Early Church Fathers On Premarital Sex

[Ave Maria]

What did the early church fathers have to say about premarital sex? I am primarily interested in quotes from the first 300 years of Christianity.

 

[MrPolo]

Augustine
For necessary sexual intercourse for begetting [children] is alone worthy of marriage. But that which goes beyond this necessity no longer follows reason but lust. And yet it pertains to the character of marriage . . . to yield it to the partner lest by fornication the other sin damnably [through adultery].

 

[Nazaroo]

That would exclude Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and most early fathers.

You would narrow your search down to Paul (the Apostle), the Apostolic Fathers, (Clement, Shepard of Hermas), Justin Martyr, Iranaeus, Origen, and a handful of others.

Possibly Justin Martyr would have commented on it, un discussing the morality of pagans (and contrasting it with that of Christians).

Also, Origen may have had something to say, since he was celibate (self-castration), when commenting on marriage or virginity (for that also see Jerome and Ambrose, although they are too late).

The most likely to comment on it would be Tertullian, but he was harsh, judgemental and misogynistic, and because of his faulty Christology and Soteriology he became a heretic.

The important thing about premarital sex is to allow for youth and ignorance, and biological drives, and accept grace in these matters especially in dealing with teenagers in the West in this modern (permissive and unfocussed) culture.

There is a massive amount of peer pressure on teens to engage in experimental sex, although for girls especially, the risks are the same as they always were (high).

This is compounded by the fact that there is no leadership or role models in this area, even parents.

Finally, in Apostolic times most marriages were arranged by parents, and necessarily involved a close and permanent social contract between families.

Obviously marriage for 'romance' by both parties (ie. voluntary free will marriage based on physical attraction) is a relatively new social experiment (only 100 years or so).

Of course there were drawbacks with arranged (from a modern feminist view "forced") marriages, but they led to strong social and family stability, a necessity for the survival of children.

Augustine is considered a strict 'prude' by modern standards, but in fact he was actually the innovator of the modern age. ALthough he disallowed divorce and remarriage (following New Testament teachings from Paul and Jesus), he set the stage for the modern concept of 'free will marriage' for the reason of 'love' (eros, not agape).

In my view, Augustine's teachings and systematization of marriage was a disaster, not because he was too strict, but because he opened the door to the modern 'me' generation.

The church was in serious doctrinal error in following everything Augustine said to the letter. Just because someone is a good systematizer, or organizer, it doesn't guarantee that they really know what they are doing, or that they have any clue as to the repercussions that will follow their advice.

There is room for alternate interpretations both of Jesus' teaching, and in terms of where Jesus and the Holy Spirit wish to lead the church today.

As the feeding of the 5000 with 2 loaves and 3 fish (or was it 3 loaves and 2 fish?) shows, the Lord can bring out unlimited possibilities from basic circumstances.

It might be a mistake to limit marriages (approved by the church) too much.

It is already quite obvious that current doctrine cannot even hope to cope with the current situation, in which 25% or more of marriages end in 'divorce' and remarriage. Nor can early Biblical teaching on chastity help the majority of people today who have already engaged in extramarital sex.

It may help to consider that in Jesus' time, people were betrothed via arranged marriages, long before they became sexually active. The Laws of Moses were designed to regulate this ancient norm. This situation simply doesn't hold today.

Obviously MOST women (girls) are NOT betrothed before puberty, and so the laws concerning for instance 'adultery' (violation of betrothal vows) are meaningless.

I would suggest that Moses' law was never meant to cope with the situation as we find it today. According to Biblical standards, not only are most people not eligible AT ALL to be married (one requirement was virginity as the ideal standard), and most marriages, even Christian ones, would be outlawed by both Jewish and ancient Christian standards (i.e., they would be classed as 'adulterous' relationships).

It seems clear then that for modern Christians wanting to 'return to' and uphold ancient Christian standards, the only real option is celibacy.

Jesus Himself might comment on self-imposed celibacy the same way he apparently did in His own time:

"Not all can receive this teaching. Let he who can receive it, do so."

No doubt, most people would be as dismayed by the teaching of Jesus today as they were in 30 A.D.!

peace,
Nazaroo

 

[Clearly]

Hello Ave Maria;

Despite the controversial nature of the subject, the early Christian Texts from the earliest periods had a great deal to say about morals associated with all aspects of reproduction and sexuality (Pre-marital sex, homosexuality, bestiality, pedophilia, Abortion, etc). Though I have not specifically studied early texts for connections between early Christianities strict moral standards, I have wondered if the firm moral stance on such things wasn’t a great source of persecution for the Saints anciently just as it is becoming a source for controversy, argument, and persecution of individuals in the various moral camps today.

If this issue is important to you, I can provide you with many more references. I am NOT an expert on this subject, but I do think that a simple and superficial sampling from the Judao-Christian texts will show that firm commitment to certain sexual morals was taught.

If one simply considers Quotes from JUST the APOSTOLIC FATHERS (a narrow group of writings that were written during the time the apostles either were living - e.g. I clement, OR written by those living when the apostle were still alive - e.g. Papias)

For example: In the Didache (used as scripture by early Christians such as origen, clement and didymus -the blind) The second commandment (behind murder) was :

“ you shall not commit adultery; you shall not corrupt boys; you shall not be sexually promiscuous; you shall not steal; you shall not practice magic; you shall not engage in sorcery; you shall not abort a child or commit infanticide. (Did 2:1-2)

New Testament Barnabas repeats the ancient teaching that :

“you shall not be sexually promiscuous; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not corrupt boys. You shall not abort a child nor again, commit infanticide. (Bar 19:4-5)

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch taught the ephesians that

“...those who adulterously corrupt households “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (I-eph 16:1)

Polycarp (who heard John speak and believed him) taught that

“neither fornicators nor male prostitutes nor homosexual will inherit the kingdom of God,” nor those who do perverse things. Therefore one must keep away from all these things and be obedient... (Poly to phil 5:3)

It is clear that such things were prohibited in early and authentic Christianity.

A Jewish and Christian sampling from the OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDOEPIGRAPHA also reveals the same moral stance : for example, Abortion was one of the misdeeds of the fallen angels before noah’s time. The fifth angel named Kasadya :

“revealed to the children of the people (the various) flagellations of all evil,...the smashing of the embryo in the womb so that it may be crushed...” (1En 69:12)

Speaking of such conditions, Enoch prophesied that

“In those days, the nations shall be confounded, and the families of the nations shall rise in the day of the destruction of the sinners. In those days, they (the women) shall become pregnant, but they (the sinners) shall come out and abort their infants and cast them out from their midst; they shall (also) abandon their (other) children, casting their infants out while they are still suckling. They shall neither return to them (their babes) nor have compassion upon their beloved ones.” (1En 99:4-5)

This teaching was not simply from the Jewish-Christian literature, but GREEK-CHRISTIAN LITERATURE represents a similar moral stance : The Sybaline Oracles also relate that

" All the righteous will be saved, but the impious will then be destroyed for all ages, as many as formerly did evil or committed murders, ....”Again, those who defiled the flesh by licentiousness, or as many as undid the girdle of virginity by secret intercourse, as many as aborted what they carried in the womb, as many as cast forth their offspring unlawfully. “ (syb ora book 2 vs 245 and vs 275-280)

Such text tell us that the modern willingness to promiscuity unprotected by birth control that results in abortion is not really modern : Ezra’s vision of Mothers who both aborted and killed infants relates that abortion was a moral problem in their day and age. Seeing the regret of such women on the day of judgement, Ezra saw such women and asked :

“Who are they?” And the angels said, “They had sons in adultery and killed them.” And those little ones themselves accused them, saying, “Lord, the souls which you gave to us these (women) took away. And he said, “Who are they?” And the angels said, “They killed their sons.” (Vision of the blessed Ezra v51-55)

By the way, any Muslims who might read this will recognize the reference to the example of the dead child accusing it's parent of it's own death in the judgment from the similar and wonderful version in the Holy Quran (in very similar language and with interesting detail).


It is very clear that the ancients took a firm moral stance on sexual immoralities. Enoch was shown the terrible regret associated with such immoralities :

“This place, enoch, has been prepared for those who do not glorify God, who practice on the earth the sin which is against nature, which is child corruption in the anus in the manner of Sodom,...stealing, lying, insulting, coveting, resentment, fornication, murder...seizing the poor by the throat, taking away their possessions, ...” (2En 10:4)

”For I know the wickedness of mankind, how they have rejected my commandments and they will not carry the yoke which I have placed on them. But they will cast off my yoke and they will accept a different yoke.... And all the world will be reduced to confusion by iniquities and wickednesses and abominable fornications that is friend with friend in the anus, and every other kind of wicked uncleaness which it is disgusting to report, and the worship of the evil one. And that is why I shall bring down the flood onto the earth... (2en 34:1-3)

In MANY of the testaments of the Twelve partriarchs (sons of Jacob), they told their sons to avoid promiscuity.

Reuben says to his children :

“observe all the things that I command you and do not sin, for the sin of promiscuity is the pitfall of life, separating man from God and leading on towards idolatry...” (T OF TW PAT - REUBEN 4:6).

Simeon tells his sons that he has

“seen in a copy of the book of Enoch that your sons will be ruined by promiscuity”. ( SIMEON 5:4-5)

Levi repeats this warning and goes even further :

“I know from the writings of Enoch that in the end-time you will act impiously against the Lord, .....you have intercourse with harlots and adulteresses. .... your sexual relations will become like Sodom and Gomorrah. .... (LEVI 14:1-8)

Judah reveals the problems of promiscuity by his own experiences :

“The promiscuous man is unaware when he has been harmed and shameless when he has been disgraced. For even someone who is a king, if he is promiscuous, is divested of his kingship, since he has been enslaved by sexual impulses, just as I experienced. (JUDAH 15:1-4)

When Judah read from and quotes Enoch’s writings, it gave the patriarchs as clear a vision of our day as any prophet :

“For in the books of Enoch the Righteous I have read the evil things you will do in the last days. Guard yourselves therefore, my children, against sexual promiscuity and love of money; listen to Judah, your father, for these things distance you from the Law of God, blind the direction of the souls, and teach arrogance...4 They deprive his soul of all goodness...5They impede the sacrifices to God, he does not remember the blessings of God, he does not obey the prophet when he speaks and he is offended by a prior word. 6 For two passions contrary to God’s commands enslave him, so that he is unable to obey God: They blind his soul, and he goes about in the day as though it were night... (JUDAH 18:1-6)

Dan and Benjamin give the same testimony as this one from Jacob to his sons :

“For the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God, nor will the adulterers, nor the accursed, nor those who commit outrages and have sexual intercourse with males...nor those who pollute themselves outside of pure marriage...” (Testament of JACOB 7:19-20)

They had all heard these teachings before. Abraham, in his farewell testimony from Jubilees (a book in the current eastern old testament canon) reads :

“And he commanded them...that we should keep ourselves from all fornication and pollution, and that we should set aside from among us all fornication and pollution.” Jubilees (the book of division) 20:2, 3

Pseudo-Phocylides, in it’s Summary of the Decalogue reads the early take on this moral issue “Neither commit adultery nor rouse homosexual passion”. (THE SENTENCES OF PSEUDO-PHOCYLIDES vs 3). These themes seem to remain relatively constant over the centuries. Phocylides tells them :

"Do not approach the bed of (your) sister, (a bed) to turn away from. 183 Nor go to bed with the wives of your brothers. 184 Do not let a woman destroy the unborn babe in her belly, 185 nor after its birth throw it before the gods and the vultures as a prey..... 188 Do not seek sexual union with irrational animals. 189 Do not outrage (your) wife by shameful ways of intercourse. 190 Do not transgress with unlawful sex the limits set by nature. 198 Let no one violently have intercourse with a girl not yet betrothed...213 Guard the youthful prime of life of a comely boy, 214 because many rage for intercourse with a man." (THE SENTENCES OF PSEUDO-PHOCYLIDES)

The syriac menander reinforces this same moral stand : "45 And as for an adulterous woman, her feet are not firm, 46 for she deceives her good husband. 47 And a man who does not correctly deal with his wife, 48 even God hates him. 49 Keep your son away from fornication," THE SENTENCES OF THE SYRIAC MENANDER

Psalms of Solomon remind us that

"They set up the sons of Jerusalem for derision because of her prostitutes. 13 And the daughters of Jerusalem were available to all, according to your judgments, because they defiled themselves with improper intercourse." PSALMS OF SOLOMON #2 v11,13;

Though it seems clear that the ancient and authentic Judao-Christianities on the whole, remained firm on these BASIC moral issues, (there are many “grey areas&#8221, there have always been versions of Christianity that abandoned the “immovable” moral stance for certain sexual behaviors (such as the infamous Caprocratians). When I wax philosophical regarding how the modern Christianities react to these same issues the ancient Christianities faced, I have wondered at what point in abandoning certain basic moral doctrines will modern Christians lose the right to claim it teaches authentic Christian morals?

While I cannot answer that question, I have noticed modern Christianities are being faced with a greater number of confusing rhetorical and logical arguments regarding various sexualities. Despite the discomfort and arguments waging in our day, one is still left with the question “What if the ancients were correct about the importance of these principles and the effect on our interpersonal relationships; our family relationships; and ultimately, on the world in which we must live? "

“Great is the mystery of marriage! For without it the world would not have existed. Now the existence of the world depends on man, and the existence of man on marriage. Think of the undefiled relationship, for it possesses a great power” (The gospel of Phillip).

I do not pretend to fully understand just WHY these are critical moral values (I honestly do not understand why), but I think that they are a mark of authentic ancient christian morals. However, If the early Judao-Christian doctrine is correct, that one critical purpose of man’s mortality is learning to live by moral laws such as prohibition of certain types of abortion, and certain types of sexual relations then it makes sense that these principles cannot be abandoned, nor disregarded, without abandoning authentic original Christian religion.

I hope this was helpful and the few and incomplete examples give you some of what you were looking for. Good luck in your own journey toward discovery and understanding Ave Maria.

Clear
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