India is another good example where female children are sometimes made to marry much older men, both in history and the present.
[/like]
India had been heavily influenced by Islam. I have no idea what was culturally acceptable to them before Islam, but I do know that their civilization was quite advanced at that time.
Bells said:
Mohammed did not popularize the practice Doc. It was an accepted practice for girls to be married off as soon as she menstruated, and if the girl menstruated at an abnormally young age, then she was of marriagable age.
Says who?
Bells said:
Again, you seem to forget that you are looking at such practices through modern western eyes. We see them as unethical, but many cultures of the past and some of today do not see it that way. For example, it was a cultural practice for warring sides to pillage and plunder the villages of their enemies, raping the women, etc. Today we see that as being wrong, but it was culturally acceptable in the past. Cannibalism is deplored in today's society because we are judging it from a Western Christian standpoint, but in the past, it was culturally acceptable. Heck, I'd be willing to bet that all of our ancient ancestors practiced cannibalism at one point or other. Drug abuse? Heh. That is a political issue. Paedophilia? Was always practiced and continues to be practiced today. We may condemn it in today's society, but historically, marrying a child or having sex with a virgin child was a norm. We see all of these practices as being unethical, but again, I stress to you, we are judging them from a modern western standpoint. And don't start about the liberty, human rights, etc of the individual. That is a western construct and not one that we should use to judge the cultural practices of ancient history. And we in the West should not preach about liberty, human rights and free will when we don't uphold such rules ourselves.
Now you know that even in ancient times such a practice is criticized: "
Terentia apparently criticized Cicero for marrying a young girl"
I told you, actions that violate personal liberties and basic rights trancends the bounderies of time & culture. Even muslim themselves try to avoid having their daughters marry at a very young age. Even the father of Aisha ( Mohammad's child bride) showed initial discomfort when Mohammad expressed his desire to mate her.
Bells said:
I'd suggest you read up on your papal history and you'd see that many of the popes of the past are also guilty of those practices.
Bells, a pope IS NOT a prophet.
Bells said:
Mmm hmmm, so you're going to expose wannabe Christians about the crimes of the popes of the past to deter them from embracing Christianity?
Done that.
Bells said:
Are you also going to expose wannabe Hindus to the fact that child brides are still the norm in today's society in the hope that they don't join up as well?
well maybe in the future.
Bells said:
And tell me something Doc, how many Muslims today do you know still practice marrying 6 year olds?
None, but they do marry 9 yr olds.
Bells said:
You're in Canada aren't you? Ask around to any Muslims that you know in Canada whether they've married 6 year old girls. While they may see Mohammed as a great prophet, I'm betting that the majority of Muslims today do not practiced as he did in the past in regards to marrying children.
Because the majority of muslims today are not as deranged as their bogus prophet. plain & simple.
Bells said:
Ah, but you only criticise one religion of such practices, and not others. I dare you to compare the marriage practices of Muslims to Hindus. But then again, you're not the type of person to want to research such things because your hatred is only focused on one thing.
My hatred is mainly focused on Islam & its bogus prophet, the real threat to the future of humanity.
Bells said:
Instead of approaching the subject with some form of rationality, you come in with all guns blazing without any recognition of the cultural practices that would have allowed such a thing to happen at that time.
No one as of yet was able to show us the cultural practices of ancient arabia before Islam. But at least we know now that the romans were nearly as civilized as we are today.
Bells said:
You failed to recognise that child brides were a norm in history,
Maybe because people like you keep failing to establish such an assertion? norm indeed.