[daniel1212]

Public stoning was the normative Biblical means of capital punishment (at the mouth of 2 or 3 eye witnesses) versus antiseptic executions by the state. The former corresponds to crime being against the community in general, and provides a better sense of justice, as well as of the reality of the gravity of capital crimes (and of false testimony), thus better serving as a deterrent, while the latter is another example of over reliance upon the government to deal with tasks.

[TigerHawk]

You’re absolutely correct. There were actually 4 methods of capital punishment, but stoning, as you noted, is the ONLY one that is a community activity (which I am all for).

One of my favorite Biblical tales is the story of the man who gathered wood on the Sabbath. A couple of Levites caught a man gathering wood on the Sabbath and brought him to Moses to see what his punishment should be. Moses told them, “It’s the Sabbath. Get outta here! Come back after Sabbath is over!” So they left and came back when Sabbath was over. “Moses,” they asked, “what shall his punishment be?”

“Put him to death,” Moses told them.
“Put him to death? He just gathered some wood.”
“Isn’t the punishment for murder death? Didn’t he murder the Sabbath? Put him to death.”

I like to believe that there were far reaching effects from this decision. First, the Levites were more judicious, and less full of themselves in the execution of their duties.
Second, after word spread around the camp(”He did what??? Just for gathering wood on the Sabbath!!!), while Moses lived, there were hardly any incidences at all of murder, adultery, stealing, or bearing false witness...’cause the people knew that Moses was remarkably strict, zealous even, about the Law.

In those days striking a parent, or just being disrespectful to one, was punishable by death by stoning. Society has degenerated a great deal since then.

Keep the Faith.