Social Norms In The Old Testament

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In the Old Testament, there were many mixed ideas about what was acceptable in society. Often times, what was considered to be acceptable was based on social status. If one were to read the Old Testament, it would be easy to see that there was typically a common way to behave in society. This is especially true in regards to sexual and marital customs that were practiced in the Old Testament. However, while the majority of people may have followed similar social norms, there were special cases where others did not. Some of the norms in the societies in the Old Testament are similar to the norms that people practice in present day. However, viewpoints today are also advancing and changing to accept different practices of sexual and marital behavior. The Old Testament stated that having sex before marriage was unacceptable. Any sexual relations of an unmarried couple resulted in the obligation to marry that person. It was always assumed that both men and women would remain virgins until they were married. The Old Testament holds the belief that the proper place for a sexual relationship is in marriage. God designed sex as a gift for a couple getting married. Sex was meant to be seen as giving your body to your spouse and your spouse doing the same in return. It is an act that is meant to build an everlasting bond between couples, with the…show more content…
For example, many people in our society couldn’t imagine waiting to have sex until marriage. Instead, we seem to reside in a “hookup culture” where people engage in casual sex encounters without being married first. Additionally, having sex while a woman is menstruating is no longer seen as sinful. Condemning homosexuality is also no longer as serious as it once was. Despite the fact that some religious people may still follow the ways of the Old Testament, most of society has conformed to accept homosexuality as

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