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Marital and Cleanliness Principles Simplified |
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Old Testament |
New Testament |
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Not Married: Eunuch or Virgin Permitted |
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Male or Female Virgin Recommended |
Condition: Good to be so (1 Cor. 7: 25, 26) See I Cor. 7:7, 32-38 |
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Marriage: A holy and divine institution Remedy for burning in lust |
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Mystery of Christ and the Church More restricted remedy for burning in lust (I Cor. 7., 9) |
Simple and holy guidelines to follow to prepare for wedding and marriage: joining is not decided by a ring or vow but by chastity and parental giving |
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Monogamy: Man and Wife Promoted |
Unity and "one flesh" (Gn. 2:24) |
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Monogamy: Man and Wife Tolerated (1 Cor. 7:28) |
Female virgin purity condition: Woman knowing only one living man in her life Male not having previously known a female virgin (See Dt. 22:28; male cognizance factor.) Deacons not permitted more than one wife (I Ti. 3:12) |
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Polygamy: Man and more than one wife tolerated |
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Polygamy Not Permitted |
Obviously, if a person having divorced is told not to seek another wife, then the once Old Testament option of choosing more than one wife must no longer be effective! |
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Divorce Tolerated |
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Divorce allowed but resultant marriage only permitted in case of betrothal fornication. |
Gender bias is a biblical criterion for consideration. In the Old Testament, males were allowed to be polygamous. The men could have many wives. However, the women were not allowed to be polyandrous/polygamous. Even though monogamy was established in the NT, and remarriage was not tolerated, I would think in the case of female defilement, intolerance of female impurity (Mt.19.9) is appropriate. Also see The Sanctification Wars and the reproof of The Shepherd of Hermas. |
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Divorce and Remarriage Tolerated |
Remarried and impure women tolerated (Dt.24: 1-2) |
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Remarriage Not Permitted |
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Return of Divorced and Remarried Wife Not Permitted |
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Return of Divorced and Remarried Wife Not Permitted |
Reproof of The Shepherd of Hermas, Dt. 24:4, see King David's rejection of defiled wives (2 Samuel 12:11, 2 Samuel 16:22, (2 Samuel 20.3 )
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Widow Marriage Tolerated Except to the High Priest (Leviticus 21:14) |
It would be considered adultery for a married woman to marry another man (Ex. 20:14) but a widow does not have a living husband so she could marry another man except the high priest. |
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Widow Marriage Tolerated |
Female virgin purity condition: Woman knowing only one living man in her life Chaste Widow: Good to remain single (1 Cor. 7:8) But permitted to marry (1 Cor. 7:9) See Romans 7:3. Jesus Christ the Lord is our High Priest (Hebrews 5:1-10). See Ephesians 5:25-27; 2 Cor. 11:2; Romans 7:4. |
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Links:
Fornication Recovery and Damage Control
(Updated and edited: July 29, 2025)