Replies

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.

From #6 "Nonetheless, not all capital offenses were regarded as equally grave. Murder is singled out as a crime for which monetary compensation was strictly forbidden (Num. 35:31), in apparent contrast to adultery (Prov. 6:32-35, where it is stated that the husband is unlikely to accept it). Insofar as the prophet Hosea’s plea may be taken to reflect personal experience (as opposed to a depiction of the relationship between God and Israel), then whether or not to put his adulterous spouse to death was his dicision to make rather than a mandatory one by society (Hos. 2:1-5; see also Num. 5:11-31 for such discretion, in contrast to Deut. 22:22). Murder is one of the few offenses concerning which Israel was enjoined, “Your eye shall not pity, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel” (Deut. 19:13). Whereas murder was understood to be an attack upon God (Gen. 9:5-6), adultery was initially understood only as an attack upon the husband’s property (i.e., it must always involve a married female)."

Far from “glossing over” the incident, Mr. Bailey points out the incident was known to Augustine and was included in Jerome’s Vulgate. The point was one of authorship, which also tied into authority given it appears to be a later insertion (after canonization), thus, it may not be regarded as scripture. Mercy is not allowed in the case of punishing a murderer (Deut. 19:13).

"While the death penalty in the Old Testament was permitted in a number of instances, it was not absolutely required...."

Actually, it WAS required for capital sin (murder).

Vis. Gen 9:6 (if memory serves) "If a man sheds another man's blood, by MAN shall his blood be shed."

God is giving Noah's descendents the rules that they are to follow in the governing of their society. In effect, God says that if you don't have capital punishment, you don't have a valid nation.