In Response

The following was put together a few years back in response to a discussion I was having with someone who claimed to be a seminary student.

I will post his comments first and then my response.

Here are his comments:

Some of these have more than one place [in the Bible], but I'm just giving one.

These are just a few off the top of my head, there are many more.

The following are my comments "In Response" to the statements.

Please note that I am responding to the statements made, not the person who made them; for as it says in Scripture…

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
--Ephesians 6:12 NIV

Let us therefore follow the example of the people of Berea when Rabbi Shaul (the apostle Paul) preached the gospel to them…

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
–Acts 17:11 NIV

Let us take what has been said and examine the Scriptures to see if what has been said is true. I have numbered the statements so as to ensure which statement is being examined.

Statement 1: We have laws, supposedly from God, that say it's a woman's fault if she gets raped inside of a city and condemn her to death. (Deut 22:23-27)

In Response: This is not a true statement. Let's take a closer look at the Scripture cited…

The Holy Bible, New International Version, Deuteronomy 22:22-29

²²If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, ²⁴you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death — the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.

²⁵But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. ²⁶Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, ²⁷for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, ²⁹he shall pay the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

RESOURCE: The Believers Study Bible
22:22 Adultery consists of a sexual relationship between two people, one or both of whom are married to someone else. It was to be punished by the death of both parties, since the crime presupposed the consent of both (cf. 5:18; Ex 20:14). “Betrothed” girls were treated as married women (vv. 23, 24). The emphasis placed upon the evil of adultery was primarily due to the fact that this sin reveals unfaithfulness in commitment. Since marriage is often compared to God’s covenant relationship with His people (cf. 5:5), unfaithfulness to this divinely sanctioned union was completely reprehensible to YAHWEH, who was above all totally faithful to His promises. Adultery was not only unfaithfulness to one’s partner but also unfaithfulness to God, before whom the marriage was solemnized.

22:28-29 The raping of an unbetrothed virgin had a less severe penalty than adultery. Damages (a dowry) were to be paid to her father, and the man was required to marry her. The crime did not involve a breach in relationship, and the wronged woman was protected in that the man not only had to marry her but also could not divorce her.

RESOURCE:The Learning Bible
22:22 sleeping (having sex with) another man’s wife This law forbidding sex with another man’s wife (adultery) was intended to protect a husband’s rights over his wife or the woman he was engaged to marry. A woman who was engaged was legally married even if she had not yet slept with her husband or started living with him. If a man [other than the betrothed/husband] had [consensual] sex with a married or engaged woman, both were to die. But an engaged or married woman could avoid death if she was heard screaming for help (22: 23, 24) or if the act took place where no one could hear her (22:25). In that case the man was guilty of rape and was to be put to death. If a man had sex with a woman who was not married or engaged, he was to pay her father, marry her, and support her for life [“can never divorce her”].

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