An eye for an eye...?

Question

There is a verse in the bible (and forgive me for forgetting exactly which one) that says something like if you steal it is better to cut off the offending hand so that you will not be tempted and perhaps salvage yourself for Heaven later...or something to that effect.

This is "an eye for an eye" thinking in some ways and that got me to thinking about the death penalty...if a person commits murder and receives the death penalty there are plenty of devoutly-religious people (and others, too) who are violently opposed to that punishment...the general theory, I think, being that murder is a sin.

So while there are some people who would rather we lived every minute of our lives according to the bible's teachings, why then do some of these same people choose to overlook things like "an eye for an eye"? For them, what determines what is reasonable to "ignore" in the bible and what is not?

Answer 1

Im a christian and I believe in the death penalty....I believe one should give what one has taken....

Answer 2

an eye for an eye is probably the most misunderstood passage in the bible. i asked my rabbi about it and he explained to me what the real purpose of the saying was. i dont want to copy and paste it all here but i can email it to you if you want.

EDIT

i went and got it anyway, sorry for the length.

"bs"d
Shalom Rachel:
The question here is: what is G-d's will? The Hebrew Bible says "an eye for an eye", etc. Does G-d want the court to poke out the eye of someone who took out somebody's eye?
The Jews who stood at Mt.Sinai 3300 years ago know that Moses did not just bring down the two tablets and then write the 5 books (of Moses), but that G-d also explained to Moses orally how to understand the scriptures. Without these explanations, the plain written text of the Bible is not understandible.
Not only are passages such as "an eye for an eye" difficult, but virtually none of the Bible can be read on a surface, literal level. For example, the Bible says that we are to do no "melacha" on the Sabbath? What does this mean?
The Bible says that on Yom Kippur, we are to "afflict our souls". What does this mean?
The Bible says that we are to wear "totafot" upon our heads and put a "sign" upon our arms. What does this mean?
The Bible says that on the 15th day of the 7th month, we are to take the "fruit of beautiful trees". What is this referring to?
The same ambiguity exists for literally the entire Bible, and indeed, G-d explained to Moses how to understand all of these issues, and the Jewish people have been following both the Written Torah and its Oral explanations for the past 3300 years.
In these explanations, G-d revealed that if someone pokes out an eye, the real penalty is that they have to pay monetary compensation for pain, embarassment, loss of wages, etc. So, if there is really a monetary penalty, why does the Written text say, "an eye for an eye"? The answer is that G-d wanted to inform us that if you do something as terrible as break someone's arm, or blind them, you deserve the same thing to happen to yourself. However, even though in theory you deserve this, it wouldn't really be just or ethical. For example, what if a pianist chops off the hand of an opera singer. The opera singer can still sing, but removing the hand of the pianist would destroy his or her ability to work.
Or what if a person with one eye takes out the eye of someone who has two eyes. That person can still see, but if you remove the one eye of the criminal, he or she will become totally blind. So, while in theory, if you take out someone's eye, that should happen to you, G-d's will for perfect justice would not be served if we carried out such a punishment, and therefore, there is monetary compensation.
In the question that you asked, about capital punishment, the same applies. The reason that Torah often says that a crime carries the death penalty, is to impress upon us how horrible that crime is. But in truth, G-d is not interested in having people put to death every day. The real message of the Bible is that G-d would rather have people repent and improve their lives (see the book of Ezekiel, chapter 18). In addition, how do we really know that someone comitted a crime? Obviously, there have to be witnesses...And G-d established laws of witnesses that were so strict, that it was virtually impossible to ever have a case where someone would get the death penalty. The Talmud says that if the court put one person to death in 70 years, it was a bloody court. In Jewish history, there was almost never a death penalty imposed.
I hope this is helpful, please let me know if you have any other questions.
With Torah blessings,
Rabbi M****** S****** "

Answer 3

The bible is full of contradictions. In one way, in the Old Testament, it says an eye for an eye, but then it says to kill is a sin (ten commandments). Then Jesus comes and says that revenge is wrong and that we should turn the other cheek.

The fact is that the bible is not God's work, it's men's work. It's been translated and modified so many times that to think it's the absolute truth is pure lunacy...

The fact is that we shouldn't need the bible or religion to tell us what's moral or not.
Moral is to not kill. Immoral is to kill.
Moral is to live and let live. Immoral is to pass judgement.
Moral is to forgive. Imoral is to take revenge.
Moral is to Love. Imoral is to hate...

Answer 4

The verses dealing with cut your hand off if it makes you sin, is teaching self discipline.

It is far better for you to discipline yourself that have God discipline you.

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life is an example of God's perfect justice.

Israel had no prison system.

Paul said that governments can use the sword to disperse justice. (Rom 13)

Is it wrong for a government not to use the sword, No. Is it wrong for a government to use the sword, No.

Is it unchristian to want the death of a criminal?

That is a moral question that the christian has to ask and answer for themself, because it calls into question the christian judging another.

Is it wrong for a christian to condemn others for wanting or not wanting the death penalty

Yes

Answer 5

1 Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

2 Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

3 Mark 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

This is not really pertaining to an eye for an eye though...... But, I do see your point though. In Matthew 5:38-39 Jesus says- Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Thank you for asking this question. After reading the scriptures about this, it has made me question my stance and it is something that I will have to ask my preacher about.

After reading some of the posts, I want to say this. I am going to study my exhaustive concordance on this topic to help me understand the meaning of these verses. I am going to talk to my preacher because he is more educated in this area than I am. There are NO contradictions in the Bible. But remember, when the Bible was written, the words they used did not necessarily have the same meaning as what they do today. For instance, when adults say something is sick, we mean gross, nasty or pukey. When kids say something is sick, they mean it is awesome or cool.. Understand????

Answer 6

That question will always be there. So many things in the Bible that people ignore and people don't live by it. There's alot of contradictions in the bible.

Answer 7

because Jesus changes how that is in Matthew 5: 38-42

Answer 8

Because the refuse to see the inconsistency and incoherent babel of their religious book.

Answer 9

Human nature: the Bible is translated to suit... you translate it in your favor.... I translate it in mine... and so does the rest.
We "pick' only whats best for us!!!

Answer 10

Shut up.