Christian Men and Female Roommates in Separate Bedrooms
The Biblical and Historical Context of Christian Men and Female Roommates
The concept of Christian men and women living together, particularly in the context of separate bedrooms, raises questions about the historical and biblical perspectives on gender interactions and communal living. The New Testament emphasizes the unity of believers, stating that "we being many are one body in Christ and every man (among ourselves) one another's members" [2]. This unity is not limited by gender, as indicated in Galatians 3:28, where it is written that "there is not male and female" in Christ, signifying that differences in sex do not affect Christian privileges [4].
In the early Christian church, believers were known to each other as brethren, disciples, believers, and saints [3]. The communal aspect of their lives sometimes involved shared living arrangements. However, the specifics of how men and women interacted within these arrangements are not extensively detailed in the New Testament.
The Babylonian Talmud provides insight into Jewish perspectives on men and women being secluded together, suggesting that having men in an outer room and women in an inner room was considered less problematic than the reverse arrangement, as it allowed for greater visibility and accountability [5, 7]. While this is a Jewish rather than a Christian source, it reflects a cultural context that may have influenced early Christian practices.
Early Christian writers and theologians addressed the issue of communal living and gender interactions. The Apostolic Constitutions, as referenced in patristic sources, advise on the behavior of Christians in mixed-gender settings, emphasizing the importance of modesty and avoiding suspicion [8].
The issue of men and women living together is not directly addressed in the New Testament in the context of modern living arrangements. However, the principle of treating one another with love and respect is emphasized, with Paul citing the commandments "Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery" as being comprehended in the saying "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" [9].
Historical Christian traditions have varied in their interpretations and practices regarding gender interactions. Some early Christian communities practiced ascetic forms of communal living, which sometimes involved men and women living together in a manner that was considered radical for the time [6].
The question of whether Christian men can have female roommates in separate bedrooms touches on issues of modesty, respect, and the avoidance of suspicion. While there is no direct biblical prohibition or prescription for modern living arrangements, Christian teachings emphasize the importance of love, respect, and not causing offense to others [1, 9].
Sources
- Romans “Romans 16:16 (LITV) — Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”
- Romans “Romans 12:5 (Tyndale) — so we beynge many are one body in Christ and every man (amoge oure selves) one anothers mebers Seynge”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Christian — The disciples, we are told, (Acts 11:26) were first called Christians at Antioch on the Orontes, somewhere about A.D. 43. They were known to each other as, and were among themselves called, brethren, (Acts 15:1,23; 1 Corinthians 7:12) disciples, (Acts 9:26; 11:29) believers, (Acts 5:14) saints, (Romans 8:27; 15:25) The name "Christian," which, in the only other cases where it appears in the New Testament, (Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16) is used contemptuously, could not have been applied by the early disciples to themselves, but was imposed upon them by the Gen”
- Galatians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Galatians 3:28: There is in this sonship by faith in Christ, no class privileged above another, as the Jews under the law had been above the Gentiles (Rom 10:12; Co1 12:13; Col 3:11). bond nor free--Christ alike belongs to both by faith; whence he puts "bond" before "free." Compare Note, see on Co1 7:21-22; Eph 6:8. neither male nor female--rather, as Greek, "there is not male and female." There is no distinction into male and female. Difference of sex makes no difference in Christian privileges. But under the law the male sex had great privileges. Males alone ”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 81a.8: Rav Kahana says: If the men are located on the outside, i.e., in the outer room, and the women in the inside, i.e., in the inner room, there is no concern due to being secluded. Even if one of the men were to enter the inner room, he would be seen by the other men. By contrast, if there were men in the inside and women on the outside, there is a concern due to being secluded, since one of the men can claim that he is leaving and in fact join the women.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 2: Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria — ELUCIDATIONS. (part 3): poem. (3) And hence it must be credited to the later Hermas, whose name and authorship are alone supported by external testimony, as well as internal evidence. II. (Similitude Ninth, cap. xi. p. 47, note 1.) Westcott is undoubtedly correct in connecting this strange passage with one of the least defensible experiments of early Christian living. Gibbon finds in this experiment nothing but an opportunity for his scurrility.[4] A true philosopher will regard it very differently; and here, once and ”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 165a.161:8: Rav Kahana says: If the men are located on the outside, i.e., in the outer room, and the women in the inside, i.e., in the inner room, there is no concern due to being secluded. Even if one of the men were to enter the inner room, he would be seen by the other men. By contrast, if there were men in the inside and women on the outside, there is a concern due to being secluded, since one of the men can claim that he is leaving and in fact join the women.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 8: Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts, Epistles, Apocrypha, Decretals — CHAP. II. -- HIS BEHAVIOUR IN PLACES WHERE THERE WERE CHRISTIANS OF BOTH SEXES. (part 1): And if, moreover, it chance that we are distant from our homes and from our neighbours, and the day decline and the eventide overtake us, and the brethren press us, through love of the brotherhood and by reason of their affection for strangers, to stay with them, so that we may watch with them, and they may hear the holy word of God and do it, and be fed with the words of the Lord, so that they may be mindful of them, and they set be”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 44: allow stealing of any description, whether from a friend or an enemy,” (August. Lib. de Doctr. Christ). Now, these two commandments, “Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery,” Paul brings under the rule of love; nay, he says that they are briefly comprehended in this saying, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” ( Rom. 13:9 ). Therefore, Paul must either be a false interpreter of the Law, or we must necessarily conclude, that under this precept we are bound to love our enemies just as our friends. Those, then, sh”