Marriage.

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>> In it's biblical form, fornication usually refers to all types of sexual sin
>> (including but not limited to adultery) and not only sex before marriage.
>> Homosexuality, adultery, bestiality, unmarrital sex, etc. may all be
>> appropriately referred to as fornication.
>>
>Seriously, if fornication includes adultery, why are they listed 
>separately in Galations 5:9?  Fornication is *not* the same as 
>adultery.



That's Gal. 5.19 and it is true that there is some overlap here.  Adultery is
the specific act of a spouse "cheating" (to use a contemporary term) on the
other spouse.  Fornication, as we have seen, includes this but is much broader
in that it covers EVERY sexual immorality.  It is also common in Scripture for
fornication to indicate a symbolic leaving of God to follow after idols or false
teachings (see Isa. 1:2; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 16; Hos. 1:2; 2:1-5; Jer. 3:8,9; Rev.
2:21).  But, there is also overlap between some of the other sins that appear in
Gal. 5:19,20.  Consider "uncleanliness" (appears third after adultery and
fornication).  All of the sins mentioned are "unclean" in the biblical sense.
So we see there is some overlap and the ambiguity of some of the terms used in
these verses by Paul is probably intentional in order to include just about
every conceivable sin that a person could commit.  The argument that both
adultery and fornication are mentioned does not disprove that fact that
fornication includes adultery.  It is evident that Paul wanted to bring
particular attention to that particular aspect of fornication by also including
the term adultery.  Probably because of the confusion and false teachings
surrounding the issue of divorce that existed in the early church as evidenced
by Pauls need to explain it to the church at Corinth.

God speed,
Kirk Van Ooteghem


***********************
 Kirk Van Ooteghem  
 00kmvanooteg@bsu.edu
 University Libraries
 Ball State University
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