Newly-elected Speaker Mike Johnson gave Americans a glimpse of his "worldview" on Thursday night while fielding a question about homophobic remarks he made.
Back in the day, women couldn’t inherit property. So if their husbands died without leaving a male heir, they could become homeless. Instead of the obvious solution of “let’s give women property rights,” though, there was another system in place.
The brother of the dead husband could sleep with the widow. The child of this relationship would be considered the dead husband’s child for inheritance purposes.
Onan agreed to this arrangement. He had sex with his sister-in-law. Only, at the last second, he pulled out and “spilled his seed on the ground.” So, he got the benefit of the deal for him (sex) without giving the woman her side of the deal (a shot at a child). He went back on his word and was struck down by God.
Of course, many religious folks focus on “spilled seed on the ground” and declare this to be a ban on masturbation - completely ignoring all the context around those words.
Back in the day, women couldn’t inherit property. So if their husbands died without leaving a male heir, they could become homeless. Instead of the obvious solution of “let’s give women property rights,” though, there was another system in place.
The brother of the dead husband could sleep with the widow. The child of this relationship would be considered the dead husband’s child for inheritance purposes.
Onan agreed to this arrangement. He had sex with his sister-in-law. Only, at the last second, he pulled out and “spilled his seed on the ground.” So, he got the benefit of the deal for him (sex) without giving the woman her side of the deal (a shot at a child). He went back on his word and was struck down by God.
Of course, many religious folks focus on “spilled seed on the ground” and declare this to be a ban on masturbation - completely ignoring all the context around those words.