Incest a sin? Should Incestous people be punished?

I know most people will say incest is bad genetically because it doesn't produce favorable offspring in this case children. Most children born to parents who committed incest are mostly deformed and less favorable to survive in this world. Such kids mostly do not live past 2 months. Incest to most geneticists is very bad because it doesn't introduce variation into the population which does not favor evolution. However, I don't see this case in the Bible or even in the Quran. My question therefore is this; IS INCEST A SIN? is that in the Bible and if Yes which part of the Bible? Is incest a sin in the Quran and if yes which part of the Quran? The reason for my asking of this question is the fact that God created just Adam and Eve in the beginning. Adam and Eve on the other hand gave birth to Kane and Abel who also married and had children according to the Bible. Adam and EVe gave birth to other children besides Kane and Abel and hence if Kane and Abel did married and had children, then Kane and Abel married their own sisters. What do you think? Is that not Incest? If Incest is a sin then there is problem with the creation story. What do you think?

[DaughterUK]

Incest is just another type of relationship, it can be good or bad depending on the people involved. Obviously cases of coercion, rape or child molestation are bad by default because those are abusive. Incest involving consenting adults is often good.

I'm involved in a very happy and positive long-term incestuous relationship with my dad and I run a small forum for others in similar situations. I know that society says it is wrong but I honestly believe that it is not wrong as long as everyone involved is consenting adults and adequate precautions are taken to prevent pregnancy.

Having spent the last seven years of my life in such a relationship and spoken to many others that are, I'd say that incest is on the whole neither better nor worse than any other type of relationship. There are positives and negatives to everything.

Most peoples concerns with consentual adult incest is the idea that the roles of family and the roles of lover being irreconcilable. In my experience this assumption has been totally false. We are friends, we are lovers, we are father and daughter. The roles coexist, not contradict. Understanding all of this has helped us to create a very deep and meaningful bond, the type of bond that only other incestuous people can understand 100%. Trying to put these feelings into words is no easy task, but I can assure you, it's all positive and good.

The main negative is that we live in constant fear of the rest of the family finding out about us which could get us reported and arrested. On the whole though, true love is worth a few risks, and it is worth breaking the rules for.

I don't consider incest to be a sin in any way shape or form (that's despite being a Christian), because I believe that the Holy Spirit wants us to act in a way consistant with love. I'm not going against the grain of love, I'm going with it, therefore I am not comitting a sin by being with my dad.

I realize that my view on this might be unique, and I'm willing to answer any questions from other members about this honestly. I can answer both from a personal point of view and from a community point of view. In part this is because I want the world to understand that we incestuous people are not monsters and perverts, but ordinary people in unusual relationships. We have to sacrifice much to persue this love.

DaughterUK

I am a Catholic and according to my religion, Incest and homosexuality are both bad but that is not enough reason for me to judge people involved in incestous relationships. These are some of the things we have to accept them the way they are. If we accept homosexuality as a choice then why can't we accept incest as another choice? As I said earlier on, I do not support incest as an act because my religion condemns that. I do not support homoxuality as an act because my religion condemns that. Though my religion condemns both incest and homoxuality, that doesn't mean that I should reject the fact that some people have chosen or were born to live that way. It is scientifically proven that some homosexuals were born to live that way because of certain genes in their system. If this is true then there may be certain genes causing people to perform incestous acts. Incest goes against the moral standards of the society but I think that homosexuality is even worse because homosexuality goes against nature. Nature is such that a man and a woman will come together and produce children. Homosexuality in this case is either a man and another man or a woman and another woman which goes against nature. It is just disgusting but I still have to accept the fact that some people were born to live that way. Even though Incest does not go against nature, Incest is still a bad act because it does not produce favorable results and it goes against the moral standards but still I have to accept the fact that some people were born or have chosen to live that way.

Adam and Eve were BEFORE the "law" was given unto Moses. Incest before the law would not necessarily been bad. Incest IS mentioned in both the Bible and Quran.

In Leviticus 18:6 says..."None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD."....the rest of the chapter goes in to detail as to what is close kin. Basically you are safe if the relation is no closer than first cousin.

I will be honest, I am not as well versed in the Quoran, but I did a little digging for some info. I found this....if it helps.... it says . "Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful;"

I hope that helped you out.

Thank you for sharing what the Qur'an says. It is very clear in the Qur'an that incest is forbidden. Homosexuality is forbidden too. The Catholic person said that homosexuality has been proven to be caused by a gene in some humans. That is 100% FALSE! I challenge you to find the medical journal that shows it is proven. It is simply a theory. If you look at those individuals who engage in homosexual or incestuous acts or even bestiality or pedophilia, and even any type of sex addiction, that they have some history, even as early as the first three of their formative years (which shapes who we become for life in many ways) of psychological trauma that may have even gone unnoticed. In some it is more clear, sexual abuse, molestation, child abuse in other forms, domestic violence etc.
But overall, all these forms of sexual acts are due to some form of psychosis and should be treated instead of approved of.
If the first humans committed incest, and we can only assume this since we have no way of proving it, then it may have been that God only allowed that one time that there should be a prevention of genetic defect in order to allow for normal procreation.
TO make the argument that assuming their was incest means we should all be permitted is a very dysfunctional thought process. The potential for societal harm is much greater with such relationships if they became the norm. That is the case for even homosexuality. One cannot look at one's own perverse desires and forget about how it can lead to the downfall of society. May God guide all of us away from evil and perverse thoughts and acts.

[Kofi]

I don't know much about the western world but in Africa incest is a taboo. In fact in the olden days those who committed incestous acts were stoned to death or sometimes burried alive because incest in my culture is a forbidden act which according to my great grandfathers brings forth doom and misery. Even though incest is still forbidden in Africa, those who commit incest are no longer stoned to death because the "White man" considers the act of stoning incestous people to death barbaric. I know most of you are shocked but the act of Stoning people to death wasn't just in Africa. In fact, in the Holy Bible, Stephen was stoned to death in Israel for preaching the word of God and if Joseph had not come forward, Mary the mother of Jesus would have been stoned to death too for adultery and we wouldn't have had any savior. In ancient Roman empire, people were stoned to death. In fact, Romans had some other means worse than stoning. For example, crucifixion of criminals on the cross is very similar to stoning. Before the "White man" came to my country, there was nothing like Christianity or Islam. We were all traditional worshipers and those who disobeyed the laws of the land were punished by the kings and queens accordingly. When the White man took over Africa, most of these traditions were considered barbaric and were banned therefore giving people the right to do whatever pleases them. By the way, Incest is still forbidden in Africa and I don't support incest no matter the circumstance.

Doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible that anyone involved in incest should be put to death?

[GoodLove]

Incest like homosexuality is a very great sin and God hates homosexuals and Incestous people more than any other human being on earth and if you think I'm kidding, google "Sodom and Gomorrah". Why would someone want to sleep with his own father? Why would someone want to sleep with his own brother or sister? These are very abnormal behaviors even if we put religion aside and I think these people are abnormal human beings and must be treated as such.

what the ******* why would you kill someone by throwing stones at them just because they practiced incest (why would you kill anyone by throwing stones at them) I don't and will never practice incest but I do accept people who do, they should not be punished (unless it is a parent abusing their child) and people should respect there choice. also homosexuality and incest are completely different subjects. and to be clear god does not hate anyone we are all his children and technically all related.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thank you for sharing what the Qur'an says. It is very clear in the Qur'an that incest is forbidden. Homosexuality is forbidden too....

Ok I suppose this could indeed be true. But also it is not proven to be right. Some people grow up perfectly normal and later on down the road discover that they are gay. Most incest couples are discovered because one party member is not conscenting to the relationship. Look at the internet for example.. all of these people admit that they have been keeping their relationship's a secret. And posting their input on the matter on the internet under an alias. So obviously the study's of incest that we have are mostly going to show abnormalty's or psychological problems. Any person who rapes anyone whether they be family or not obviously has problems. As for the gay's no one has said they have problems other than the fact that they like the same sex. Which in itself is viewed as abnormal. The point of the matter comes down to whether they are doing harm. And in all fairness they are not doing harm to anyone, love in itself is not classified as harm. The only thing is they are sharing their love in a way that the majority does not. So do you personally think that it is right to take away someone's free will to love? The world is going to make their decisions regardless of what anyone else thinks. Look at the gays for example.. it is not illegal to be gay... the world did not become gay because we made it legal now did it? So are you telling me that if we make incest legal the entire world is going to have incest relationships? Its a decision someone is going to make whether its legal or not. Its a private matter that has nothing to do with anyone else unless harm is being done.

[Chukwuka]

I agree with Kofi. Anybody who says incest is good is not a sound-minded person. How could you sleep with your own father? how could you sleep with your own mother? and how could you sleep with your own brother or sister? It doesn't make any sense at all. Anybody who commits incest is mentally sick and needs to be chained.