Pietro Pajetta - The Hatred (1896)
Check your Bible concordance for the word “necrophilia.” Or grab your electronic Bible and do a word search for it. Or try a Google search instead (now clear your browser search history or you’ll have some explaining to do).
If you actually did any of the searches suggested above you know that "necrophilia"-- the act of having sexual relations with a dead body -- is never explicitly mentioned or suggested in the Bible. There is neither laws prohibiting it, nor a narrative which portrays such behavior in a negative light (e.g. a necrophiliac as a villain).
We should probably state at this juncture that we are not advocating the practice of diddling dead bodies. Repeat: we are not saying you should get down with the departed. No horizontal dancing with the deceased. You shouldn’t make the beast with two back with the bereft.
So why address this at all? Why write about the Bible’s silence on the topic of exerting perspiration with the expired?
The Silence is Weirder than you Think
This card began as an expression of a biblical oddity: it was a weird fact that fit perfectly with our game. However, this evolved into a conversation between we creators of the game, which spilled over into discussions with other clergy while designing this game. The question kept coming up: Why would the Bible not have any mention of people out of breath with the breathless?
Think about the other things the Bible takes the time and pains to pass down through the millennia:
- Instructions for the use of special shit digging tools
- To say nothing of the fact that the Bible has no problem discussing inappropriate sexual contacts, including sex with your mother, step-mother, sister, half-sister, granddaughter, aunt, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, threesomes with relatives, sex with menstruating women, and/or some one else's wife. Oh, and animals. Yes, even bestiality is covered, but not dead bodies.
In other words, with all the things the Bible takes the time to specifically say "thou shalt not boff that!" one would think dead bodies would make the list. So why doesn't it?
One Common, Yet Unconvincing Answer
One of the most convincing answers we got from a pastor friend was that, unlike some of the examples above that need more explaining and cultural context, having a lusty libido for the lifeless does not need an explanation for it to be seen as wrong.
The argument is that necrophilia is taboo in the sociological sense: it naturally causes revulsion in people, so God would not need to specifically legislate that for people. In essence, the thought of copulation with a cadaver causes most people to vomit. Thus, no need to spell it out. People just naturally know it is wrong, and anyone who does have such desires is broken in some profound way. However, there are a few problems with this line of thinking.
First, an anthropological survey of the Ancient Near East (ANE) shows that the contemporary cultures had differing opinions about necrophilia. For example, the Hittites appeared to be just fine with the practice. And for those who would say, "well, the biblical writers hate the Hittites! They are the enemy, so what they do is evil! GRRRR!" this furthers the problem of the Bible's silence on licking desiccated skin. Most scholars agree that sundry laws in the Torah are in response to the practices of those around the ANE, especially the enemies of the Hebrews. That the Torah and much of the Hebrew Bible says, in essence "Don't do [X] because those people do [X]! Thus saith the Lord!" So if the Hittites (and perhaps others) enjoy kissing sloughing lips, one would expect the Bible to include that as a no-no from on High.
Furthermore, necrophilia being taboo would not by itself fully explain why the Bible would not address it. If there is a portion of the population that finds nothing wrong with practice, but it is still anathema in the community, something would have to be done to address the action.
This line of thinking is dangerous when it comes to biblical interpretation. Absence and/or silence does not mean prohibition. It could equally mean endorsement. Cats aren’t mentioned in the Bible either. Does that mean God hates cats? Since we know that cats are among the cutest, most intelligent, more wonderful animals that God put on this planet, that conclusion makes no sense.
The point: speaking for God from silence is dangerous.
Biblical Answers Aren't Easy
So what can we glean from the Bible about coitus with those who have shuffled off this mortal coil?
We are not the only ones who have attempted to answer this over the centuries. If you did engage in the Google search suggested above, you saw the number of pages dedicated to this question. Some more serious and scholarly than others. Some are <shiver>. . . what has been seen cannot be unseen.
There are websites that list Bible verses some person or program thought relevant to necrophilia and the Bible. Some of these verses are a stretch, as they do not discuss necrophillia at all, but one could lump the act in with the other things described if they wanted. For example:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
and
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Some of the verses cited require more creativity and imagination. Our favorites include the beginning and end of marriage as an explanation:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Matthew 22:30 - For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. (Matthew 22:30)
Presumably these work because the males and females were alive when God created them and all the sexing began, and after death there is no marriage, so the sexing should end [But if the Church is the "bride of Christ" . . . nevermind].
Others, someone, or some algorithm, was dipping in the Communion/Eucharist wine when the pastor/priest/rev/minister/lay-church-lady-who-really-runs-the-whole-place wasn’t looking. Two of our favorites:
The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. (Genesis 2:20)
This one is great because it acknowledges the theory that God showed Adam all of the animals before creating Eve so Adam could see his need for another human. However, there is a variant of this theology that says Adam had sex with all the animals to arrive at that conclusion [of course we have a card about that]. But how this relates to dead bodies exactly, we're not sure.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Maybe they...nope. Not going to touch that one. Nope. Nope. Nope.
Our Humble Opinion
One of the best answers, which does require some biblical jujitsu, involves the impurity of dead bodies.
As explained in the wet dreams post mentioned above, there are a host of things that can make one unclean. Two of those things are relevant to this conversation:
- The the release of semen (Leviticus 15:16-18), and
- Coming in contact with a human corpse (Numbers 5:2b; 19:11 ).
Obviously, both are required for necrophilia to take place. Well, both if you're male and can release seamen. As usual, the patriarchal nature of the Torah means that these words were written with men in mind; However, the application applies generally as well. If you're male, necrophilia requires a double impurity. If you're female, only one.
In short, necrophilia requires one to become ritually impure, so getting a stiffy for a stiff is bad.
So why care about any of this?
Perhaps this is nothing more than a mental exercise in biblical ethics. We're Bible nerds: we like this stuff.
The t-shirt is an excellent conversation starter!
Perhaps that's why you're here reading this all the way to the end.
Perhaps you're here because this post ultimately raises the issue of what is/is not codified in a Holy text and why; the rationales behind the commandments you adhere to and/or question.
Perhaps you're here because you have dreams of fornicating with dead flesh. If so, perhaps you should be seriously concerned about that.
But what do we know: we made this game and you probably think we're going to Hell.
