DHK said:
For this cause shall a man cleave to his wife (woman--not child), and they twain shall be one flesh. It can't be done consenually with a child.
I have to say that you are stretching to some awfully great lengths to establish your position but it's not my point to attempt to argue the legitimacy of elder men marrying children but only say that betrothals and marriages of very young children is well-known even in European Culture. This wasn't unique for Semitic Culture nor was it unique for Muhammad ibn Abdullah.
Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
--Read the story. They weren't six year olds.
The fact that they were not six, or nine or thirty is beside the point. This story isn't attempting to establish an age of marriage... You are trying to read into Scripture our own modern notion of an age of marriage. History will tell you what the norm of practice was throughout every Culture.
When Isaac was forty he took a wife for himself. But how old was Rebekkah?
Where in the Bible do you find young children being married with God's consent. It is not there. Children do not enter into a marriage relationship of their own consent. Marrying at the age of six is more akin to slavery than to marriage. There is no consent on the child's part. And it is doubtful that three years later at the age of nine there would be any consent either. In fact, by the records in the Hadith there wasn't. She wanted to play with her friends instead. If you read the link in its entirety the Hadiths are quite conclusive in this matter. It is only natural that a Muslim would want to deny any such allegation.
Be aware that there isn't an overt established age of marriage found in Scripture. I don't know how you moved the topic to 'God's consent' but we are talking about the 'modern notion of consensual sex' which is not actually found in Scripture at all.
Marriages 'by and large' have historically been 'planned'. It is actually a very recent practice for individuals to decide that they 'of their own accord' are 'getting married'. In fact, you may note that only a generation ago suitors seeking a daughter's hand in marriage always asked the father for his consent. Consent was given by the father not by the child, historically speaking. This allow for betrothals very early in a child's life and allowed for very early marriages as well.
As I have said, there is no consensus among Islamic Scholars concerning the actual age of consummation. Maulana Muhammad Ali makes a detailed historical argument that Aisha was betrothed at nine or ten, but was fifteen at marriage, while Moiz Amjad agrees with Hafiz Niaz Ahmad and Habib ur Rahman Kandhalwi and argues on the authenticity of hadith regarding Aisha's age and shows that it contradicts with other Islamic literature and puts her age at marriage as late as twenty.
You, and many Christian apologists who attempt to discredit Muhammad ibn Abdullah, draw your argument from a handful of Hadith which all draw their references to Aisha's age from one source "Burkhari". Now I'm not suggesting that we should throw out Burkhari but I am saying that the evidence as well as traditional Islamic Scholarship does not hold to a particular position because there is no certainty.
Now you are entitled to hold to the ages mentioned by Burkhari and from our modern sense of decency label Muhammad whatever we wish but you should be aware of the questionable foundation in which we launch our criticism. Muslims are not going to find your argument persuasive because they are aware of the historical doubts concerning this matter. If we are honestly attempting to create valid arguments which are going to convert Muslim to Christianity then I would say that we need to find a firmer ground in which to offer criticism. If all we desire to do is badmouth their Prophet then have at it.
