Quote:
Originally Posted by Mindy  Sarushjr, I am not a Christian, but I feel the same inner turmoil as you do about this. I do believe in God's law "thou shalt not kill" but I had a question if you don't mind?  I always thought the Bible also said (and I haven't read it in it's entirety so please correct me if I am wrong) An eye for an eye?
Or maybe I misunderstood the scripture leading up to that part? |
I found this to be interesting Mindy. I certainly don't claim to be a Bible scholar, so I have to look some stuff up to help me sometimes.
This is a quote from a Christian website that I found regarding the "eye for an eye" scripture.
For example, people may make this mistake when arguing over the death penalty. Some people who support the death penalty try to put God’s authority behind their opinion by quoting Scripture: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life." It is true that Scripture teaches this (see Exodus 21:23-24). However, the teaching dates to the time of the Exodus, about 1250 B.C.E. At the time this teaching was an ethical step forward. It taught people not to seek escalating revenge: If you harm me, I can’t do worse to you than you originally did to me.
Jesus later challenged people to grow beyond this teaching. He said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth....’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." (Matthew 5:38, 44). Jesus did not say that the law was wrong, only that it did not go far enough. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. We are misusing Scripture if we quote Exodus to support the death penalty and fail to quote the words of Jesus in the Gospels. When we use a passage from Scripture to support our side of an argument, we must ask ourselves if the passage reflects the fullness of truth or whether it is a partial truth, perhaps an early insight.