Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mejicovs@eniac.seas.upenn.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: The missing body/Empty tomb Message-ID: Date: 23 May 91 01:04:00 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Pennsylvania Lines: 58 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) writes: >In article hudson@athena.cs.uga.edu (Paul Hudson Jr) writes: >>Also, in the Old Testament, if a mother had a miscarriage because >>someone hit her in the stomach, the man would be killed. If the baby >>was born without an eye, then the man's eye would be removed. > >Exodus 21:22-27 > > 22 "If some men are fighting and hurt a pregnat woman so that she >loses her child, but she is not injured in any other way, the wone who >hurt her is to be fined whatever amount the woman's husband demads, >subject to the approval of the judges. 23 But if the woman herself is >injured, the punishment shall be life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth >for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for >wound, bruise for bruise. > 26 "If a man hits his male or female slave in the eye and puts it out, >he is to free the slave as payment for the eye. 27 If he knocks out a >tooth, he is to free the slave as payment for the tooth. > >It would appear that the law gives much more attention to the woman than >to her unborn child. Even if the child is killed, the man is only >fined. > > Tom Blake > SUNY-Binghamton To criticize Jewish law it is necessary to understand it. Unfortunately, perusal of the Tanach will not give one that understanding. Instead it is necessary to study how that law is applied. This can only be gotten through Talmud. If one studies Sanhedrin (a tractate in the Talmud) you will find that it is *incredibly* difficult to get these penalties (all the various deaths, blinding, lashes, etc.). However, it is not lenient with respect to treatment of slaves, animals or other things along those lines. The Jewish law is not the law of "an eye for an eye". Jewish law does hold that this is necessary in extreme cases, but attempts are made to correct the offender through other means first. Although, take it or leave it, Jewish law does not consider the termination of a fetus to be murder. Please, do not look upon Jews as a people that believe in the primacy of Justice. G-d has several names, Adonai and Elohim are both in that set. Jesus came out of that culture, and the idea that one should "do unto his neighbor as you would have him do unto you" was a primary philosophy in Judaism well before his arrival. James mejicovs@eniac.seas.upenn.edu -- (I've got Joe Applegate and Messianic in my scj kill file... but I read t.r.misc, if you have something to say about what I write on those subjects, then post there and not in scj)