Bible Discussion Thread

I seem to recollect an Old Testament decree that , if your children are repeatedly naughty you should take them outside the city and kill them.

i am wondering whether Croydon is sufficiently outside the city for this purpose and if not will it be in order to kill them at home.

Perhaps you could guide me to the relevant Old Testament quotation.

Thank you.

Michael Hoare

Hi Dr Michael.

Perhaps this is what you're looking for:

Deuteronomy 21:18-21. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

For clarification, Dr Michael thought it was 'children' and this verse doesn't say anything about a children. It's likely describing an adult, because it describes him as a glutton and drunkard. Everyone is a son or daughter of someone regardless of how old you are and their capital punishment was for adults. So, I don't believe there's any verse in the Bible about killing children outside the city.

And in case it's not obvious, these civil laws were only applicable to Israelites.

You're right Adam.

That Son or Daughter could be 50 years old.

Hello, the Israelites had their own civil laws applying just to them at that period of time. Deuteronomy 17 talks about their capital punishment of wicked people outside the city, but it isn't related to children. Hearsay often distorts and conflates things and that's likely what you may have heard.

Dr Michael Hoare ,aaaahahaha ,thankyou for your humour ,you are kidding , i hope !

DR MICHAEL HOARE,

( Leviticus 20:8-9) And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

If taken literally, it is a disturbing thought. The character of God in the OT is a soul taker, unlike NT Jesus, a dream-maker.

The next time you question God's workings, why He does these things to us, things that make no sense, refer to this:

( Isaiah 55:8) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. We can't comprehend the reason; we have faith.