This claim is often presented (for
example; here) in addition to the claim that Joseph was a pedophile. It is used as a tu quoque defense of Muhammad's pedophilia.
It has already been shown in a previous post that there is no authoritative Christian text which state Mary's age. Claims about her age are, at best, educated guesses, but guesses none-the-less.
It has already been shown in a previous post that there is no authoritative Christian text which state Mary's age. Claims about her age are, at best, educated guesses, but guesses none-the-less.
Additionally, the apocryphal literature
(the Christian equivalent of weak or fabricated hadith) used to
gather information on Mary's possible age actually reveal she may
have been 16 at the time of her marriage, not 12 or 14.
Problems
Even if we were to assume she was 12 or
14 at the time, there still remain several problems with this claim:
-
A pedophile by its very definition means someone who is sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children. Teenagers of child-bearing age are not pre-pubescent.
- According to the Christian Bible, Mary became with child by "the power of the Highest", a phrase that does not, or does not necessarily, correspond to Mary being "impregnated."
- Even if we do accept that the Christian god "impregnated" Mary, both Christians and Muslims believe God is omnipotent. Therefore sexual intercourse, something which would have to take place if we were to accept this claim, is not necessary in order to achieve this. For example, artificial insemination needs no sexual intercourse. If humans can impregnate people without sexual intercourse, why can't an omnipotent deity do the same?
- Muslims also believe in the virgin birth. So, if Muslims insist the Christian god must have had sex with Mary in order to have a son, it is tantamount to an admission that, according to Islam, Allah must have also had sex with Mary in order for her to conceive Jesus.
Conclusion
In short; the Christian text do not mention anything of a sexual nature, i.e. there was no giant “holy penis” involved. If there was no penis involved, then there was no sexual contact. Without sexual contact, there is no pedophilia.
In short; the Christian text do not mention anything of a sexual nature, i.e. there was no giant “holy penis” involved. If there was no penis involved, then there was no sexual contact. Without sexual contact, there is no pedophilia.
Conversely, the Qur'an explicitly
tells us Allah (or Gabriel if we refer to the tafsir text) blew into Mary's vagina in order for her to conceive Jesus.
