Is it a sin to date a guy if our grandmothers are sisters?

Question:

I have a problem. I do not want to seem childish. It’s not that I am not so, but it is about a boy. I want to talk to him. He likes me and I like him a lot, too. It is a pretty big problem from my point of view, because I am a person with fear of God – our grandmothers are sisters. In conclusion, we are relatives, in my opinion, not very close, but something is. The question of a child like me would be: do I sin if I go out with him? And there is something else: he is Orthodox and I am Catholic. I am sorry that I have bothered you with my childish things. But this question is really troubling me. Thank you very much.

It is not childhood that you ask this question that troubles you and the fact that you address it means the opposite, that you show wisdom and, as you have written, fear of God. I understand that your main question is whether …

Is it possible a future marriage?

In the Old Testament it is written the book of Leviticus. In chapter 18 there is the list where are mentioned marriages between blood relatives that are prohibited. They are listed together with the list of prohibited sexual perversions and I found it reasonable to put down below the full chapter, so that you can read it as it was left by God:

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ”Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the LORD your God. You shall not do what is one in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God. So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD. None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the LORD. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. The nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover. The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for their nakedness is yours. The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife, she is your aunt. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is lewdness. You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness. Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity. You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion. Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the LORD your God.’” (Leviticus 18:1-30)(NASB)

As you see, in this list there is not mentioned that marriage between a man and a woman whose grandparents are sisters is prohibited. And yet …

It is not good to go dating

Moreover, I understand that you have this in mind when you ask if you can go out with him. You are a child and you can not marry yet. I suppose he does not have the age to marry, too. It is not good to go dating, because they will become a big obstacle for you in performing your daily responsibilities and they will create many other serious problems. In this regard I invite you to read the article “Dating and successful marriage” that I have previously published on the site http://www.moldovacrestina.net. See that there is part two of the article.

And what if he is Orthodox and you are Catholic?

The Bible does not speak about Catholics and Orthodox and in the beginning Christians were not divided into such a large number of denominations. At the same time, the Bible says that true Christian is only the one who was born again through faith in Jesus Christ and by entering into the New Covenant. I’m afraid that in your life this new birth has not yet occurred and if not, then you can not consider yourself a true Christian and you can not have hope and eternal life, because in the Bible it is written:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “(Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:1-7)(NASB)

Your biggest concern now must be your new birth, more than any other concern. Search the Bible and study the New Testament with zeal, so that you can have true, saving faith, and hurry to get into the New Covenant with Jesus as to be born again and receive the Holy Spirit of God.

Only born-again Christians, who have the Holy Spirit, only they make up the Church of Christ. A true Christian, born again, is not allowed by God to marry a person who is not born again and is not part of the same covenant, whether he belongs to another religion or that he calls himself a Christian, but remains only in name.

God help you to be born again soon and to scrupulously follow the Way of Salvation left by Jesus and described on the pages of Scripture.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru