Does the Bible support Pedophilia?

It never ceases to amaze me how some people will pervert the word of God by implying it condones pedophilia. If only they were so diligent in searching the Bible for condemnation of immorality, adultery and unnatural relations. Right away let us be clear that the Bible does NOT support pedophilia. Here is a response to anyone who has simply misunderstood certain verses:

Exodus 21, verse 10, makes it clear that if the female daughter becomes the wife of either the master of the house or the wife of his son, she has marital rights. The King James Version deliberately applies the word ‘betrothed’ – in other words, a woman of marriageable age. It does not say a female child will be handed over by her father so an adult male can have sex with her.

Numbers 31:1-18 is a passage of Scripture where the Israelites go to battle against the Midianites. Only virgin girls were spared. This does not say that the Israelite men then had sexual relations with little girls.

Deuteronomy 20:10-14 is about taking a captive woman as a man’s wife. Again, this has nothing to do with having sex with a child.

Judges 21:12 speaks of young women who are virgins, not little girls, and verse 23 is about taking young women as wives.

Here is a Bible verse that you have not mentioned, which is worthy of our consideration. Some people suggest that Leviticus 18:22 is not about adult men having sexual relations with other adult men, but is about pedophilia.

Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

The specific claim, made by some apologists for h*m*sexual behaviour, is that the word translated "man" should be translated "boy." The "detestable" act is having sexual relations with a boy, not with an adult male, they say.

The Hebrew word in question is ‘zakar’. Strong's defines this word as "male, man, the gender of a species that is not female, with no focus on the age or stage in life." In other words, the focus of the word is the gender (male), irrespective of age. ‘Zakar’ refers to any male, young or old.

Since it is detestable in God’s eyes for two consenting males to have sexual relations with each other, then how much more detestable is it for an adult male to participate in pedophilia with a young boy? Whichever way anybody wants to view this Bible verse, it must be clear that pedophilia is detestable in God’s eyes.

My answer backs up the answer given by Stephen Disraeli.

OK,the first point to consider is that most of the ancient and mediaeval world saw no problem with girls being married once they had reached child-bearing age. Juliet's mother, in the play, makes the same point. If a girl is above that age, the accusation is just a case of the egocentric internet trying to impose its own definitions of right and wrong on previous generations, controlling the past as well as the present and the future

There is no evidence that the girls in the Exodus passage were below that age. They were going to be treated honourably as wives.

There is no suggestion of sexual treatment of the "little ones" taken captive in the Numbers passage or the Deuteronomy passage. Although they may have been taken as wives at the appropriate age.

There is no evidence that the girls in the Judges passages were below child-bearing age. In fact getting children from them was rather the point.

Addressing Jerusalem as a metaphorical woman, the Lord says that he waited until she was "at the age for love" before offering to marry her; by that time she had "become tall and arrived at full womanhood" anf her breasts were formed (Ezekiel ch16 v7). In the Song of Solomon the little sister has no breasts and is not yet going to be "spoken for" (Song of Solomon ch8 v8). The entire world at the time would probably have agreed on "when she has breasts" as a marriagable age.

In short, beware of hostile "spin" from people incapable of understanding cultures other than their own. Dealing with their criticism is what Proverbs calls "answering a fool according to his folly", which is a necessary thing to do but only up to a point (Proverbs ch26 vv4-5).