really can't control your urges, you shouldn't get married. This obviously means no fornication, either. Out of curiosity, I looked in the index of my New American Standard Bible, which includes a synonymous phrase with each entry, so "raiment" might have "clothing" next to it in italics. Only, there was nothing next to fornication. I went over to Dictionary.com, and was told that it was "[s]exual intercourse between partners who are not married to each other." Well, what is intercourse? A synonym is "exchange." Thus, sexual intercourse must be an exchange of a sexual nature, or, in other words, things that a heterosexual would not do to people of their own sex. Well, apparently since fornication is sexual intercourse with someone not your spouse, then things you wouldn't do to another woman if you already had a wife are banned. If this is the case, then pretty much anything beyond holding hands and a kiss on the cheek is off-limits.
I've checked my logic, and I can't find mistakes. However, since it's my own logic, that means I'm the last person who should be trusted to evaluate it. Any thoughts?
