BI390 Biblical Sexual Ethics
Overview
Dr. David Instone-Brewer examines how marriage, divorce, polygamy, homosexuality and other topics are addressed in the Bible by looking at both the text of Scripture and the context in which Scripture was written. “Translating from Hebrew or the Greek into English is only half of the job of translation,” he says. “You also have to translate the context that it came from.” From ancient Near Eastern marriage laws that were literally written in stone to the sexual practices that were accepted and not accepted in Rome, Dr. Instone-Brewer paints a picture of how Old and New Testament Jewish culture compared to other cultures of the time. He shows how understanding this context illuminates the truth of Scripture and helps us discern what ethics God had for His people in the past and what He has for us today.
Top Highlights
“A contract is a mutual agreement which involves an exchange of something of value.” (source)
“If you get an any-cause divorce, like virtually everyone there has, your wife might assume she’s single—though actually, her divorce is invalid—and she’ll remarry, and when she does that, she’s committing adultery, and you’re the cause of it. You are causing her to commit adultery because you’ve given her an invalid divorce. So your divorce has caused your wife and her lover to commit adultery and the sin just spreads and spreads.” (source)
“In the ancient Near East, the bride and groom didn’t merely say, ‘I do.’ They said, ‘You are my husband. You are my wife,’ and at a formal divorce, they said, ‘You are not my husband. You are not my wife.’ But when initiating a divorce, they said, ‘I hate my husband. I hate my wife.’” (source)
“But it’s important to realize that the two terms are biblically identical. They’re both translations of the same Hebrew word, berith, and they mean the same thing. A covenant is merely a contract in theological English.” (source)
“Marriage is a contract, whereas merely living together is a covenant” (source)
- Title: BI390 Biblical Sexual Ethics
- Author: David Instone-Brewer
- Series: Logos Mobile Education
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Courseware
- Subjects: Bible and homosexuality; Divorce › Biblical teaching; Education › Bible and homosexuality; Education › Divorce--Biblical teaching; Education › Marriage--Biblical teaching; Education › Sex--Biblical teaching; Marriage › Biblical teaching; Sex › Biblical teaching
- Resource ID: LLS:BI390INSTONE
- Resource Type: Courseware Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-11T17:15:18Z
Dr. David Instone-Brewer graduated from South Wales Baptist College with the highest marks in that college’s history, and later earned his PhD from Cambridge University, where he studied early rabbinic exegesis. Dr. Instone-Brewer ministered at the Llanishen Baptist Church in Cardiff for five years, and is now research fellow and technical officer for Tyndale House, which is, arguably, among the three best libraries in the world for biblical studies.
Specializing in rabbinic studies, Dr. Instone-Brewer has been a regular contributor to Christianity magazine, and has written several books, including Traditions of the Rabbis from the Era of the New Testament.