The internets have been burning the past couple of days with claims that the APA (the American Psychiatric Association) had classified pedophilia as a sexual “orientation” in the recently released DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). A press release from the AFA (American Family Association), picked up by many conservative blogs and news outlets claimed:
"Just as the American Psychiatric Association declared homosexuality an ‘orientation’ under tremendous pressure from homosexual activists in the early seventies, now, under pressure from pedophile activists, they have declared the desire for sex with children an ‘orientation,’ too. It's not hard to see where this will lead. More children will become sexual prey.
"Sanity will never return to this culture until truth is
reclaimed. It is not now, nor has it
ever been acceptable for men or women to desire sex with children. Any who struggle with this must at least know
that it is wrong before they can combat it and seek change." - AFA Press Release
But it’s just not true. The only change in the DSM-V’s classification
of Pedophilia is that “the disorder name was changed from 'pedophilia' to
'pedophilic disorder'" in order to "maintain consistency with the chapter’s
other disorder listings.” The APA has
not said that it is acceptable for men or women to desire sex with children.
The APA has not
endorsed pedophilia as an alternative lifestyle neither has it reclassified it
as an acceptable orientation. The freakout
is unwarranted. It’s an emotional
reaction to facts not in evidence.
But the discussion did prompt my curiosity to ask the question: What does the Bible have to say about Pedophilia? And the simple (maybe shocking) answer is not much – and what little it does say might leave us feeling a little uncomfortable.
There is no direct reference
to pedophilia in the bible (not as the DSM and contemporary psychiatry defines
it – as a psychiatric disorder in persons 16 years of age or older typically
characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest toward prepubescent
children.)
Zip. Zero. Nada.
However, there are some
ambiguous passages in the Old Testament that might have some relevance. In Judges 21 (a horrible and horrifying
story altogether) concludes with the men of the Tribe of Benjamin abducting
(technically “raping”) 400 young virgin girls.
(Judges 21: 12) and then abducting (raping) even more women from Shiloh
(Judges 21: 20 – 23). Similar incidents
are recorded in Numbers 31: 1 – 18 and Deuteronomy 20: 1 – 14. The ages are not specified –
but they are “young” in the case of Judges 21 and “children” in Numbers and
Deuteronomy.
We should also recall
that, while a specific age for marriage (and sex) isn’t recorded in the bible –
the appropriate age for marriage (and sex) was much younger in the ancient
world than it is today. “In Egypt girls
were married between the ages of twelve and fourteen, and young men between
fourteen and twenty. In Greece girls
were usually between fourteen and twenty, and men usually between twenty and
thirty. In Rome, at the time of
Augustus, the legal minimum age for girls was twelve, and for boys fourteen. The Talmud recommends marriage for girls at
the age of puberty, which would be between twelve or thirteen (Yebam. 62b). Males are encouraged to marry between
fourteen and eighteen. A girl younger
than twelve-and-a-half, according to Talmudic law, could not refuse a marriage
arranged by her father. " [i]
(The similar, but still
different, issue of Pederasty (a homosexual relationship between an adult male
and a pubescent or adolescent boy) might
be discussed in some of Paul’s writings in the New Testament –but that point is
debated.)
Is this a biblical endorsement of pedophilia, or sex with children for today’s world? Hardly. But we would probably lump these things into discussions of pedophilia. The ancient world was different from ours today. Their values and cultural norms are not ours. Even if (IF! )it could be shown that the Bible endorses pedophilic sex, that does not mean that we are beholden to accept it in our society today. Slavery and genocide were once thought acceptable biblical practices…
The APA is not saying that pedophilia is okay. The DSM-V does not classify it as an orientation.
Let’s take a breath and
relax a little. We can discuss these
issues (as troubling and discomfiting as they may be) without an emotional
freakout.
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