Is it acceptable to live together when your not married?

I know that it is not approved by christians to live together when they are not married. My question is:

Does it say you cannot live together when your not married in the bible? If so, where?

It is probably merely implied by someones stretch of the imagination. Personally I could not fathom why you would marry someone if you are not even sure that you can live with them. Love on weekends is great, but it takes on a whole new spin when you are scrubbing the crusty food out of the bottom of a pot they forgot to clean.

I agree. Common sense says that. Unfortunatealy somome along the way told all christians that they were not allowed to do that because God said so or something.....and they all believed it. Nice....

Someday I swear people will start thinking for themselves on this planet.

Seapeople,

No, the Holy Bible does not forbid two people from living together. It does forbid fornication. So the short answer is this. If you live with her but do not have sexual relations you�re fine. If you do, you�re not.

Having said that, I would never recommend that two people in a romantic relationship live together. There�s just too much temptation involved.

1 Corinthians 6:18 KJV
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

the ceremony of Marriage is an act devised by religion for the sole purpose of
generating funds.

The act of marriage is something that takes place between two people, two spirits if you will and the spirits become one, and yes you can have one
of these without having the other.

Does anyone know of any examples in the bible where it is acceptable to live together before marraige? U guys should here the situation I am in, its freeking terrible.

Seapeople,

No, there is nothing in the Bible that would allow a man and a woman to have sexual relations before official marriage without it being a sin. There are many passages in the Bible that warn all of mankind that if they fornicate they will not enter Heaven. Nothing can get around this fact. You can pretend that your, �love� will make it acceptable but you�re only fooling yourself. Being engaged also does not permit sexual relations.

I�m assuming of course that by living together you mean living together and having sexual relations. From the sound of your last reply I�m thinking that you are not a Christian but your better half is? I�m interested to hear your dilemma.

Trying to understand what the bible has to say about cohabitation is not particularly easy. Words evolve and meanings change which cloud the issue. For example, the modern word fornicate does not have the same meaning as the latin word fornicatus from which it originates.

Matthew 22:36-40 speaks of the foundation of all the laws. If you can figure out how the "law of love" applies to your question, you should have your answer.

That being said, here is an article to read: Does Cohabitation Protect Against Divorce?

While I cannot say this is an unbiased presentation of the evidence, the footnotes allow for research to verify the facts without context and motivation of the author.

My Dilemma:

I have been dating a girl for a good while now. We have been friends for much longer than that. Recently I proposed. That sets the stage...even though there is a lot to just that.

She and her parents got into a fight, and she decided on her own that she was moving in with me. Her family is full of christian extremists. I swear to you guys that I had nothing to do with this, and I even recommended strongly against it. Her family blames me because I wont tell her no. The last 9 months or so have been full of "you are the best thing that has ever happened to her" stuff. Now it is, "we would never approve of this relationship" stuff. Now, I know the Bible well enough to make my own oppinions and decisions. I do not agree with christians on every issue...therefore I am not allowed to be christian. I can believe in the same God, but because I do not believe certain things.....I am evil...all of the sudden yet. In any case, if I was to tell their daughter no, then I would be rejecting her resulting in our break-up. It would result in me losing the woman I want to marry simply put.

Sorry, but there is nothing anyone can say to make me do that. I am just curious about the opinions of others.

Now, what was the original meaning of the word fornication? or the meaning of its root? Thats an interesting thing to look at.

Everyone who wants to can give me bible verses with their own interpretations regarding these issues.

I know that this is a religious oriented thread and I do not wish to derail it however perhaps you should just follow your heart and not an outside source. Just my opinion.

I have followed my heart, and made my decision. I am just curious as to why her parents who used to love me, now hate me. And also whether or not you think they have any right too.

Seapeople,

Are you sure her parents, �hate� you? Hate held against anyone is not in line with God�s word. Any Christian who hates a man or woman is in danger of hell fire according to the Bible. If they are true Christians I doubt they truly hate you. They are right to be upset that their daughter has chosen to live with you. She has made a grievous error in judgment. Does she profess to be a Christian?

I hope for both your sakes that you live long enough to repent of your sin and turn away from it. If you die in the state you�re in the Bible is clear that you will spend an eternity in hell.

I don�t know you and don�t wish that upon you but it is what it is.

Originally posted by Machine
Seapeople,

Are you sure her parents, �hate� you? Hate held against anyone is not in line with God�s word. Any Christian who hates a man or woman is in danger of hell fire according to the Bible. If they are true Christians I doubt they truly hate you. They are right to be upset that their daughter has chosen to live with you. She has made a grievous error in judgment. Does she profess to be a Christian?

I hope for both your sakes that you live long enough to repent of your sin and turn away from it. If you die in the state you�re in the Bible is clear that you will spend an eternity in hell.

I don�t know you and don�t wish that upon you but it is what it is.

Ok, so it says in the bible that it is a sin to live with someone before you are married then? Or is that just your opinion? More specifically, tell me where it says that in the Bible. The Bible is a christian rule book of sorts. Anything that is not in the Bible, that you are claiming to be Christian would fall into the category of.....adding or subtracting from the content of the bible clause in revelation....would it not?

[Edited on 11/1/2004 by Seapeople]

Seapeople,

Read my first post in this thread again. I was clear when I stated that simply, �living together� was not a sin. It is a sin to have sexual relations with someone outside of marriage. The Bible is filled with scripture that teaches us not to have sexual relations outside of marriage.

If you�re trying to tell me that you are living with her but not having sex then I�ll tell you that you�re not fornicating. Her parents are probably angry with the both of you because they believe you�re having sexual relations while living together.

Is that clear enough?

There is a definition of Fornication in a link above. You should read it ok machine?

Besides....whether we do have sex or not, we still have thought about it...i know for a fact we both have...

Isn't just the thought of it a sin? Are you telling me that you never thought of having sex before you were married.....or if your not married...that you never think about it. Jesus Himself said that the mear thought of sin is equal to the sin.

[Edited on 11/1/2004 by Seapeople]

Seapeople,

This link covers some of the Bibles teachings on fornication.

www.bible.com...

I have been married twelve years. Before I was married I professed faith in Jesus Christ but did not live in accordance with his will. I had sexual relations with many women before my wife and deeply regret it to this day. It wasn�t until after I was married that I came to a true understanding of the depths of my rebellion against God and repented. It was at this time that I was born-again. My sins were washed clean and I had a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

So you might think that I got away with my former sin of fornication. I did not. To this day I still battle with images of former women I was with. When we join in sexual union with another person there is a spiritual connection that takes place. I hate my former sin with great intensity but have learned from it and vow never to repeat it again.

Seapeople
Jesus Himself said that the mear thought of sin is equal to the sin.

Jesus did not say this. What Jesus said is this:

Matthew 5:28 KJV
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

There is a difference between having a thought about sex and lusting. A thought can be stopped quickly and put away. Lusting after someone requires you to continue the thought and do nothing to end it.

If I�m walking down the street and see an attractive woman heading my way it�s my choice as to how I register that information. I can simply say in my mind, �wow, nice� and end it at that. Or I can visualize many different forms of sexual imagery and keep stoking the mental fires of my lust. The lust that Jesus is talking about is not a fleeting thought, it�s a well intentioned mental act that you choose to encourage for one moment to the next.

So...guess the bottomline is that there IS a comfortable 'outclause'...shack up, bang yourself silly, howl at the moon and generally be a right little party animal...then...get married and repent and its all gggggggggg...

Whoaaaaa...OK...so seapeople is going to die and burn in hell for living with someone before they are married if he dies right now?

Wait wait wait, what has he done wrong? Nada!

Seapeople- her Christian extremist family will not live it down, no matter what loophole in the bible you happen to find. If it is love, it is love, let it be. If they cannot understand that you are in ove with her and are allowing her to stay with you then they need to get their brains out of the Bible and into life.

Originally posted by Seapeople
Someday I swear people will start thinking for themselves on this planet.

Who do you think the "someone" was who told ALL Christians to do this or that? And why do you think ALL Christians follow what "someone" told them? Christians are people and I don't think it's fitting to generalise this way. Some people do follow their strict (religious belief placed here) and some do not.

It isn't necessary to follow God's word to know what is right or wrong(that's what our morals and conscious are for). Not only that, but two people do not have to be married by law to be married spiritually.

So yeah, I agree. People should start thinking for themselves instead of blaming religion or God for what the LAW decides.

alien
So...guess the bottomline is that there IS a comfortable 'outclause'...shack up, bang yourself silly, howl at the moon and generally be a right little party animal...then...get married and repent and its all gggggggggg...

The, �outclause� that you speak of is indeed there. The penalty for our sin was paid in full through the death of Jesus Christ. Every one of us has sinned and awaits judgment upon death. You have a choice to make. You can pay the price yourself or you can acknowledge your sin, turn away from it and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The former places you rightly in hell were you belong, the latter places you in Heaven to worship and serve the God of all creation for all eternity.

The choice is yours alone.

Scat
Whoaaaaa...OK...so seapeople is going to die and burn in hell for living with someone before they are married if he dies right now?

If he has sexual relations with her while they are living together and unmarried he comes under Gods judgment.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 KJV
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Jude 1:7 KJV
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Scat
Seapeople- her Christian extremist family will not live it down, no matter what loophole in the bible you happen to find. If it is love, it is love, let it be. If they cannot understand that you are in ove with her and are allowing her to stay with you then they need to get their brains out of the Bible and into life.

He will not be able to find a, �loophole� in the Bible concerning sexual relations outside of marriage. God also has this to say about, �life�.

1 John 2:15-17 KJV
Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.