The word "adultry"?

Question

Ok, maybe this is because English is not my first language, but here goes.
I always learned/thought "adultry" is the act of sleeping around if you're married, or sleeping around with someone who is married.

But recently I've seen Christians here use the word for pre-marital sex. What's up with that? Is this the correct term? And do religious texts reflect this? Does the Bible/Koran/Torah/Add your own book differentiate between the two acts, or do they consider it the same? Because it seems to me they are not at all the same (if only because there's a difference in involving others or not)

So, could you please clarify this for me? What's the difference, if any? Where does it say so in you Holy Book of choice? I'd prefer actual sources over personal, opinions, if possible.

Answer 1

It was an old mindset that if you were unmarried and slept around, you were cheating on the spouse that you do not have yet.

So it was still adultery

Answer 2

Adultery is violating the vow of marriage.

Pre-marital sex is not adultery but fornication. When God came up with the Ten Commandments, he did not define fornication as a sin, but rather adultery. That's because the sin of adultery is not about sex, but about faithfulness.

There are a number of people who call themselves Christians who are confused about this. They seem to be the same ones who claim that the Bible is inerrant, and contains all that is necessary to know.

Which just proves that they're wrong. They need a dictionary, too. But they apparently don't even bother to read the Bible, because they don't follow the biblical injunctions. They mix fibers. They don't keep kosher. They shave. And those are old-testament injunctions, but they don't keep the injunctions of Romans 12, either.

Answer 3

It could be a foreign-language problem, but I think the word adultery is often used for any type of marital infidenity. Below are references to help you clarify the vocabulary.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornication

Fornication, or simple fornication, is a term which refers to sexual intercourse between consenting unmarried partners.

In contrast adultery is consensual sex where one or both of the partners are married to someone else.

The origin of the word derives from Latin. The word fornix means "an archway" or "vault" (in Rome, prostitutes could be solicited there). More directly, fornicationis means "of the archway"; thus an euphemism for prostitution.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultry

Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and one who is not his or her spouse. Some legal jurisdictions have defined it as "crime against marriage",[1] opposed to infidelity.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidelity

Infidelity is literally a breach of faith and occurs in a number of contexts (e.g., in religious contexts). That referred to here is also called cheating - 'any violation of the mutually agreed-upon rules or boundaries of a relationship'. What constitutes an act of infidelity varies between and within cultures, it does not depend on the presence of sexual behaviour. Even within a close relationship people may have very different ideas and perceptions of infidelity


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust
Lust is any intense desire or craving for self gratification. Lust can mean strictly sexual lust, although it is also common to speak of a "lust for life", or a "lust for power" or other goals. The Greek word which translates as lust is epithymia (επιθυμια), which also is translated into English as "to covet".


Matthew 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27-29 (in Context) Matthew 5 (Whole Chapter)

Answer 4

The word "adultery" comes from the Latin "adulterare" which means "to corrupt." It is generally used in connection with sex involving at least one married person.

I suspect the "correct term" for pre-marital sex might be "fornication," also from the Latin, in this case "fornix" meaning arch, because the prostitutes of Rome used to conduct business under the arches of buildings. It originally meant "sex with prostitutes" but has expanded to mean illicit sex.

I hope that helps. My particular "holy book" in this case was "The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology."

Answer 5

For Christians, any sex whatsoever that takes place without the bounds of marriage is "fornication." "Adultery" is not the proper usage here; that word refers, as you've said, to the act of "cheating" on a spouse.

Of course, all the taboos on sex go back to the days when people believed that the semen contained the future child, not merely potentially, but actually; so that to "spill seed" in any circumstances other than those obtaining between two married people, for the specific purpose of producing Christian offspring, was tantamount to murder. (And indeed, there are "pro-lifers" today who have scarcely progressed beyond this primitive conception.)

Answer 6

My view is once you have sex you are married and if you have sex with someone else that is adultery. It is also fornication when it is done with many different partners.

Another definition of Adultery is ruining something by some process or action.

You adulterate meat sausage by adding sawdust.

You adulterate ground beef by adding coloring to make it pink when it's starting to turn brown do to oxidation.

When you rape or have sex with a virginal girl you are adulterating her virtues and innocence.

When a 20, 30 or 40 year old female middle school teacher has sex with a 14 year old boy she is adulterating his virtues.

Answer 7

The term gets used in a rather loose fashion. Adultery is sex between either two people who are both married to others, or where either one is married to another.

In the long run though, whether we use the term adultery or fornication (sex between two who are not married) the result is still pretty much the same regarding being morally wrong.

.

Answer 8

My take.

Fornication : The act of sex between two people who are not married. Having sex before marriage.

Adultery: The act of sex between two people who are married but not to each other. Having sex with someone who is not your spouse.

As for a sexual act between one person who is married and one who is not, the unmarried person is fornicating, the married person is committing adultery.

Answer 9

Adultery is defined as a sexual relationship outside of marriage. Premarital sex is committing adultery against the future spouse.

Read: Song of Solomon, Matthew 5-7, Romans. All have teaching on the role of sex and marriage.

Answer 10

In common English, "adultery" has come to mean any "marital act" outside of marriage. The technical word for such an act out side of marriage is "fornication."

Both of these acts are considered sinful by the Catholic Church. Adultery is considered worse, because it harms the innocent spouse.

Answer 11

Adultery is not the correct term. Having sex before marriage is fornication.