Terry writes:
> I know that this may be a controversial question, but here goes: "Is
> it possible to rape one's own wife?" If the answer to that question
> is "no", then clearly, these women have not been raped, even though
> they may have been made wives by no choice of their own. But then hasn't
> it only been fairly recently that women had much say in who would
> be their husbands?
I believe that spousal rape is a crime in a number of state jurisdictions,
if not all. It is well known that one form of physical abuse of a wife by
her husband is to forcibly rape her as a way of humiliating and terrifying
her.
In a society in which women have few or no rights and are treated as
property, it may be difficult or impossible for a woman to seek redress for
such an abuse of her person. Once again we have here an example of the
difficult issue of whether moral behavior is to be considered an expression
of local or historical custom, or whether there are certain elements of
morality that are the expression of natural law (in the Thomistic sense):
in Christian terms, are there some actions that are simply wrong or immoral
because they consistute an abuse of someone who bears the _imago dei_? I
would contend that there are. If that be the case, then rape is rape,
whatever the circumstances.
Bob Schneider
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry M. Gray" <grayt@lamar.colostate.edu>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 11:53 PM
Subject: RE: Challenge #2
>
> With respect to the so-called rape of the women in the "conquest of
> Canaan" passages, I offer the following:
>
> Who's to say that the women involved didn't consent to becoming wives
> having been spared from the destruction of their people? It seems
> that these passages insist on a humane treatment of these women,
> giving them time to mourn, etc. Also, they are to be made wives, not
> just raped and then thrown aside. Even if they are divorced, there are
> restrictions on how they are to be treated: "You must not sell her or
> treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her."
>
> I would also suggest that being taken captive to become a wife in
> this context is an act of mercy. This woman's life was spared and
> they became part of the covenant community.
>
> I know that this may be a controversial question, but here goes: "Is
> it possible to rape one's own wife?" If the answer to that question
> is "no", then clearly, these women have not been raped, even though
> they may have been made wives by no choice of their own. But then hasn't
> it only been fairly recently that women had much say in who would
> be their husbands?
>
> Wanting to go very slowly when it comes to finding fault with scripture,
>
> TG
>
> --
> _________________
> Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
> Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
> Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
> grayt@lamar.colostate.edu http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
> phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801
>
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