Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of inappropriate behavior with a 14-year-old girl in 1979 when he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney. The woman, identified as Leigh Corfman, went on the record with Washington Post to describe how Moore took her for a drive before kissing her and putting her hands on his underwear. Her story was backed up by her friends, and other women have come forward and alleged that Moore "pursued" them while they were in their teens.
Since the Washington Post story broke, Moore has been condemned by a whole host of prominent Republicans.
And then there's this, from Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler, who has come up with quite possibly the worst defense of all time for this sort of alleged behavior:
Wow. This defense of Roy Moore from AL state Auditor Jim Ziegler:
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) November 9, 2017
"Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”https://t.co/IhaWiCEFmq
While traditionally Mary has been regarded to have been about 14 or 15 years old at the time of Christ's birth, and Joseph is generally agreed to have been an older adult, there's one key difference between the story of the birth of the Son of Man and these allegations against Moore: Mary and Joseph never had sex and (as this Catholic author professes) Mary's virginity is perpetual. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, and to say otherwise is to promote heresy. There was no physical relationship between Mary and Joseph.
First things first: just, no. The Bible is not a way to justify an adult behaving inappropriately with someone who is a freshman in high school.
Secondly: there is no way to justify a 32-year-old being in any sort of relationship with someone who is a freshman in high school. She was a child, regardless of how old she may have looked, or what she may have been wearing, or any other excuse.
The allegations against Moore are disturbing. So is using The Bible to try to justify his behavior.
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