Odpovědi na apologetiku: Mohamed a Aiša: Difference between revisions

====Mary married 90-year-old Joseph when she was only 12, so Joseph was a pedophile too====

Everyone who makes this claim, cite the same New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia page.<ref>Charles Souvay - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm|2=2011-10-24}} St. Joseph] - The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 24 Oct. 2011</ref> What they do not mention is that this page begins by warning readers, "the apocryphal literature is full of details, the non-admittance of these works into the Canon of the Sacred Books casts a ''strong suspicion upon their contents''".<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia 1">"''The chief sources of information on the life of St. Joseph are the first chapters of our first and third Gospels; they are practically also the only reliable sources, for, whilst, on the holy patriarch's life, as on many other points connected with the Saviour's history which are left untouched by the canonical writings, the apocryphal literature is full of details, the non-admittance of these works into the Canon of the Sacred Books casts a strong suspicion upon their contents; and, even granted that some of the facts recorded by them may be founded on trustworthy traditions, it is in most instances next to impossible to discern and sift these particles of true history from the fancies with which they are associated. Among these apocryphal productions dealing more or less extensively with some episodes of St. Joseph's life may be noted the so-called "Gospel of James", the "Pseudo-Matthew", the "Gospel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary", the "Story of Joseph the Carpenter", and the "Life of the Virgin and Death of Joseph".''" - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm|2=2011-10-24}} St. Joseph] - Charles Souvay, The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 24 Oct. 2011</ref>

According to Wikipedia, apocrypha is defined as "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", and "Christian texts that are not canonical."<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrypha|2=2011-10-24}} Apocrypha] - Wikipedia, accessed October 24, 2011</ref> Thus they can be considered as the Christian equivalent of da`if (weak) or maudu [[List of Fabricated Hadith|(fabricated) hadith]].  

Something that is non-canonical is not binding on a follower and can be ignored. There is no authoritative Christian text which state Mary's age. Claims about her age are, at best, educated guesses, but guesses none-the-less. Bukhari and Muslim, on the other hand, are canonical Islamic writings of the utmost religious authenticity, accepted by approximately 90 percent of the world's Muslims.

Even if we do accept this tu-quoque logical fallacy as a valid argument, there remains several problems. The first being the fact that the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia page does not say Mary married Joseph when she was aged only 12.  

What it actually says, after warning readers once again that the stories are "unreliable", is that Mary was 12 to 14 at the time of the choosing of candidates, and the Annunciation (the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the ''virgin'' called Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus)<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation|2=2011-10-24}} Annunciation] - Wikipedia, accessed October 24, 2011</ref> took place two years later.<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia 2">"''It will not be without interest to recall here, unreliable though they are, the lengthy stories concerning St. Joseph's marriage contained in the apocryphal writings. When forty years of age, Joseph married a woman called Melcha or Escha by some, Salome by others; they lived forty-nine years together and had six children, two daughters and four sons, the youngest of whom was James (the Less, "the Lord's brother"). A year after his wife's death, as the priests announced through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Juda a respectable man to espouse Mary, then twelve to fourteen years of age. Joseph, who was at the time ninety years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates; a miracle manifested the choice God had made of Joseph, and two years later the Annunciation took place. These dreams, as St. Jerome styles them, from which many a Christian artist has drawn his inspiration (see, for instance, Raphael's "Espousals of the Virgin"), are void of authority; they nevertheless acquired in the course of ages some popularity; in them some ecclesiastical writers sought the answer to the well-known difficulty arising from the mention in the Gospel of "the Lord's brothers"; from them also popular credulity has, contrary to all probability, as well as to the tradition witnessed by old works of art, retained the belief that St. Joseph was an old man at the time of marriage with the Mother of God.''" - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm|2=2011-10-24}} St. Joseph] - Charles Souvay, The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 24 Oct. 2011</ref> This would make Mary 14 to 16 at the time of her marriage, not 12, or 9, as was the case between Muhammad and Aisha. She would have been a teenager of child-bearing age, not a pre-pubescent pre-teen child.

Another problem is that the theological significance of Joseph and Muhammad to the Christian and Islamic faiths are incomparable (i.e. the logical fallacy of [[False Equivalence|false equivalence]]). Unlike the Muslim view of Muhammad, Christians do not consider Joseph to be an uswa hasana (excellent model of conduct). Joseph's moral character holds no importance within Christian theology. He could have been insane and it would not matter to a Christian.

Then there is the fact that, according to both the Christian scriptures and the Islamic ones, Mary was a virgin when she conceived and gave birth to Jesus; therefore, her relationship with Joseph could not have been a sexual one until after Jesus' birth, making her possibly 17 years of age at the time the marriage was eventually consummated, if ever.  

Indeed, the same New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia page continues the narrative of Joseph's life by stating both Mary and Joseph entered the marriage with the understanding that it was never to be consummated.<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia 4">"''This marriage, true and complete, was, in the intention of the spouses, to be virgin marriage (cf. St. Augustine, "De cons. Evang.", II, i in P.L. XXXIV, 1071-72; "Cont. Julian.", V, xii, 45 in P.L. XLIV, 810; St. Thomas, III:28; III:29:2). But soon was the faith of Joseph in his spouse to be sorely tried: she was with child. However painful the discovery must have been for him, unaware as he was of the mystery of the Incarnation, his delicate feelings forbade him to defame his affianced, and he resolved "to put her away privately; but while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. . . And Joseph, rising from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife" (Matthew 1:19, 20, 24).''" - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm|2=2011-10-24}} St. Joseph] - Charles Souvay, The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 24 Oct. 2011</ref>

Mary's Perpetual virginity, the belief that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, is an essential article of faith for the majority of the worlds Christians (including the Roman Catholic, Anglo-Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Christians). It is even held by some Muslims.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_virginity_of_Mary|2=2011-10-24}} Perpetual virginity of Mary] - Wikipedia, accessed October 24, 2011</ref>

Finally, the most decisive argument against the claim that Joseph was a pedophile is the fact that the same non-canonical writings which are used to gather information on Joseph and Mary's age, also confirm Mary's status as "ever virgin" (in The History of Joseph the Carpenter, Jesus says on Joseph's death "my mother, virgin undefiled").<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.interfaith.org/christianity/apocrypha/new-testament-apocrypha/6/4.php|2=2011-10-24}} The History of Joseph the Carpenter] - Interfaith Online, accessed October 24, 2011</ref>