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RE: What Do Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Mormonism All Agree On?

in #religion7 years ago

I really don't think Mary was 12 years old. Bear in mind that She was going to marry Joseph (his fiancée). So are you trying to imply that Joseph was going to marry a 12-year old girl?

Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary

Also know that Mary was a cousin to Elizabeth who also had given birth at the same time in a very old age. So that should give you a clear insight of how old Mary was. Mary was neither a kid nor a teenager. She was a woman who simply abstained from sexual activities unlike many ladies of her time.

Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren

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"So are you trying to imply that Joseph was going to marry a 12-year old girl?"

Yes, as was common practice at that time and in that part of the world:

"One very remarkable thing about Mary is that she would almost certainly have been 12-14 years old when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. We know this because the common custom at that time was for girls to marry early, at that age. The Bible never gives Mary’s age when she got pregnant or gave birth to Jesus, and that is because when something happened that was common in the culture, nothing was said about it. We write the same way today, leaving out any details that everyone knows by custom and culture."

"In ancient Israel, girls married in their teens, even early teens. [2] For Mary to be betrothed (engaged) but not yet formally married, yet old enough to have and nurse the Messiah, she would have been 12-14. "

[2] Philip King and Lawrence Stager, Life in Biblical Israel, (Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 2001), p. 37.
[3] Merrill C. Tenney, editor, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Regency Reference Library, Grand Rapids, MI, 1976), Vol. 4, “Marriage,” p. 96.


"Also know that Mary was a cousin to Elizabeth who also had given birth at the same time in a very old age. So that should give you a clear insight of how old Mary was. Mary was neither a kid nor a teenager."

See above. You can find any source you like, even Christian apologetics ministries will tell you the same thing I have about Mary's age. Why would you expect cousins to necessarily be the same age btw? Giving birth at the same time does not mean they were born at the same time.

Cousins aren't usually of the same age, but there isn't that much gape in their ages. Although it's possibly true, I still find it strange that the cousin of the "12" years old Mary is somewhere around the age of 70. It just doesn't make sense to me.

"Cousins aren't usually of the same age, but there isn't that much gape in their ages."

How do you know?

"Although it's possibly true, I still find it strange that the cousin of the "12" years old Mary is somewhere around the age of 70. It just doesn't make sense to me."

Nevertheless you will have a hard time finding any source that says Mary wasn't between 12 and 14. Scholars concur that based on what is known of Jewish tradition of that period, girls could be betrothed at 12 but not married until a little older. For Mary to have been betrothed but not properly married to Joseph yet, she would have had to have been in that narrow age range.

When you say it doesn't make sense, Is this what you're feeling?

I'm comfortable mentally, and an open minded Christian. I'm just expressing my opinion on a controversial subject..that's all.

I appreciate that you challenge me. To be agreed with all the time would be terribly boring.