This is a commonly discussed issue (at least as far as BL issues are 'common'): Is actual sex with a child wrong in its basic essence, or merely in the context of our culture? The article argues that it is "primarily a moral issue." and that empirical evidence can't be applied. This does not sound like science to me, but faith or religion. If, in fact it is then a religious issue, or even just a philosophical one, then there are only two ways to look at it: either it is an issue that is cultural (ie gender roles) or it is a religious absolute (ie marriage). In the one case, a cultural issues is entirely subjective to the culture of context. The same situation moved into another culture may be of entirely different flavor. These differences can be seen and studied by psychologists, philosophers, and anthropologists (read: empirical data). Cultures can also change, often rapidly. The other case, that of religious issues, will differ greatly from one religion to another, but does not change very much over time, as the people tend to believe that these things are set in stone for all eternity.

I am currently of the belief that homosexuality and pedosexuality are not condemned by the Bible. Others might disagree, but that is neither here nor there for now. I have also read, and posted about, several studies and meta-studies that give a very strong argument that childhood sexual experiences involving an adult are not harmful, and may even be beneficial, to boys (note: girls are the other way around). All we see in the media are the rapists, and the horrible results in their victims. What we do not see is revealed in the studies of adults commenting on their childhood experiences and the impact on their lives. And they have told us a very different picture. And all of that is just in our culture! If we move outside our culture, there are tribes of people who intentionally sexualised their boys as young as possible. If we go into the past, we see the Greeks and Romans, the Japanese, all having positive structures of pedosexuality.

Now, of course, you could just throw out all the experimental and observational data that you don't agree with, but that would be silly and people would laugh at you. Like me. And the rest of the scientific community. If you don't like the data, prove it wrong or go home.

In Christ,
~CSL

Links:
http://www.daretospeak.net/paiderastia/brong1.html
http://tperkins.com/linked_docs/TomOCarroll_radcase/radcase.html
http://www.mhamic.org/sources/feierman1.htm
This last one is from a very excellent site MHAMic which is very much unbiased, and reaches few 'conclusions' but rather presents the facts as clearly as possible.