Where did the Mormon God have sex with Mary?

[drumdude]

I’d just like to note even faithful Christians agree 12-14 is a very probable age range. I’m not using some extreme atheist number pulled out of my butt.

I'm sure you can locate some faithful Christians who would agree with you about Mary's age. But the post I have been addressing said:

"most "sane" christians believe God impregnated 14 year old Mary."

A claim which is untrue.

(I am by the way not any kind of Christian, let alone a faithful one.)

What age do most Christians believe Mary was, then? I'm willing to concede that most either don't think about it, or imagine her as 18-20 so it's not such a disgusting thought.

[sock puppet]

Unless there is some evidence of an unusually young age, why is this even a question in anyone's mind, believer or nonbeliever? There are quite a few women that make it to age 18 and are yet to experience sex.

[Chap]

What age do most Christians believe Mary was, then? I'm willing to concede that most either don't think about it, or imagine her as 18-20 so it's not such a disgusting thought.

I suspect that most of them don't have any idea of her age at all, apart from her being young. When I was a Christian I never had any definite ideas on the subject, nor do I remember any of my fellow delivers saying anything on the topic.

[drumdude]

The simple argument is that she became pregnant almost at the same time she was married to Joseph. The custom at the time was for 12-14 year olds to be married.

If she had been older then it would have likely been noteworthy enough to include in the gospel accounts.

[doubtingthomas]

The source you quote via catholic.com is the Patrology of James, an apocryphal text written in the second century, probably over a hundred years later than the events it purports to describe, and of virtually no historical value.

12 to 14 is the best guess. "Jewish maidens were considered marriageable at the age of twelve years and six months".
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm

"A few anecdotal incidents, and a wealth of later documentation, suggest that women married young, while still in their teens, sometimes early teens"
Philip King and Lawrence Stager, Life in Biblical Israel, (Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 2001), p. 37.

And in no major Christian group is there a widespread belief that she became pregnant at any particular age.

It doesn't matter because many Christian groups think child marriage is acceptable. Child marriage is very common in Catholic countries.

"One in every four girls in Latin America are married before the age of 18 and in Brazil and Mexico, according to statistics from the international NGO Girls Not Brides, over 4.2 million women were married as children." The age of consent in Brazil is 14 with no restrictions.

In the US, "There are only four states — Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey — that completely ban underage marriages."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-marr ... a-pollard/

My point is that other christians are not "sane" like drumdude suggested. The theory that Mary was 12 or 13 wouldn't be disturbing to most christians.

[doubtingthomas]

If she had been older then it would have likely been noteworthy enough to include in the gospel accounts.

Exactly!

[doubtingthomas]

Catholic law (updated in 1983) states, "If the man is under 16 years of age, or the woman is under 14 years of age, then their marriage is invalid."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impedimen ... canon_law)

Could exceptions be made for those being threatened by sword-wielding angels?

Good question.

[Chap]

I see that the topic has moved on from:

"most "sane" christians believe God impregnated 14 year old Mary."

to :

(a) A discussion, based on the meagre historical evidence available, of the lowest possible ages of marriage allowed in Jewish societies at the beginning of the Christian era.

and

(b) The lowest legal ages of marriage in modern societies where Christianity is a common religious belief.

Those are different topics from the one I set out to discuss; fine by me.

[huckelberry]

The simple argument is that she became pregnant almost at the same time she was married to Joseph. The custom at the time was for 12-14 year olds to be married.

If she had been older then it would have likely been noteworthy enough to include in the gospel accounts.

I can see how it would get mentioned if she was 50 or 60 such as the story of the mother of John the Baptist.If she was 20 it would be a matter of no particular note.

I do not understand this investment in the youngest possible age. Of course I have no proof she was older than 13. I do not know how old she was.

[drumdude]

If she was 20 it would be a matter of no particular note.

I'm not convinced of this.