samet@sfmag.UUCP (A.I.Samet) (06/20/85)
> Is unmarried straight sex any more permissable than Gay sex?
To answer succinctly from the halachic viewpoint:
1) The sin of male homosexuality is punishable by death by skila
(stoning). Of the 4 methods of execution, skila is the most
severe. The only other sexual offenses punishable by skila are
certain types of incest, and having sex with an animal. By
contrast, adultery is punishable by lesser forms of execution.
2) The major sin typically entailed in extramarital sex between
Jewish partners is the prohibition of niddah. This carries the
penalty of kares (a punishment to the soul from heaven) and is
also punishable by lashes by a rabbinical court.
3) This prohibition of niddah is applicable to married and
unmarried people alike. A woman is not permissible until she
immerses in a mikveh (at the proper time). If the partners aren't
married, that may be a sin, but one of far lesser severity than
the prohibition of niddah.
CONCLUSION: Male homosexuality is punishable by the most severe
death penalty and is therefore much worse than (non-incestuous)
extra-marital sex.wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (06/24/85)
In article <612@sfmag.UUCP> samet@sfmag.UUCP (A.I.Samet) writes: > > 1) The sin of male homosexuality is punishable by death by skila > (stoning). Of the 4 methods of execution, skila is the most > severe. The only other sexual offenses punishable by skila are > certain types of incest, and having sex with an animal. By > contrast, adultery is punishable by lesser forms of execution. > Was this not true in biblical (Roman occupation) times? I ask because there is a well-known New Testament Christian story most commonly referred to as "The woman taken in adultery". [The story is that Jesus comes across a scene in which a woman who had been caught in adultery is about to be stoned to death. He intervenes, says "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", and the crowd disperses. He then forgives the woman.] Anyway, this incident depicts a woman guilty only of adultery being subject to stoning, supposedly in a typical 1st-century Jewish community. Would it be that the distinction between the different death sentences was not made until later, or only by an official court, like the Sanhedrin (if they would get involved in such), and not in an ordinary village? Regards, Will Martin USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA