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Formulating a biblical teaching on sex for Nigerian Christian couples: A study of 1 Corinthians 7:1–5


Olubiyi A. Adewale
Funke E. Oyekan

Abstract

The issue of sexual relations between spouses is a major cause of broken homes in Nigeria and Christian couples are not an exception. People believe  that a large percentage of broken homes have the root of their problem traced to sex. The preponderance of broken homes (and homes under tension of  crises) notwithstanding, most studies in this area have been from the socioscientific and medical cum psychological point of view and many more  have focused on teenagers and young people to the exclusion of married couples that need healing in this regard. This article is aimed at bringing out  biblical instruction concerning the issue of sex that could help to restore peace to many homes at the verge of breaking down. The focal passage is 1 Corinthians 7:1–5, which was Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church when they faced a similar problem. This article is an exegetical analysis of the  passage and is read rhetorically (rhetorical analysis examines how a text persuades readers of its point of view) with the Nigerian situation in mind. It  concludes that sex must be enjoyed within the ambits of marriage and within this ambit, the only reason for abstinence is mutual agreement for the  purpose of prayer.


Contribution: The article upholds gender equality in initiating and enjoying sex and rejects looking down on women who request sex.  It also calls for the eradication of female genital mutilation, a tradition based on making women not enjoy sex. 


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2072-8050
print ISSN: 0259-9422