Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: cms@dragon.uucp Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Tithing; masturbation; politicking Message-ID: Date: 6 Aug 90 00:30:39 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Projects Unlimited Lines: 39 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , MARK@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu (Mark Woodruff) writes: > If anyone knows some appropriate passages on either of the above two, > please send them this way. > > mark Tithing: Gen 14:20, Heb 7:2-6, Gen 28:22, Lev 27:30-33, Num 18:-21-24, Deut 12:6, 7, 17, 19; 14:22-29; 26:12-15, Neh 10:37, 38; Amos 4:4, Heb 7:5-9, Num 18:26, Neh 10:38, 39, 12:44, 13:5, 12; 2 Chron 31:11, 12, Mal 3:8, 10; Matt 23:23, Luke 11:42, 18:12; Tobit 1:6, 5:13, Judith 11:13, Ben Sira 35:9, 1 Macc 3:49, 10:31, 11:35. Masturbation: You've got me. The whole Bible's full of sex, but I couldn't find masturbation in any of the condemnations. You'd think it'd be somewhere, what with the Roman Catholic Church's attitude towards it. Perhaps the Church views it as a special case of homosexuality :-). An odd combination. Have you considered purchasing a good concordance? I recommend Eerdman's. -- Cindy Smith emory!dragon!cms [Well, at the very least masturbation would cause ritual uncleanness according to the Law. According to Lev 15:16ff (and Deut 23:10 ff) unintentional emissions cause uncleanness. So intentional ones surely would. Since I'm at work, I don't have access to all my reference materials. This means I can't document things as well as I should. But my understanding is that at least for Paul, fornication would include all sexual activity outside marriage. Masturbation is sort of on the borderline of that definition, so I wouldn't want to push it, but it's hard for me to think that Paul would regard it as a good practice. I think these days I'd recommend a computerized Bible rather than a concordance, for those who have computers. --clh]