As Christians, should we be greeting our fellow brothers with a kiss on the lips?
(religion)It was the widespread custom in the ancient eastern Mediterranean for men to greet each other with a kiss.[1] That was also the custom in ancient Judea and practiced also by Christians. However, the New Testament's references to a holy kiss (Ancient Greek: ἐν ἁγίω φιλήματι, en hagio philemati) and kiss of love (ἐν φιλήματι ἀγάπης) transformed the character of the act beyond a greeting; furthermore, in the early Church, "the verbal exchange of 'peace' with a kiss appears to be a Christian innovation, there being no clear example in pre-Christian literature."[2] The holy kiss was thus followed as a biblical teaching, rather than a cultural tradition. Such a kiss is mentioned five times in the concluding section of letters in the New Testament:
Romans 16:16[3]—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ).
1 Corinthians 16:20[4]—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ).
2 Corinthians 13:12[5]—"Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Greek: ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν ἁγίῳ φιλήματι).
1 Thessalonians 5:26[6]—"Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss" (Greek: ἀσπάσασθε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς πάντας ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ).
1 Peter 5:14[7]—"Greet one another with a kiss of love" (Greek: ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἀγάπης).
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