What an outdated concept that is. And yet it still pops up in evangelical and fundamentalist Christian literature. I like this observation made in ministry at a Quaker wedding:
A woman came to me several years ago. She had left her abusive husband, had lived by herself for a number of years, then had met a wonderful man and began dating. After a year, they decided to move in together. She admitted feeling guilty about living together.
“We’re going to get married soon,” she told me. “I don’t like living in sin.”
I asked her why she called it living in sin.She said she’d been taught that living together outside of marriage was sinful.
I told her I disagreed, that I thought living in sin was when you promised to love, honour, and cherish someone, then didn’t.I think there’s a lot of married people living in sin.
I agree entirely.
Another Spectrum 