Required reading
Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge (Vol 3) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Continue Chapter 19 by reading up to the subheading '12. The eighth commandment'.
My summary
This week Hodge finishes his work on the seventh commandment by discussing prohibited marriages: namely with nearest relations.
We learn about:
(i) the ground or reason of such prohibitions (including Augustine's theory);
(ii) the reasons the Levitical Law of Marriage is still in force;
(iii) how Levitical laws are to be interpreted;
(iv) the prohibited marriages specifically mentioned in Leviticus and those of same degree which aren't mentioned.
What grabbed me
To be honest, I think Hodge's second reason is the main reason for the prohibition of marriage between family members as outlined in Leviticus: 'The second ground for such prohibitions is a regard to domestic purity. When persons are so nearly related to each other as to justify their living together as one family, they should be sacred one to the other. If this were not the case, evil could hardly fail to occur, when young people grow up in the familiarity of domestic life. The slightest inspection of the details of the law as laid down in the eighteenth chapter of Leviticus, shows that this principle underlies many of its specifications.'
The home cannot be much of a secure home if sexual relations are permitted between family members.
Next week's reading
Continue Chapter 19 by reading up to the subheading '13. The ninth commandment'.
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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