Bob,
As soon as I hit the send button, I knew that this question would
come up. I am not interested in state laws, but in the Biblical
perspective. It seems to me that consent in sexual relations is an
implication of the marriage covenant. Don't get me wrong
here--spousal abuse is possible and to be abhorred (and prosecuted
both in the church and by the state). Also, the call to husbands to
love their wives and treat them well is also noted.
But wives are obligated to have sexual relations with their husbands;
it's part of the terms of the marriage covenant. One of the antidotes
to sexual immorality found in 1 Cor. 7:3-5 speaks to the
"requirement" of sexual relations in marriage:
"The husband should fulfil his marital duty to his wife, and likewise
the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone
but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not
belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other
except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote
yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not
tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
So...back to the point. When a Israelite man took one of the captives
to be his wife, a marriage covenant was entered into that included
the legitimacy of sexual relations--hence, we're not talking about
rape here. God's law does not command rape. We may be talking about
marrage customs that are quite distant from our own, but we are
talking about marriage here and not promiscuous "rape and ravage"
conquest.
TG
>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
>>
-- _________________ 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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