Why does God appear to be supporting the abuse of slaves and women in the Bible?

[Shri Anil asked:Please refer to the following passages from the Bible. Could You kindly clarify the meaning of these controversial verses from Old Testament of the Bible?

1. On slavery: Exodus 21:20-21 – “If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.”
2. On rape: Deuteronomy 22:28-29 – “If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he 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.”
3. On killing children: Hosea 13:16 – “The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open.”
4. On adultery: Genesis 38:8-10 – “Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so he put him to death also.”]

Swami replied: The answers to each of the passages quoted above is given point-wise below:

1. In the the case of the slave owner, the owner might have beaten the slave for some mistake done by the slave due to ego and arrogance. But the punishment given by the owner should not be so severe as to take away the slave’s life. Punishment is expected to reform the person and not to kill the person, unless the person has killed some other person. Even if a person has killed another person, but if the killer has completely reformed and there is a guarantee that he will never kill a second person in the future, death punishment should not be given to the person. Death punishment is only given to avoid the criminal soul killing an innocent person a second time. For any sin done for the first time, a chance for reformation should be given. Punishment must be executed if there is no such hope of future reformation.
2. This punishment is quite reasonable because of the value of the character of the female or male. Such punishment is quite reasonable, under the social circumstances of that time. This punishment adopts a practical approach in dealing with some unfortunate incidents that might inevitably happen due to the natures of men and women. In the face of such a violation by a man, it is important that the woman is cared for by someone for the rest of her life. If the violator is punished in some other way, what will happen to the violated woman? She might find it impossible to find another man who would willingly marry her and take care of her for the rest of her life. So, the man who violated her is fined and made to marry her and he also loses the right to divorce her.
3. Sometimes, the punishments announced for certain crimes are disproportionately high so as to create fear in the minds of the public and prevent them from committing crimes. But when the actual situation of punishing the criminal comes, the law should be reviewed and necessary modifications in the punishment to suit the specific circumstances should be made. The law should not be followed blindly, word by word. This means that there is an advantage in threatening the public with a punishment that is more severe than necessary. It instills fear in the minds of people due to which, they strictly avoid committing those crimes. In this initial stage, before the crime is committed, there is this threat of a very severe punishment, which exceeds the gravity of the crime. But during the actual trial and judgment in the case of a criminal who has committed a crime, a balance between the gravity of the crime and the severity of the punishment must be maintained. The first case is about the prevention of sin, whereas, the second case is about giving a justified punishment for the committed crime, in which a balance between the gravities of the crime and punishment is maintained.
4. The case may look very simple at the outset and the punishment for the crime may look even simpler. But one case differs from another in several crucial points. So, a specific judgment must be given, based on very careful analysis of all the deep points of the case. One case and its punishment cannot be generalised to every case.

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| Shri Datta Swami | Why does God appear to be supporting the abuse of slaves and women in the Bible? |

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