All posts tagged: eye for an eye

Justice vs forgiveness

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Several years back I stumbled upon a conversation a couple coworkers were having in the coffee room of the place I worked. One was asking the other who was a believer about a Bible discrepancy. How come the Old Testament talks eye for an eye and executing murderers and the New Testament talk about loving and forgiving everyone including our enemies, he wondered? These two commands seemed diametrically opposed to each other and from outward appearances a contradiction. It was a legitimate question. But we see the answer to this alleged contradiction in a recent story out of Alabama. On Thursday, July 28, 2022, Joe James was executed for murdering his ex-girlfriend, Faith Hall, in 1994. Faith, who was 26 at the time, had two daughters when she broke up with James after they had briefly gone out. James was found guilty and sentenced to death in Alabama for the senseless murder and 26 years later he had run out of appeals. But then a strange thing happened, Faith’s two daughters, now adults, petitioned the …

Powerful testimony reveals no contradiction

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One of the ways that atheists and their ilk attack the Bible is by exposing contradictions that they claim occur between the Old and New Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus said that we needed to love our neighbours as ourselves (Mark 12:31) and love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), while the Old Testament talks of an eye for an eye, projecting the idea of like punishment for crimes (Exodus 21:24). They claim these contradictory themes expose a flaw in the Bible’s message. However, in doing this, they make one fundamental error. The Old Testament involved the law set down for the nation of Israel and its courts, and Jesus’ message was personal. It was for the individual, you and me. While the individual needs to forgive any offence done to them, in the more serious cases, the nation must still dispense justice. And this was on display in the sad case involving Darrin Ray. In 2006, while studying counselling with the intent of entering the Christian ministry, Ray and his daughter were on their way …

“Eye for an eye” means you love your neighbour as yourself

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Español: “Ojo por ojo” significa que amas a tu prójimo como a ti mismo “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,” Moses (Exodus 21:24 NASV) “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” Jesus (Mathew 22:39 NASV) At first glance, the Bible seems a book of extremes. In the rough and tumble Old Testament, you have the law demanding “eye for an eye” compensation if a person was injured. If you gouged out a person’s eye, then your eye was gouged out. Then in the New Testament you have Jesus who taught “love your neighbour.” Anyone reading these passages would be very confused —  “eye for an eye” does not seem very loving. But have you ever noticed there is something strangely missing in the Old Testament?  There is not one account of a person having their hand cut off or their eye gouged out due to a crime they committed — even though the law required it. Jesus wades into the controversy Then to make matters worse, Jesus weighs in …