An Interesting Thing I Read In The Bible Today

[Pandora Moon]

For two weeks now I have been 3 chapters a day (or every few days) and today I was reading Genesis 19-21 when I came across this bit.

 

Here's some backstory. See Abraham & Sarah have moved camp again and they go though this routine where Abraham tells the leader of the camp that his wife is his sister so Abraham won't get killed for being Sarah's husband. The leader takes Sarah for himself and God punished the camp by making the women barren. Now when the leader confronts Abraham about this he tells them in Genesis 20:11-12

 

11 To this Abraham said: “It was because I said to myself, ‘Doubtless there is no fear of God in this place, and they will certainly kill me because of my wife.’ 12 And, besides, she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, only not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife

 

Has anyone else heard of this? and I also wonder what the xians have to say about this?

 

I hope this is in the right place

[chefranden]

Christians would say there wasn't the prohibition against marrying close relatives in those days and they are right.

 

Marriages like this help preserve clans, because the woman won't bring in foreign ideas having been raised under the same rules as her husband.

[Pandora Moon]

Yeah you are right that there wasn't any laws againest marrying close relatives back then. but I bet that the Jehovah's Witnesses would say "they were more perfect then" at least that was what one of them said about Cain marrying his sister.

 

I guess what I was thinking two things 1. how come I haven't heard of this before and 2. I'm a little annoyed at myself for missing this the last time I attempted reading the bible but to be fair I was still going to the Jehovah's Witness meetings so I had my blinders screwed on tight

[mwc]

Sarah was like a million years old and still smoking hot. Everyone wanted her and would have killed Abram to get her. So it was better to tell this little half-truth and have "god" punish these other guys for not somehow knowing the truth like he did. The point is that if she's that old and that good looking she must have been totally amazing when she was young and, laws (had they existed) be damned, Abram had to get him some of that.

 

mwc

[Vixentrox]

Well he really wanted a slut like the women in Ezekiel 23 but they were hard to come by then.

[Pandora Moon]

Interested. You make a valid point. I think one of the main reasons that people are againest incest is usually because of the genetic factor. However there is something you have to think about, if what happened in the bible is true and God relied on incest to populate the earth 2 times then would that make all humans related to each other anyway?

[Neon Genesis]

What's really interesting is that the bible never does actually say that incest is immoral (except for the ancient laws of the old testament, which christains believe are a historical record of the law of the times- not an example of law that should be followed today).

Didn't Paul condemn incest in 1 Corinthians though when he was condemning the church in Corinth for allowing a man to have sex with his mother?

[hereticzero]

Feelings about incest all depend on what you are taught as a young person. Ever live in Utah? Almost everyone looks like they are related!

 

Arkansas at least has taken steps to reassure their population that following divorce they can still call each other 'brother and sister.'

 

[Dagan]

Interested. You make a valid point. I think one of the main reasons that people are againest incest is usually because of the genetic factor. However there is something you have to think about, if what happened in the bible is true and God relied on incest to populate the earth 2 times then would that make all humans related to each other anyway?

 

I have yet to hear a Christian use this to explain why there are so many diseases and genetic disorders, but I'm sure I will one of these days.

[Neon Genesis]

Pauls inner moral code to avoid incest could easily be left over from old law- that is to say, tradition. Incest was illegal in Genesis, but some(many) biblical scholars believe the laws in Genesis were put forth as a historical record of the times- not as a code for christians of all time to follow.

But then doesn't Jesus also say in Matthew 5:18-20 that the old law applies for all time?

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter,* not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks* one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

[Vomit Comet]

The REAL WTF is why aethists would not condone incest. A truly love-filled relationship between two relatives is no more wrong than two gay people in love.. It's odd that christians and non-christians alike seem to agree that incest is wrong... but it clearly is not.

 

What's next, bestiality? This is why gay marriage should be illegal!!! Just kidding, of course.

 

Well, I've never had a sister... so I wouldn't know. But I suspect it's deeply genetic for a guy not to want to fuck his sister.