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Liability for abuse vs. capital sin - Printable Version

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Liability for abuse vs. capital sin - joshua - 01-11-2015

In the Divine Code it speaks of sex with a girl under three and boy under nine is not a capital offence. And its not considered sex. Can you explain this?


RE: Liability for abuse vs. capital sin - Director Michael - 01-12-2015

Within the 7 Noahide Commandments, one of commandments is that for certain categories of partners, those who reach the age of majority are liable for a capital sin if they willingly engage in the forbidden "sexual intercourse." The age of legal majority (adulthood), in terms of liability for sin, is 13 for a male and 12 for a female.

(a) In terms of heterosexual relations, in concert with the physical development of the bodily organs as a child matures, the act which the Torah Law defines as "sexual intercourse" comes into effect for a girl at the age of three or more, and for a boy at the age of 9 or more. But in addition to that capital sin, which is the most severe degree of sin, there is also (possibly or probably) the commission of the sins of physical and/or emotional abuse (which falls under the heading of the Prohibition of [Murder and] Injury), especially in the case when the victim is a minor child, and of course those added sins are also punishable in G-d's judgment.

As with any sins, it is up to the ruling government to establish the penalties for committing such abuse of minor children, and within the Noahide commandment for Law as Courts, they are obligated to do so. As the lawmakers deem it necessary for the society, and the citizens agree, it can be classed as either a civil or a capital crime within the system of civil justice.

(b) As explained in "The Divine Code," an adult male who is the active partner in homosexual relations is guilty of a capital sin, no matter what the age of the partner whom he enters into.