Courting Trouble

[mahigan]

The CBC website has posted a lengthy and cringe inducing analysis of why Roy Moore's attraction to young girls isn't as unusual as you might think. The piece called "Courting Trouble" looks into "the fundamentalist Christian practice of marrying off teen girls".

The matchmaking proposition was discomfiting to her even then, but also not wholly uncommon in the fundamentalist evangelical circles she knew down South, where some parents advocated “courtship” — the ritualized practice of encouraging girls in their mid-teens to pair up with adult men with a view toward marriage.

Preached for decades in parts of Christian fundamentalism, which takes the stories of the Bible as literal truth, courtship culture has gained greater prominence in recent weeks with reports that Roy Moore, the Republican candidate in the special state Senate election for Alabama on Dec. 12, dated teen girls when he was in his mid-30s........

While many Americans are concerned that a potential Senate representative may have sexually assaulted underage girls, his alleged pursuit of teenagers appears to have been — and may still be — an accepted cultural practice among a subset of the fundamentalist Christian community.

I was aware of the practice of marrying young girls off to older men among some of the Mormon cults but I was not aware of the prevalence of the practice of "courtship" among some fundamentalist Christians. My skin started to crawl about half way through the article when it starts talking about Roy Moore's friend Rev. Rusty Thomas, home schooling and an organization called Vision Forum Ministries and Moore's involvement with it.

I'm at something of a loss to explain how being treated like a piece of meat by your parents is supposed to turn out a strong woman with a positive sense of self worth. But then, I bailed on organized religion when I was 12 or 13 - can't say I've missed it.

More at the link

[spooky3]

1. Its pretty simple; articles like this try to complicate matters.

Just reverse the gender roles. What if a mid-30s female DA disrobed an unwilling 14 year old boy, then violently assaulted and attempted to rape a 16 year old boy who thought he had been offered a ride home? What if stalking continued so that she was told not to return to the mall?

I think all of these “Christians” would think this was at the least creepy and likely would be outraged.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Yeah, well perhaps you haven't heard of these?

Purity rings

A ring that is only meant to be for the wearer, as a reminder of their commitment to God to save sex for marriage. It is not supposed to be showy, or a symbol that they think they are superior, but simply a personal reminder. It is a big deal to the wearer, but it is supposed to be personal and only between God and that person. Granted, some people do wear them for the wrong reasons, but there are always people who do things for the wrong reasons. And yes, guys do wear them, and please, make fun of us all you want, we don't care.

These were all the rage a few years back, mainly with fathers presenting them to their daughters. Kind of creepy, really.

[spooky3]

3. I have and they are disgusting.