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Monday, January 04, 2010

The Sanctity of Marriage

In 1966 Joseph Fletcher published a book that caused much discussion and debate inside and outside the church. The book, Situation Ethics (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1966), caused a furor because Fletcher was advocating a new form of morality, a morality based on individual responsibility in which a situation decided whether an action was right or wrong.

Fletcher developed the argument of his book by saying that “any act, even lying, premarital sex, abortion, adultery, and murder, could be right depending on the circumstances.” To Fletcher, when love reigns, love dictates what must be done. Thus, when a person is confronted with a moral decision, the solution is relative. The most loving thing is the answer to the problem. The introduction to Fletcher’s book quotes him saying: “Rising above any creed, this renewed morality of loving concern is based on agape, the love of which only God is capable, but which every man must endeavor to emulate. Just as Jesus defied convention to make decisions on the basis of particular people and particular circumstances, so must modern man.”

The most fascinating aspect of the book is the way Fletcher uses stories and anecdotes to illustrate situation ethics. Of the 126 stories and illustrations in the book, 86 are in the area of private morality and 36 are in area of sexual ethics.

Today, almost fifty years after the publication of the book, many people have never heard of Fletcher’s book and only a handful have ever read it. It is for this reason that I have selected two cases to illustrate what situation ethics is all about.

In this post I will present the first story. Then, in a few days I will post the second story. I welcome your comments and reactions. At the end of the story, I will give the guidelines for your response. Before I tell you the story, I want to introduce what the Bible says about the sanctity of marriage.

The Theological Imperative

The Bible says: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). The seventh commandment was given to protect the sanctity of marriage, to promote the happiness of the family, and to ensure the stability and permanency of a marriage.

The Story

The following story was given by Fletcher (pages 164-65) to illustrate a case of sacrificial adultery:

As the Russian armies drove westward to meet the Americans and British at the Elbe, a
Soviet patrol picked up a Mrs. Bergmeier foraging food for her three children. Unable even to get word to the children, and without any clear reason for it, she was taken off to a prison camp in the Ukraine. Her husband had been captured in the Bulge and was taken to a POW camp in Wales.

When he was returned to Berlin, he spent weeks and weeks rounding up his children; two (Ilse, twelve, and Paul, ten) were found in a detention school run by Russians, and the oldest, Hans, fifteen, was found hiding the in a cellar near the Alexander Platz. Their mother's
whereabouts remained a mystery, but they never stopped searching. She more than anything else was needed to reknit them as a family in that dire situation of hunger, chaos, and fear.

Meanwhile, in the Ukraine, Mrs. Bergmeier learned through a sympathetic commandant that her husband and family were trying to keep together and find her. But the rules allowed them to release her for only two reasons: (1) illness needing medical facilities beyond the camp's, in which case she would be sent to a Soviet hospital elsewhere, and (2) pregnancy, in which case she would be returned to Germany as a liability.

She turned things over in her mind and finally asked a friendly Volga German camp guard to impregnate her, which he did. Her condition being medically verified, she was sent back to Berlin and to her family. They welcomed her with open arms, even when she told them how she had managed it. When the child was born, they loved him more than all the rest, on the view that little Dietrich had done more for them than anybody.

The Question

Does the decision of Mrs. Bergmeier to be impregnated by the guard justify the violation of the sanctity of her marriage?

The Comments

I welcome your comments. If you want to comment on this post, I am going to ask you to abide by the following guidelines:

1. Your comment must only address the question I raised and the issue presented by the story.

2. Be brief and to the point. Do not preach a sermon.

3. No personal attacks will be allowed. Respect the comments of other readers.

4. If you are going to react to a comment by a reader, respond with respect and dignity.

5. Any comment that does not abide by these guidelines will be deleted.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Thursday, July 02, 2009

Biblical Scholarship and Sex

I have been reading some of the books I have selected to read this summer. My list is long and it includes different types of books. Some of them are in the areas of biblical studies while others deal with ethics, political science, and fiction.

I have already finished reading Elie Wiesel’s Night. I wrote a review of the book and published it here. Now, I am reading Alan M. Dershowitz’s The Genesis of Justice (New York: Warner Books, 2000). The subtitle of the book explains what the book is all about: Ten Stories of Biblical Injustice that Led to the Ten Commandments and Modern Law.

All ten stories are taken from the book of Genesis. So far, I am enjoying reading and learning some interesting things.

I have selected a quote from the book that is directly related to what bibliobloggers do: biblical study. Dershowitz, a professor of law at Harvard University, wrote:

A midrash describes how man “toils much in the study of the Torah.” Maimonides believed that Torah study is so demanding that husbands engaged in this exhausting work should be obliged to have sex with their wives only “once a week, because the study of Torah weakens their strength.” For comparative purposes, rich men who don’t work must have sex with their wives “every night,” and ordinary laborers “twice a week” (p. 3).

I could make many comments on this quote, but I am going to refrain. I believe, and Dershowitz agrees, that biblical scholarship should not interfere with anyone’s sex life.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Great Sex for You

Preaching about “great sex.”

Read what happened to a church in Florida when the pastor decided to preach a series of sermon titled “Great Sex for You” by clicking here.

Although I believe the church should preach about sex, “Great Sex for You” may not be the best sermons to motivate you to worship God.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A Sex Curse

Archaeologists have discovered a lead tablet containing a sex curse. The tablet was found in the old city kingdom of Amathus in Cyprus.

The curse was written in Greek and it reads:

"May your penis hurt when you make love."

I wonder what this guy did to deserved such a curse.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Friday, February 08, 2008

Sex in the City of God

Sex in the City of God”: This was the title of a series of Old Testament sermons preached at Liberty University.

The title of the series is related to love stories in the Old Testament.

I am glad they are talking about sex at Liberty University, however, the title of the series is designed to titillate students to attend the lectures.

HT: Chad

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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