tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1674189885370836681.post3242486630758759827..comments2023-08-20T11:02:26.519-04:00Comments on John Rankin Blog: Question of Rape & Incest (1): Brown University 1989John Rankinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10711449559364529426noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1674189885370836681.post-57074807641924015962010-10-20T10:56:03.127-04:002010-10-20T10:56:03.127-04:00In the case of Judah and Tamar, you have two equal...In the case of Judah and Tamar, you have two equally shrewd people who worked God's will unwittingly. After Er and Onan had died in supernatural judgment by being unwilling to procreatively make a commitment to Tamar, my guess is that she was unattractive, she put herself in a position, dressed with the attire of a harlot, to fulfill God's will, as Judah was returning from sheep-shearing. Judah gave her proof of the union, and though he tried to have her burned as the legal penalty for being a harlot, she fought back by bringing proof that he was the father of the child. I know of no Scriptural examples of rape when children come forth by it. David's taking of Bathsheba could be seen as rape, and he tried to disguise the fact by having Uriah later sleep with his wife, but he refused and the baby died soon after birth. The Hippocratic Oath warns against harmful medical practices and forbids drugs inducing abortion. But <br />in the hierarchy of cases where physical relationships between the sexes lead to problems, surely this issue pales in comparison to most others and makes the most strict Christians look extreme even to the most strict groups in Judaism and Islam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1674189885370836681.post-33248007862247526672010-10-20T00:31:26.026-04:002010-10-20T00:31:26.026-04:00I love the way you look at and present this. It&#...I love the way you look at and present this. It's Biblical and it's common sense. Sometimes we forget that they are not mutually exclusive.<br /> <br />There IS more that unites us than divides in so many areas that we choose to quibble over. The love of God and His mercy must come first, and right beliefs are a result of that; not the other way around. I'm a little tired of the whole WWJD quip, but I have to say that I cannot imagine Jesus responding to a woman (or man) who has been raped with anything other than mercy and love. It's much harder to imagine that mercy and love also applying to the rapist; but he obviously needs it as well.<br /><br />Of course abortion is neither loving nor merciful to the woman or the infant. Perhaps abortion can also be understood as an attempt to wipe out the evidence of the rape in the hope of avoiding the pain of it? Wearing the evidence (pregnancy) of rape on your body for all to see for 40 weeks seems unbearable -- I'm not at all sure I could do it -- with out the infinite love and mercy of God.Sharie Weakleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07142076295017727303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1674189885370836681.post-61893024596732820382010-10-19T16:45:38.664-04:002010-10-19T16:45:38.664-04:00Tom -- thank you. As I further address this topic,...Tom -- thank you. As I further address this topic, perhaps you will see my concerns -- for the equal humanity of both mother and unborn child. The Lord redeems from the greatest evil. In the case of Judah and Tamar, and the "forced prostitution" on her by Judah, one of her twin boys was Perez, a forefather to David and Jesus. In terms of Amnon and (a different) Tamar, his murder happened due to David's cowardice in the face of different wives and the matter of Absalom...John Rankinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10711449559364529426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1674189885370836681.post-54913264970264828152010-10-19T16:40:14.286-04:002010-10-19T16:40:14.286-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.John Rankinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10711449559364529426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1674189885370836681.post-91894617021230750232010-10-19T10:23:03.461-04:002010-10-19T10:23:03.461-04:00Not allowing abortion in case of rape and incest i...Not allowing abortion in case of rape and incest is an unreasonable extreme. The criminal penalties for rape are severe, the Old Testament penalty was to put the malefactor to death. In the case of Shechem's rape of Dinah, the penalty was particularly severe, there is no Biblical mention of Dinah subsequently. In the case of rape, an example is given of Amnon and Tamar. Once again, angry family members took justice into their own hands and Amnon was killed.<br /><br />Marriage is until death, one man and one woman faithful throughout. It is unreasonable to expect someone forcibly inseminated to also be forced to bear the baby to term. There is no Biblical example of a woman having to do this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com