So, your bible says rape victims must marry their rapists?

Question

Funny, I don't see christians fighting for that today.
More of the "pick and choose" stuff, I guess....

Nexusmoon...thanks.

Lady Suri - So, you're saying that when the bible says "If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman" that they aren't really talking about a man caught raping a young woman?
Well, you can see how some might be confused.
Thanks.

Answer 1

You are full of bullsh*t. You atheist PRICK.

Answer 2

OK, your response to LadySuri made me laugh so hard I remember what lunch tasted like. I ask you this:

How many people are going to use the excuse that they actually read the original text and it doesn't really say that?

And how many are going to claim it was simply a metaphor, like stoning unbaptized infants, and shouldn't be taken 'literally'?

Tonks, check out Deuteronomy 22:28-29.

And Jennifer... oh, Jennifer... do you kiss your cross with that mouth?

Commence counting immediately, and include those who won't answer because they blindly follow the words of a 2,000 year-old text someone preached to them about.

*Edit* Boxmaker, I certainly didn't mean to offend you. You say that all the responses make you sick and some things aren't up for debate, but there really isn't one. Your response is yet another reason any literal translation of the Bible (beyond the history) is foolish and damaging. I don't believe the question was meant in any way to entice debate because it is based upon fact. I hope you realize that I understand and utterly sympathize with how much pain you've been through, and why certain topics touch upon that pain sharply.

Answer 3

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 is often pointed to by atheists, skeptics, and other Bible attackers as evidence that the Bible is backwards, cruel, and misogynist, and therefore, not the Word of God. At first glance, this passage seems to command that a rape victim must marry her rapist. Is that the correct interpretation of the text, and if so, how is that not horribly unfair to the woman? This issue is actually addressed in two passages, both of which are below:

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days."

Exodus 22:16-17 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride price for virgins."

Together, these passages clearly state that if a man has sex with a virgin who is not betrothed (regardless of whether or not it was rape or consensual) he is obliged to marry her. He should have sought her father's permission first, negotiated a bride-price, and taken her as his wife. Because he did not, he is punished for this—he now must pay up (he can't opt out any more) and marry her (which could be a major punishment in itself if this was a foolish, spur-of-the-moment act and she really wasn't the right woman for him!).

Also note that "he may not divorce her all his days" – this initially doesn't seem significant but is actually a major punishment. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (restated more clearly in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9) allowed for divorce, but only in the case of sexual immorality (the word "uncleanness" refers to this and was translated as such in the LXX). This man now may not divorce his wife even for this reason, but is obliged to continue to support her all his life whatever she does.

But her father is ultimately in authority over her, as her head, until he hands this authority over to her husband. If the man is unsuitable, the father can refuse to give his daughter to him. How many fathers would give their daughter to a rapist? Not many. So, in general, a rapist would actually have to pay a 50 silver shekel fine to her father, and not get a wife at all.

The answer to the question is in Exodus 22:17 - the woman does NOT have to marry a rapist, she must only do what her father says.

Note that throughout the Old Testament no rape victim is ever recorded as being forced to marry a rapist. However it is plausible that there could be circumstances in which a father would choose to have his daughter marry a rapist. In 2 Samuel 13, Amnon, a son of David, rapes his half-sister, Tamar. Tamar was not forced to marry Amnon. Interestingly, though, Tamar seemed to have wanted to marry Amnon after the rape (2 Samuel 13:13-16). Why would she desire such a thing? In that culture, virginity was highly prized. It would have been very difficult for a woman who was not a virgin, and especially a woman who had been raped, to find a man to marry her. It seems that Tamar would have rather married Amnon than live desolate and single the rest of her life, which is what happened to her (2 Samuel 13:20). So Deuteronomy 22:28-29 could be viewed as merciful to the woman, who, because of the rape, would be considered unmarriageable. In that culture, a woman without a husband would have a very difficult time providing for herself. Unmarried women often had no choice but to sell themselves into slavery or prostitution just to survive. This is why the passage leaves marriage to the discretion of the father, because every situation is different, and it is better to be flexible than have a blanket rule.

Also note that the penalty for having sex with an unbetrothed virgin is completely different from the penalty for sex with a married or betrothed woman. Sex with a married or betrothed woman is adultery and was to be punished by the death of both if consensual, or the death of the man if it was rape (Deuteronomy 22:22-27).


Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Deuteronomy-22-28-29-marry-rapist.html#ixzz3fGSd9w5d

Answer 4

Deuteronomy 22:28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. [c] He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

I like the girl who does not have Deuteronomy in her bible, good stuff.

Answer 5

If rape victims must marry their rapists than I would be
married to my father. Have you all lost your minds.
I have read the other answers and I can only tell you how
sick each of you make me. You know some subjects are
not up for debate, walk a mile in a rape victims shoes and
get back to me.

Answer 6

I like to promote Atheism as a better choice, but am I wrong for thinking that Christians follow the new testament and not the old. I guess this has merit to pose to a Jewish person, but not so much the Christians.

Answer 7

I've asked a few questions about interpreting the Bible in different ways (some of them a little outlandish, I'll admit) and I was told that there is only one interpretation of the Bible. HAH!

Notice the response you got right above me? I'll bet she claims to be a Christian too.

Answer 8

Its not far from hating the gays stuff. It is sooooo funny how some Christan just said that is not in the bible. Typical!!!!!


(Speaking about wifes I wanna ask "Jennifer" the girl below to marry me.....)

Atheist.

Answer 9

Rape is unloving as it is not kind and if we are unloving to one another we will be condemn by his words as he has commanded us to love.

A new commandment I give unto you: that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. ~ John 13:34 (Jesus Christ)

love is kind ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. ~ John 12:48 (Jesus Christ)

Answer 10

Yeah but it still costs him 30 pieces of silver and he can never divorce her. If that isn't a punishment you tell me what is.

sorry, corrected 50 pieces of silver, so he is made poor and stuck with a hate filled wife.

Answer 11

um seriously where the heck do you get that from. my bible says nothing of the sort. it's not right by God to take something that isn't yours. it's called STEALING in any form. i don't see my God thinking it's ok to rape a woman, sorry.