Is there anywhere in Scripture that condemns an adult male (let's say 25 or 30) marrying and having sex with a female under the age of 13? Or 12? Or 8?
If not, can one reasonably conclude that it's not sinful, per se, for such an arrangement?
To add to what Steve said, if one reads Ezek. 16:1-8 (and following) God likens his relationship with His people as Him having found her like a newly born abandoned child. He waited until she was sexually mature to "marry" her in covenant. I think that suggests the same thing Steve is saying. I think we can inductively infer from this what the Jews believed during that time and what God Himself approves of regarding when it's appropriate for a female to get married.
Many (not all) Muslims have the wrong notion that once menstruation occurs it's God's sign that she is ready to be sexually active and bear children. But that's not medically true. Other parts of a woman's anatomy (like the hips) need to develop for her to be ready to bear children. That's a reason why a lot of women die or suffer terrible injuries in Islamic cultures. Because they didn't postpone marriage long enough.
The Christian God of love, wisdom, and healing would naturally want and expect us culturally to promote a safe age for marriage (with the assumption that the consummation of the marriage occurs soon after marriage). In some cultures female sexual maturation occurs earlier than in other cultures. So, there can be no specific fixed age for a female to marry. It depends on both biological and psychological maturity.
Unfortunately, in some Islamic cultures the marriage of men with prepubescent girls is accepted (cf. Quran 65:4). They justify it because Muhammad is considered the best moral example (Quran 33:21) and he contracted marriage to Aisha when she was 6, and consummated the marriage when he was 54 and she was 9, before she reached puberty.
Apparently David Robertson doesn't know that beastiality is growing in popularity in Europe. In some countries it's legal.
ReplyDeleteFor example: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2352779/Bestiality-brothels-spreading-Germany-campaigner-claims-abusers-sex-animals-lifestyle-choice.html
Is there anywhere in Scripture that condemns an adult male (let's say 25 or 30) marrying and having sex with a female under the age of 13? Or 12? Or 8?
ReplyDeleteIf not, can one reasonably conclude that it's not sinful, per se, for such an arrangement?
To add to what Steve said, if one reads Ezek. 16:1-8 (and following) God likens his relationship with His people as Him having found her like a newly born abandoned child. He waited until she was sexually mature to "marry" her in covenant. I think that suggests the same thing Steve is saying. I think we can inductively infer from this what the Jews believed during that time and what God Himself approves of regarding when it's appropriate for a female to get married.
DeleteMany (not all) Muslims have the wrong notion that once menstruation occurs it's God's sign that she is ready to be sexually active and bear children. But that's not medically true. Other parts of a woman's anatomy (like the hips) need to develop for her to be ready to bear children. That's a reason why a lot of women die or suffer terrible injuries in Islamic cultures. Because they didn't postpone marriage long enough.
The Christian God of love, wisdom, and healing would naturally want and expect us culturally to promote a safe age for marriage (with the assumption that the consummation of the marriage occurs soon after marriage). In some cultures female sexual maturation occurs earlier than in other cultures. So, there can be no specific fixed age for a female to marry. It depends on both biological and psychological maturity.
Unfortunately, in some Islamic cultures the marriage of men with prepubescent girls is accepted (cf. Quran 65:4). They justify it because Muhammad is considered the best moral example (Quran 33:21) and he contracted marriage to Aisha when she was 6, and consummated the marriage when he was 54 and she was 9, before she reached puberty.
Scripture links marriage with the ideal of procreation, so that presumes a bride of child-bearing age.
ReplyDelete