Of course Mother Mary (the mother of Jesus) was a "child" (according to western standards) when she gave birth to our Savior. We have to ask whether western standards have become less Biblical,or whether African standards or more congruent with the older Biblical days, and then analyze it via various theological perspectives. Certainly the abuse aspect is not good. But what is the percentage of bad things happening to these young brides. That's the real question. How many of these young brides go on to be happy wives & mothers? Feminists of course think that pregnancy is almost tantamount to the end of women's "liberation",so much so that abortion is justified. But what does God say? Violence & abuse is bad,but does that also mean young marriage is bad?
http://news.yahoo.com/number-child-brides-soar-africa-rights-groups-164957839.html"
One very remarkable thing about Mary is that she
would almost certainly have been 12-14 years old when
the angel Gabriel appeared to her. We know this
because the common custom at that time was for girls
to marry early, at that age. The Bible never gives Mary's
age when she got pregnant or gave birth to Jesus, and
that is because when something happened that was
common in the culture, nothing was said about it. ..."
http://www.truthortradition.com/articles/mary-a-teenage-bride-and-mother
