Good luck with claiming that putting your child out with the garbage means you aren't personally responsible. "The weather did it, not me." LOL
Excuse me - were we having a scholarly discussion on the subject and I was discussing how the act was viewed by pagan Greeks of that time not what my view was. I thought you were of mind to understand that. I don't know why you assumed that view was my own.
I agree with your last statements about the hybrid aspects of our great culture.
Sorry. I wasn't trying to imply that you personally held that view.
I guess it seemed to me that you were being excessively hard on the Hebrews, applying today's standards to them, while simultaneously letting the Greeks off the hook with relativism.
The fact remains that infanticide was extremely widespread among the Greeks, Romans and other ancient peoples, while being unknown among the Jews of the time. It may have been considered a sin or taint by the Greeks, but it certainly wasn't a crime punishable by the state. Infanticide among the Jews was a capital crime, viewed as murder exactly as it is today.
(Unless you can kill the kid when he's not quite fully born yet.)
Although for some obscure reason baby or child killers tend to get lighter sentences than those who kill adults.
BTW, there is a movement afoot today, popularized by Professor Singer, to return us to essentially the Greek attitude towards infanticide.