Hi runner,

Are you referring to the practice, hopefully not in Australia, of overnight 'marriages' ? Since men can have four 'wives', if a bloke has 'only' three, in some parts, he can 'marry' a woman, presumably by paying an imam, and then divorce her in the morning, presumably after also paying an imam. Quite an earner, one would think.

In the Middle Ages in Catholic Europe, churches offered dispensations, indulgences, etc., and ran brothels out the back, perhaps where something similar was arranged, and properly paid for.

In this way, prostitution is not only allowed, and men satisfied, but the mosque is also enriched: win-win-win !

Perhaps it is the absence of 'free will' in Islam, but it does seem that often observance of the spirit of the 'divine law' is somewhat circumvented by the observance of the letter of the law. As with prostitution. Similarly with money-lending, by banks and in the case of mortgaging. [More on that if room permits].

I wonder if, in religions which do have some sense of free will, one must grapple in one's own mind - without relying on being told what is the letter of the law - with what is right and wrong, and act accordingly, but in religions where it is all prescribed for you, chapter and verse, over time all sorts of means have been found to get around the spirit, in order to put the letter into practice, and make a buck.

Fascinating.

Cheers,

Joe

Dear Is Mise,

Many states in the USA permit child marriages
according to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage

Wikipedia tells us that child marriage was common throughout
history for a variety of reasons - including poverty,
insecurity, as well as political and financial reasons.
I wonder how many child marriages Henry VIII had or for
that matter any of the European Royals?

Joseph (husband of Mary was 90).

Today child marriages are still common in developing
countries including - Latin America and Oceania.
Then there's also parts of Africa, South Asia, South
and South east Asia, and many others.

Foxy,

So that makes it OK in Australia today?

Do you think that Muslims should be able to marry children, consummate the marriages and have girls that are not physically mature enough to bear children go through the rigours of childbirth?

Or do you think that they should not be allowed to practice child marriage even though it is condoned and indeed looked upon as good in Islam as it is following the example of the Prophet?

//RATEPAYERS could be stung up to $45,000 to install curtains//

This sounds more like a story of local government incompetence to me. 45 grand for some bloody curtains? Either those curtains are fashioned of the purest silk threaded with precious stones, or the Mafia are doing the installation, or both. Probably both. I imagine that even Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would consider 45,000 colonial dollars an excessive quote for some curtains.

//Would all those who uphold the concept of a fair go care to comment on child marriage//

Certainly: child marriage is bad, mmkay. It's bad when the Mormons do it - and they love it - it's bad when the Muslims do it, it's bad when indigenous Australians do it, and it's bad when any of the minor cults that spring up then die off quickly (many of them apparently purely for the sexual gratification of the cult's guru) do it. It's also bad when it is just sexual abuse without invoking the concept of marriage; is it really any better for a young girl to be violated by her parish priest than her 'spouse'?

//So that makes it OK in Australia today?//

NO.

Are you some kind of a simpleton?

//Do you think that Muslims should be able to marry children, consummate the marriages and have girls that are not physically mature enough to bear children go through the rigours of childbirth?//

NO.

Exactly how slow are you?

//Or do you think that they should not be allowed to practice child marriage even though it is condoned and indeed looked upon as good in Islam as it is following the example of the Prophet?//

YES.

See, I knew you weren't stupid.

Paedophilia and child marriage are illegal under Australian law, for good reason. Australian law should come before God's law (because we can demonstrate the existence of Australia but not of God). Religious belief should not be some sort of 'get out of jail free' card.
....

continued

A crime is a crime; a sin may or may not be a crime, but a crime not being sinful should not be a legal defence under Australian law. And I'm pretty sure it isn't, but I have no training in the law so I could be wrong.

If you inflict unnecessary surgery upon an individual who cannot give consent - e.g. if you mutilate a child's genitals when they are very young - you should be charged with grievous bodily harm. Sadly, we have a ludicrous double standard in our society which says that FGM is bad, mmkay, but MGM is fine. I think child genital mutilators should be charged under Australian law regardless of their faith or the children whose genitals they are mutilating. So yes, round up the Muslims and throw the book at them... but at the same time round up the Jews and the Christians who are guilty of the same crime. Anything else would be a double standard.

If you are a psychiatrist/psychologist/counsellor, you are duty bound to report violent and sexual crimes confessed to under what would otherwise be doctor/patient confidentiality. The same rules should apply to Priests hearing confession. But they don't. Do you think Catholic Priests who hear confessions of violent and/or sexual crimes should be duty bound to report them like other counsellors are?

If you marry a child, you are a rock-spider and a criminal. Quote all the scripture you like; it's of no relevance to pantheists. I don't care about your Good Book, because its complete bullshyt. The Australian legal system is not built on your scripture. If you had your child's genitals mutilated then you're a criminal, even if you're a Jew maintaining some non-existent Covenant with your non-existent God. If you protect paedophiles and murderers then you're a criminal, even if the Catholic Church gives you a pat on the back. If you marry children then you're a criminal, even if it's condoned in the writings of your Prophet (Joseph Smith).

Feel better now, Toni?