Debate Guide: Religious arguments

Although religion-based arguments are not per se a convincing argument for the morality or immorality of a particular subject, it is still worth it to refute erroneous religion-based arguments on the supposed immorality of pedophilia, minor attractions, or adult-child relationships.

Reasons why

Religious anti-MAPs, namely anti-MAP Christians tend to present a distorted narrative using misconstrued or misunderstood verses from the Bible to justify the view that Christianity condemns pedophilia in particular, or at the very least adult-child relationships or the act of sex between a child and an adult.

This is false, and should be refuted because this narrative is used to justify specifically contemporary societal views on pedophilia of modern Western culture, and thereby presents a distorted view of history and a book written two millennia ago with parts that are much older, erroneously assuming these views were the same back then and by implication throughout known history for that matter.

In short, there are no verses in the Bible specifically against pedophilia. The most popularly (mis)quoted verse by anti-MAPs is the follows:

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
(Matthew 18:6)

This passage, if it even refers to children ("little ones"), rather than believers in general as some sources would interpret, refers to making them sin (for example, harming or deceiving others), in general, sometimes translated as "to stumble", i.e. making them stray from faith in God.

While there are many verses in the Bible condemning of fornication (sex outside of marriage) which as such could be considered a sin, this argument alone definitely does not cut it as an anti-MAP / anti-pedophilia argument, considering child marriage historically being commonplace, and certainly would not work as an argument against the mere attraction.

This should be a general refutation of misquoting such verses as specifically an argument against pedophilia, ideally all verses commonly misconstrued will be listed here on a case by case basis.

There are also several verses in the Bible that seem to approve of adult-child marriage:

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites ... And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males ... And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones ... And Moses was wroth with the officers ... And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Numbers 31:1-18

When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it ... And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself.
Deuteronomy 20:10-14

How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? ... And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh.
Judges 21:7-11

Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh ... And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught.
Judges 21:20-23