Prostitution and the Bible

[excreationist]

The Bible mentions prostitutes many dozens of times. Sometimes it is metaphorical.

Proverbs 29:3 and Luke 15:30 talk about prostitutes being a "waste of money". On the other hand Proverbs 6:26 says "A prostitute can be bought for only a loaf of bread. But another man’s wife hunts your very life." That's pretty good value for money.

There is also Rahab, a prostitute whose life was spared (and also her family) because she saved Israelite spies by lying about them. Then she end up being an ancestor of Jesus. Rahab is also praised in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25.

 

[ideologyhunter]

I find it curious that, with rampant death penalty orders in the Bible, there's no blanket death penalty for prostitutes. Some online sources mention Deuteronomy 22, with the execution of brides who can't prove they were virgins, but that's not the same thing. There is a death penalty meted out for one particular class of prostitutes: those who were daughters of priests. They were to be burned alive. The other prostitutes were not singled out for death in the OT, so far as I can tell. I'm not sure what the implications are. But when you consider some of the acts that were supposed to result in the community putting you to death...
> cursing your parents
> blaspheming the name of the LORD
> male homosexuality
> bestiality (and death for Bossy, too)
> trespassing on Mt. Sinai
> working on the Sabbath
> calling up dead spirits
> perjury
> disobeying a priest or judge
>false prophecy (today's televangelists wouldn't have lasted long)
> owning an ox that, after the first warning, gores someone to death (Ferdinand dies, too)
> urging another religion on your family
....you wonder how most prostitutes slipped under the radar.

(Sweet fancy Moses. I would have deserved death four times, from that list. I won't say which four. But I've never owned an ox. I once batted my eyes at a dairy cow, but that's as far as it went.)

 

[DBT]

The list dooms pretty much everyone on the planet to death. And forget about salvation, once a rascal, always a rascal.....

 

[excreationist]

I find it curious that, with rampant death penalty orders in the Bible, there's no blanket death penalty for prostitutes.

I don't think the Bible sees prostitution as being particularly bad (not an "abomination"). It has a problem if the woman is someone else's wife - but I'd assume a prostitute would normally be no-one's wife. They had the opportunity to say something bad about prostitutes but sometimes just focuses on it being a waste of money.
It is more against temple prostitutes though (with other gods).
Ezekiel 23 uses talk of prostitution as an insult and verse 20 goes on to say: (NIRV)
"There she had longed for her lovers. Their private parts seemed as big as those of donkeys. And their flow of semen appeared to be as much as that of horses."
I think you didn't mention the death penalty for sleeping with a wife that isn't your own.

 

[excreationist]

The list dooms pretty much everyone on the planet to death. And forget about salvation, once a rascal, always a rascal.....

Well Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one"

 

[Swammerdami]

The Bible mentions prostitutes many dozens of times. Sometimes it is metaphorical.

Proverbs 29:3 and Luke 15:30 talk about prostitutes being a "waste of money". On the other hand Proverbs 6:26 says "A prostitute can be bought for only a loaf of bread. But another man’s wife hunts your very life." That's pretty good value for money.

There is also Rahab, a prostitute whose life was spared (and also her family) because she saved Israelite spies by lying about them. Then she end up being an ancestor of Jesus. Rahab is also praised in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25.

Many or most of the important women in the Bible, even when not "harlots," are noted for sexuality. For example, the book of Esther describes the rise to prominence of this great Jewish heroine:

Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it....
Mordecai had a cousin ... This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful [and] was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.
...
Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
... [Esther] was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The "Holy Mother Mary" was of course not a harlot at all. (Or is there a thread about her alleged liaison with the Roman Pantera?) And she is barely mentioned in the Bible!

The Gospel of Mark mentions Mother Mary only four times, with three mentions peculiar:

• Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
• "Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses"
• "Mary the mother of Joses"
• "Mary the mother of James"

That's it! We're left to infer that this "other Mary" is Jesus' mother by the naming of two of Jesus' brothers. Why the obfuscation? And this same Gospel mentions the father of Jesus Zero times. Zero with a Z. Is there some hidden reason for this reticence?

The Gospel of John is arguably even more peculiar. It mentions Jesus' mother but NEVER by name.

• [John 19:25-27] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

(Jesus' mother had a sister also named Mary? Catholics resolve this by making that Mary a cousin or sister-in-law.)

The disciple whom Jesus loved is also NEVER mentioned by name, though there is one (1) mention of "the sons of Zebedee."

 

[DBT]

The list dooms pretty much everyone on the planet to death. And forget about salvation, once a rascal, always a rascal.....

Well Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one"

So, saved through faith, not works? Yet faith without works is an empty thing. Or perhaps good works override a lack of righteousness....

 

[ideologyhunter]

Well Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one"

Gen 6:9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Gen 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.

Yessir, it's them crazy Baptists again, with the South Carolina Conference Scripture Shoot-Off!

 

[excreationist]

The list dooms pretty much everyone on the planet to death. And forget about salvation, once a rascal, always a rascal.....

Well Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one"

So, saved through faith, not works? Yet faith without works is an empty thing. Or perhaps good works override a lack of righteousness....

Yeah there would be works - I'm just saying it is saying no-one is without sin.

 

[excreationist]

Well Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one"

Gen 6:9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

But before he died he got drunk and was naked. Though Ham's son was the one who was punished. (Ham incorrectly handled Noah's nakedness)

Gen 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.

Possible sins that Abraham was guilty of:

Lying about Sarah (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18) Twice, Abraham told rulers (Pharaoh in Egypt and Abimelech in Gerar) that Sarah was his sister rather than his wife. He did this out of fear for his own life, but it put Sarah at risk and showed a lack of trust in God’s protection.

Taking Hagar as a surrogate (Genesis 16) Instead of waiting for God’s timing, Abraham fathered a child (Ishmael) with Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant. This decision, born of impatience and human reasoning, created lasting conflict in his household.

 

[ideologyhunter]

But before he died he got drunk and was naked. Though Ham's son was the one who was punished. (Ham incorrectly handled Noah's nakedness)

Is getting drunk a sin? Jesus even supplied the booze for a kegger.
Getting naked cannot be a sin. A & E were starkers before they met the talking snake.

(Yeah, I know the Bible is absurd.)

 

[excreationist]

Is getting drunk a sin? Jesus even supplied the booze for a kegger.

Getting naked cannot be a sin. A & E were starkers before they met the talking snake.

(Yeah, I know the Bible is absurd.)

So Christians would have no issues with a pastor getting drunk and exposing himself to people? Adam and Eve didn't have a sense of shame originally but then realized that they were naked and felt shame.
Providing wine is different to being fine with drunkardness. There is a difference between the Lord's Supper and using that wine to get drunk.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Don’t you know that people who do wrong will not receive God’s kingdom? Don’t be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who sleep with other men. 10 Neither will thieves or those who always want more and more. Neither will those who are often drunk or tell lies or cheat. People who live like that will not receive God’s kingdom.
1 Corinthians 5:11
But here is what I am writing to you now. You must stay away from anyone who claims to be a believer but does evil things. Stay away from anyone who commits sexual sins. Stay away from anyone who always wants more and more things. Stay away from anyone who worships statues of gods. Stay away from anyone who tells lies about others. Stay away from anyone who gets drunk or who cheats. Don’t even eat with people like these.
Galatians 5:21
It wants what others have. It gets drunk and takes part in wild parties. It does many things of that kind. I warn you now as I did before. People who live like this will not receive God’s kingdom.
Ephesians 5:18
Don’t fill yourself up with wine. Getting drunk will lead to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Romans 13:13
Let us act as we should, like people living in the daytime. Have nothing to do with wild parties, and don’t get drunk. Don’t take part in sexual sins or evil conduct. Don’t fight with each other or be jealous of anyone.

 

[Swammerdami]

Well Romans 3:10 says "None is righteous, no, not one"

Gen 6:9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Gen 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.

Yessir, it's them crazy Baptists again, with the South Carolina Conference Scripture Shoot-Off!

Perhaps the "man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and [who] was perfect and upright, [] feared God, and eschewed evil" also qualifies.

Well, call me a nitpicker BUT ... when one considers the hyperbole that drenches present-day discourse, at least in some of the Anglophone countries, and even here at IIDB, writing "Not one" to mean "Only three" doesn't even qualify for a Boners List.

 

[ideologyhunter]

So Christians would have no issues with a pastor getting drunk and exposing himself to people?

Well, it beats having your pastor as the subject of Spotlight II. Also, Noah didn't go streaking. He was inside a tent, passed out, hurting no one. You would have a point if Noah was just flashing the public. No one wants to see a 600-year-old-man's junk. No one. Nursing home attendants would quit.

Adam and Eve didn't have a sense of shame originally but then realized that they were naked and felt shame.

Nah, they lived in a nudist Eden, which they spoiled by eating a mind-expanding substance. Their buck-naked existence was how God INTENDED they should live. THEY fucked up, according to the story. Getting the clothes was part and parcel of getting evicted and learning they've have to work and that God was going to add physical pain to birthing.

Providing wine is different to being fine with drunkardness. There is a difference between the Lord's Supper and using that wine to get drunk.

Okay, maybe. (You realize, I see no reason to take anything in the Bible seriously. There's no reason to believe any of its stories. I do like to goof on it, but in the end it's just a bunch of stories.)

 

[Politesse]

The Bible mentions prostitutes many dozens of times. Sometimes it is metaphorical.

Proverbs 29:3 and Luke 15:30 talk about prostitutes being a "waste of money". On the other hand Proverbs 6:26 says "A prostitute can be bought for only a loaf of bread. But another man’s wife hunts your very life." That's pretty good value for money.

There is also Rahab, a prostitute whose life was spared (and also her family) because she saved Israelite spies by lying about them. Then she end up being an ancestor of Jesus. Rahab is also praised in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25.

There weren't a lot of jobs for working women. Jesus was kind to the prostitutes he knew, as well.

 

[excreationist]

Adultery is defined as sexual relations between a married person and someone who is not their spouse

It seems that if an unmarried person has sex with a prostitute it is not adultery. Though it is still fornication.

Does the Old Testament talk about fornication?
The crime of adultery is clearly prohibited in the Ten Commandments, but it is true that there is no specific commandment in the Old Testament prohibiting fornication. Prostitution is unlawful however (Deut. 23:18), as is seducing a virgin (Ex. 22:16)

Actually Deut. 23:17-18 says:

17 A man or woman in Israel must not become a temple prostitute. 18 The Lord your God hates the money that men and women get for being prostitutes. So don’t take that money into the house of the Lord to pay what you promised to give.

 

[steve_bank]

And of course Jesus had a supernatural ability to resistt sexual pleasures.Like a number of Christian leaders today?

Preach abstinence and rail against fornication, but all the while boffing the flock. Closet gay Chr9tian. leaders, RCC.

But of course Jesus could not possible have been any of that.

The Chinese Menu versions of Jesus. Pick and choose want suiis you.

I do not see where in the gospels sparse as they are any indication of a social activist Jesus. He was not a sexual libertine. He reinforced the prohibition against fornication.

The gospel Jesus is the prototype for conservative Christian evangelicalism.

 

[bilby]

It seems that if an unmarried person has sex with a prostitute it is not adultery.

It is if the prostitute is married.

 

[steve_bank]

When you get rid of all the religious nonsense we are one of many creatures. We are genetically programmed to mate.

Prostitution existed then and now because there is a demand for it.

There are male prostitutes aka gigolos.

How we manage our instincts to mate is a matter of culture and social stability. Monogamy and the family unit is a way to mange reproduction. Miimize kids born without support.

 

[DBT]

And help in minimising the spread of STD's