A bible skeptic once made the argument that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was raped by God because she didn’t give consent for Jesus’ birth. Is this true? Is there any evidence to the contrary?
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Marry the Rapist Deut 22:28-29
Does the bible say a woman has to marry her rapist in Deut 22:28-29? Most translations don’t use that word because the Hebrew text doesn’t use that word in these specific verses. That verse actually describes what happens in the case of fornication when a woman is neither married nor engaged and just has sex. If they are caught, no one is stoned to death, and the man is required to pay her dowry and marry her, but only with her father’s permission.
Continue readingStoning the Virgin Deuteronomy 22
In Deut 22:13-30 Moses reiterated the sexual purity rules in the Moral Purity laws of Leviticus but elaborates on them. Many are disturbed when they see that only a woman is punished for her lack of virginity, never the man. However, this law is not against a lack of virginity but rather initiating a marriage under false pretenses, when looking at the broader context of Deuteronomy 22.
Continue readingPerpetual Virgin Mary
Was Mary a sinless perpetual virgin? Well, scripture says that the only person that never sinned was Jesus (Rom 3:23, Heb 4:14-15, & 2 Cor 5:21), and it also implies that Mary had children with Joseph after Jesus (Acts 1:14), and it specifies that they had intercourse after Jesus was born (Matt 1:25). This seems like a non-biblical church tradition. Believers are only accountable for believing what is written not what we are told out of tradition. There are a lot of traditions that straight-up contradict the bible or are based on pagan traditions in Christendom. This is even true in Judaism, the Talmud records the oral traditions of the Pharisees and includes things never mentioned in the old testament (the Tanakh). In Mark 7:1-13 Jesus called and scolded the Pharisees for teaching man-made traditions, like “Netilat Yadayim” (ritual handwashing) as if they were commands from God. So Jesus is against glorifying traditions that are not instructions from God in scripture. Only scripture is inspired by God. So it’s best if Christians avoid accepting things as if they are backed by biblical authority when they aren’t stated explicitly in scripture or shown by physical historical evidence, especially if contradicted by scripture.
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