Sunday, October 17, 2010

Jehovah's Witnesses take on Biblical incest - JREF Forum

Click on the title to read this thread on a discussion forum.

"So a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door to preach their silliness a few days ago, and as usual, I welcomed the discussion. They talked about how Islam was all about violence and then pointed to a passage in the Bible that talked about how God's Kingdom would crush all other kingdoms. I pointed out the hypocracy in that, which caused them to switch gears to the whole "money is the root of all evil" passage in the book of Timothy. So I mentioned how I thought that was odd because all churches pass the collection plate. That's when they cut the pleasant visit short and handed me their literature, which I hungrily read in preparation for next time.

The little pamphlet-book had an article entitled "Where did Cain find his wife?" that caught my eye immediately. From studying the Book of Genesis, they admit that Cain's wife was a descendant of Eve. Then things got weird:

Originally Posted by Jehovah's Witness literature
That Cain married his sister or a later female descendant of Adam through the marriage of any of Adam's sons or daughters is viewed by some societies today as unthinkable. This is usually because of societal taboos or fear of genetic defects. Nevertheleess, F. LaGard Smith comments in The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order: "It is altogether likely that these first brothers and sisters enter into marriages with each other, despite the sense of inappropriateness which would be felt should that occur in following generations." Also, it is noteworthy that it was not until Moses received God's laws for the nation of Israel in 1513 B.C.E. that intercourse between such close relatives was specifically forbidden. -Leviticus 18:9, 17, 24.

Today, we are milleniums away from the perfection once possessed by our original parents. The effect that genetics and heredity have on us might not have been a factor for them. Furthermore, recent studies, such as one published in the Journal of Genetic Counseling, show that unions between first cousins face lower risks of having children with birth defets than is widely perceived.
So there you have it. Incest was committed, but it was okay because God hadn't told anyone that it was bad yet. Also, Adam and Eve and Co. were genetically perfect, so they weren't affected by the (debatable) consequences of human inbreeding as we know it today.

Man, I wonder which Jesus or God I have to pray to so those Jehovah's Witnesses come back to my door again...