What were the rules of adultery during the time of Jesus? Should Mary have been stoned to death...?

Question

...for cheating on Joseph with God?

just noticed this was sorta anwered in my last question, but go ahead and get your 2 pts.

Answer 1

OI!! What's up with all you god people? Jeese! One lazy chick gets knocked up, claims it was god who did it, and BA BAM! OH MY GOD LOOK!! IT MUST BE JESUS!

There is no jesus. It's all a lie. Mary banged some other guy and used "GOD" as a cover-up.. and what makes it worse, is that people wrote a book about it, and it became a religion that about 75% of north americans have sworn their lives to. Now THAT'S sad.

Edit: Oh, and the chick that said if you aren't married it isn't considered cheating... THEY WERE BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND! SHE MADE LOVE TO ANOTHER MAN! THAT'S CALLED CHEATING!

Thx.

Answer 2

Technically, if Mary had been unfaithful during her engagement (or at any time prior to her marriage), she could have recieved the death penalty for her "prostitution".

The law was the same for men as well as women, but in a society run by men, there was a double standard (no big suprise there, huh?).

However, Isreal was, at that time, occupied by Imperialist Rome. It wasn't uncommon for Roman soldiers to attack girls. It wasn't entirely unheard of for local bandits to do so either! According to Mosaic Law (the Torah), any girl or woman subjected to a rape was NOT guilty of fornication or adultery. Only the man was guilty, and ONLY the man could recieve the death penalty (in case of rape). The woman was considered innocent.

Mary did NOT "cheat" on Joseph with God. There was no sexual activity! God caused a spontaneous conception within her womb without using a sperm, using nothing but His own power. Being God, He does have this ability, just as He has the ability to create life where there is nothing at all (see Genesis 1 and 2).

Obviously, Joseph wasn't about to believe this either. However, he wasn't about to put Mary, already pregnant, through a public trial. The scriptures record this also. It is entirely possible that Joseph thought Mary had been taken advantage of, while traveling to Elizabeth's house and back again, and had come back pregnant. (Possible, but not certain. That is my own supposition). At any rate, the records say Joseph decided to quietly break up with (the equivelant of a divorce) Mary.

Joseph's actions are an interesting thing. He went ahead and took Mary home as his wife, knowing the Child she carried wasn't his. Yes, Joseph and Mary were Iron Age citizens, but there was NO MYSTERY about where babies came from! This carried another burden: everybody assumed the child WAS his, and his (Joseph's) reputation was trashed. Why would he do this? And why continue with the story that this Baby was the direct result of Holy Spirit Action?

Either they were totally ignorant of where babies come from...which they weren't! OR

They were completely nuts.........again, not likely!!! Their later reputations speak against this... OR

Something or someone convinced them that a fantastic miracle had occured. The recorded history indicates the final scenario.

Answer 3

Since Mary didn't actually cheat, because for one, she wasn't married, she was engaged, and for another, it wasn't like she was having an affair, she was still a virgin, because she didn't have sexual intercourse. However, it would appear that she did to Joseph and any one else, since there is only one way to get pregnant, or so they thought. If the people would have stoned her, they would have stoned an innocent woman. That's why the angel appeared to Joseph in his sleep, and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.
But for any other woman, stoning was that law.
I wonder how many other women saw or heard what Mary had done and said to Joseph about her being pregnant by the holy spirit? I wonder did they try to use that same excuse, since she wasn't stoned, and got stoned themselves?

Answer 4

That was the law but it was rarely carried out. His birth was by divine conception. She was still a virgin.
Well, until after he was born.
Mary magdaline was a prostitute. So everyone wasn't dieing.
The Muslims today kill women for infidelity and yet men are not.
More was expected of a women.Genesis 38:6 Tamar dressed herself up like a prostitute. Her father in law used her as a prostitute. When she got pregnant he was going to have her stoned to death. She showed he was the father.
Yet, there was nothing wrong with him going to a prostitute.
Never has been fair, because men make the rules.
But probably other men did the same thing Joseph was going to do. Marry her and then later secretly divorce her to save her life.

Answer 5

First of all Mary did not cheat on Joseph with God. Mary was chosen by God to bring Jesus into the world. She was still a virgin and she and Joseph were not married yet. Read your Bible.

Answer 6

I believe that it was acceptable at that time to stone a woman to death for adultery.

After Jesus was born and grown, there was the episode where a woman, caught in the act of adultery, was just about to be stoned to death. Jesus intervened and said to the mob that if any of them had not ever sinned, that person could cast the first stone. Of course, they new they were all sinners and none had the right to throw a stone at the woman.

Answer 7

Well, she didn't really cheat because she didn't have sex. But she was pregnant and unmarried, and Joseph knew the baby wasn't his. If he had made a big stink about it, Mary could most certainly have been stoned to death. But Joseph was a sweet guy who really loved Mary. Of course an angel came to him and explained everything, but even before that he wasn't going to publicly humiliate her. This is one of the greatest love stories in the Bible.

Answer 8

Mary, the "Virgin Daughter of Israel," that is, the group of people "who had not known man" (who had not known man's interpretation of truth), through the Holy Spirit, eventually began to write the Word of God in a permanent, recorded form so it could be distributed throughout the world of flesh (the material world). The Word of God was written with pen and ink upon material objects, and the Word was then "made flesh." Thus was accomplished the birth of the Anointed One of God.

This, of course, has nothing to do with man's interpretation of God's laws or with the historical Jews punishment for adultery.

Answer 9

Remember when the woman was caught in adultery? Jesus wrote something on the ground. Then He said that whoever was without sin to cast the first stone. When He got up noone was there but the woman. He told her she was forgiven and to go and sin no more. That was the rules. But getting to Mary, she did not sin she was chosen.

Answer 10

She didnt cheat on god. Yeah during those days you were stoned to death for almost everything and usually it was your parents who threw the first stone. God chose her knowing she was a clean woman already in love with Joseph.

Answer 11

Mary didn't commit adultery. No she shouldn't have been stoned. She didn't cheat on Joseph, Joseph was informed about it from God, and all was well.