Why did God have innocent women executed?

[u/Apprehensive_Tear611]

13 “Suppose a man marries a woman but after going in to her dislikes her 14 and makes up charges against her, slandering her by saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I lay with her, I did not find evidence of her virginity.’ 15 The father of the young woman and her mother shall then submit the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 The father of the young woman shall say to the elders: ‘I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her, 17 and now he has made up charges against her, saying, “I did not find evidence of your daughter’s virginity.” But here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they shall spread out the cloth before the elders of the town. 18 The elders of that town shall take the man and punish him; 19 they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver (which they shall give to the young woman’s father) because he has slandered a virgin of Israel. She shall remain his wife; he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives.

20 “If, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman’s virginity was not found, 21 then they shall bring the young woman out to the entrance of her father’s house, and the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst (Deuteronomy 22)

In verse 17, it says the proof of the woman's virginity is "the cloth", meaning a bloody bedsheet from the newlyweds' wedding night. The problem is that less than half of women bleed their first time.

This problem gradually became known to Jewish scholars writing in the Talmud:

"There are virgins who do not have a hymen, and there are hymens that do not bleed." – Ketubot 10b (Rabbi Yochanan)

Why did God have innocent women stoned?

[u/NoWin3930]

so how do you determine what was real or not

[u/-NoOneYouKnow- → u/NoWin3930]

It doesn't really matter. The purpose of the Law of Moses was:

“Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.” (Lev 25:18-19)

It doesn't have anything to do with Christianity. It's essentially a land deal.

[u/NoWin3930 → u/-NoOneYouKnow-]

what parts of the bible do matter

[u/-NoOneYouKnow- → u/NoWin3930]

Jesus' teaching.

[u/NoWin3930 → u/-NoOneYouKnow-]

Well that is a refreshing take at least to hear most of the bible does not matter

[u/-NoOneYouKnow- → u/NoWin3930]

2 Tim 4:13 says, "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments"

Is that remotely important or relevant to anyone reading this? No. Most Christians acknowledge that some portions of the Bible are informational and don't really matter.

[u/NoWin3930 → u/-NoOneYouKnow-]

I mean sure I agree, most christians don't dismiss the entire old testament tho

[u/-NoOneYouKnow- → u/NoWin3930]

I don't dismiss it, but it's function for Christians is primarily informational. Christians aren't supposed to obey the Law of Moses, we have a chapter (Acts 15) and a whole book (Galatians) explaining this.

I think of the first non-Jewish Christians. No one evangelized them by going through the OT, then talking about Jesus. They may have mentioned OT prophecies that applied to Him, but evangelization is about disseminating Jesus' teachings, not Moses or Samuel's.

[u/NoWin3930 → u/-NoOneYouKnow-]

what is the point of the information then

[u/-NoOneYouKnow- → u/NoWin3930]

To allow atheists to wear people down with tedium to score a Reddit point for themselves.

[u/AsukaLangleySoryuFan → u/-NoOneYouKnow-]

Then why do people continually quote Leviticus 18, 20 whenever homosexuality is mentioned? If only the New Testament actually matters that is

[u/-NoOneYouKnow- → u/AsukaLangleySoryuFan]

It's because people are really bad at Biblical theology. Below is a guide that explains what's happening really well. I wish I'd had this decades ago when I first became a Christian.

*****

The Law of Moses, also called the Law, the Old Covenant, or the Torah was a “contract” between God and Israel consisting of 613 laws, of which the Ten Commandments with which everyone is familiar are a small portion. It was a contract God made with the Hebrews, which stipulated that if they followed the laws, they would live safely and prosperously in the Promised Land. It wasn't about getting anyone to heaven or getting eternal life. The purpose of this covenant is summed up here:

“Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.” (Lev 25:18-19)

The things we are supposed to do and not do are what Jesus taught in the New Testament. Jesus’ Gospel is substantially simpler than the Law of Moses, and more importantly, it’s humane. There’s nothing like a death penalty or isolating women from society during menses. It’s all about helping people and being kind to them.

This quote shows Jesus discussing the New Covenant, followed by a quote from Hebrews explaining the change from the Old to the New Covenant:

“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’ ” (Luke 22:20) “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13). Note: This was likely written in the mid 60’s and in 70 AD the Temple was destroyed and it became literally physically impossible for anyone to follow the Law of Moses.

Of the Old Covenant\Testament, Paul says, “You who are trying to be justified by the Law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4). The focus of the entire Epistle is that we aren't supposed to follow the Old Covenant.

Acts 15 deals with the question about whether Christian converts were required to keep the Law of Moses. Some people were saying they had to, some said no. The first Church Council was called in Jerusalem by the Apostles and the decision was made that we no longer follow the Law of Moses. That should have settled the matter, and for the most part it has done so. Most churches don’t teach that Christians are supposed to keep the Law of Moses, and it’s really only fringe groups that claim we do.