The third wedding ritual is performed through sexual Intercourse?

Even today, we are aghast at reading in the media about child brides of girls under the age of consent, being married mostly to elderly men. The age of consent in the UK law is eighteen. But, it was not the case in earlier times. (However, I am more concerned with those brides less than sixteen years of age.) There are basically two types of marriages in the UK, civil or church, of course, there are others marriages types, such as same-sex or civil partnerships, etc., etc. However, in UK law they all, including church and civil, need the bride and groom to sign the civil register, with a registrar in attendance.  With child brides, paedophiles are the first thing that comes to mind when reading about girl brides.  But what of the parents, allowing their child to wed, especially those girls around the age of puberty. Yes, there were cases of girls in the UK, and US being married at age ten, a century ago.  Again the question is asked?  Why on earth did parents of young girls consent, knowing full well that sex between an adult and child is going to take place. And take place it did, once the civil or church ceremony was over, the race began to consummate the marriage, with some cultures even in the west needing evidence that the bride was a virgin. Parents are supposed to protect their children. Although poverty exists today, it was rampant in days of yore. But that does not negate the parents’ responsibility to protect their children. There is in humans as well as other animals psyche a mechanism that kicks in when danger arises to protect our offsprings. In religionists, this process appears to be broken. We see this with all faith clerical child sex abuse, where parents still have faith in their church. In a normal situation, one would have disavowed the priest, the church, and its hierarchy, and never to set foot in the church again. On the question of clerical sex abuse of children versus the divinity of Jesus, one would think the sexual abuse was the greater likelihood for people to leave the Church. But, we see no great droves of people leaving the church, even those young and single or elderly, after reading horrendous media reports of paedophiles within the church. Yet, in a campaign by Scandinavian atheists, asking the people of Denmark to question the supposed divinity of Jesus, the responses were that 10,000 people left in a three-month period from January to March in 2016.

So what, I hear the die hard Christians say!  Well, in Denmark, part of their taxes goes to the Church, and we know God loves money!   The loss of revenue in church tax on just 10,000 leaving is a staggering forfeiture, during the lifetime of a departed congregation of the size mentioned.

I digressed slightly from the topic to show that to certain religious people who put God before anything else, child sex abuse is low down on their agenda.

Above I mentioned two types of marriage ceremony, civil and church, however, there was a religious third type, which was binding by the act of sexual intercourse!   Those amongst us who are familiar with the Laws of Niddah, will know what I am getting at.  I am not on about a law for men to have sex with sixteen-year-old girls, nor girls at the age of puberty.  I am on about a Jewish religious law that allowed sexual intercourse to take place between an adult male, and a girl (child) of three and one day old.

Niddah 44b, verse 9, is all about *halakhic religious laws. (see below for meaning)  Verse 9 is about a girl who is three years and one day old, whose father arranged her betrothal, is betrothed through intercourse.  Yes, three years old and one day, and she is a bride, and wife.

Nota bene. If her husband dies, and there is no child to the marriage, the brothers, if more than one, would be in a sexual frenzy to have intercourse with the child widow. Making the debaucher the new husband of the child, it is the Niddah Law!

*(The meaning of Halakha, also transliterated as halacha, halakhah, and halocho, is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments, subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic laws, and the customs and traditions which were compiled in the many books such as the Shulchan Aruch.)

What do you say?

p.p. for Jero Jones

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