Church Teaching on Fornication & Sodomy
Question?
So much in the news. I finally looked up sodomy. It’s not what I thought, per dictionary. In my little research it seemed stated that Jesus did not specifically state or define what sodomy is. It talked about male and female prostitutes hanging around prayer places or synagogues.
Answer!
Sodomy (dictionary.com): anal intercourse committed by a man with another man or a woman.
CCC 2357 says: “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law…”
*Grave means (dictionary.com) seriously or critically.
*Depravity means (dictionary.com) – morally bad, corrupt, pervert and evil.
Mark 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. (21) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, (22) Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: (23) All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. (19) For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: (20) These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Jesus used the word 'fornication.' What does 'fornication' mean?
Fornication
Hebrew: zanah / Greek: porneia
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married to each other is a common type of fornication. Adultery is a type of fornication.
“The Greek word for ‘fornication’ (porneia) could include any sexual sin committed after the betrothal contract. …In Biblical usage, ‘fornication’ can mean any sexual congress outside monogamous marriage. It thus includes not only premarital sex, but also adultery, homosexual acts, incest, remarriage after un-Biblical divorce, and sexual acts with animals, all of which are explicitly forbidden in the law as given through Moses (Leviticus 20:10-21). Christ expanded the prohibition against adultery to include even sexual lusting (Matthew 5:28).” (Dr. Henry M. Morris – author of over 60 books)