Bump!
1. I've not got time to read this fully....church in about an hour and a half....but I will have trouble with the penchant to excise the story of the "woman taken in adultery" from the bible. The story sounds thoroughly Jesus-like to me and the author glossed over Augustine's and Jerome's acceptance of the incident.
2. While the death penalty in the Old Testament was permitted in a number of instances, it was not absolutely required; e.g., Bathsheba was not put to death for adultery, and David was not put to death for murder. (In fact, Joseph did not condemn Mary to death, which was the law, and he was called a "just man" for that act.)
Mercy is allowed.