Evil Doctrines Debunked

Welcome. Today we are going to tackle a few of the verses used to say that the scripture is an immoral book.

1. Are Rape Victims Really Required to Marry Their Rapists?
2. Is Scripture Misogynistic?
3. Does the Bible Support Kidnapping and Slavery?

This has often been mistranslated to say that this is about rape. But we know that this is not the case for three primary reasons.

First, verses 25-27 give a clear instance in which rape is being discussed. In that case, a man raped a woman, she "cried out" (27), but she was in the country and no one was there to help her. The text says that the man who committed the crime "shall die" (25), but "to do nothing to the young woman" since she did nothing wrong according to the law(26). When we take verse 25-27 and compare them to 28-29, we can see two different events happening.

Secondly, different words are used. In verse 25, "forces her" is the word chazaq and yet in verse 28, the verb has been intentionally changed to tapas. That is a major indication that this is not about rape.

And finally, verses 28-29 make it clear that both parties are guilty of something. Notice that at the end of verse 28 the text says, "and they are found out." When the passage discusses the obvious case of rape, the text specifically only mentions the man in verse 25 when it says "then only the man who lay with her," and conspicuously leaves out any indication of "they" being involved in the sin.

So what is this passage about? Compare it to Exodus 22:16, which reads,

• "And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife."
• "If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins."

This was about premarital sex. Rape is a crime punishable by death according to the Torah.

A simple consideration of context eliminates most claims of misogyny in the Bible. A perfect example of this is Ephesians 5 22-24, which says wives are to submit to their husbands. Read the rest of the chapter and it clarifies on this. Plus the scripture also calls for the same thing for husbands in verse 25.

There are some cases of men and women being set on different levels, such as the punishment for Adam and Eve. But women in the truth were praised. We can see this in cases such as Acts 2 17.

In 1 Tim 2:12, when Paul states that women should not teach or exercise authority over men, this is about usurping authority as the man is the head as 1 Corinthians 11 says. Now, this is in terms of authority in general, not that the woman is always inferior to the man in every situation and that women have no rights for themselves.

For more info on this, click here: Paul: Is He False?

This cannot be answered with a simple yes or no as it depends on what you define it as. Most people think of the cases such as the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Scripturally this is not the kind of slavery. Here are the different cases of the kinds of slavery that occurred:

1. Indentured servitude (Exodus 21)

2. War criminals (The whole of 1 Samuel 17).

3. Descendants sold into slavery or being born into it.

It never justified something like the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. In fact, it condemns it.

For more info on it click here Slavery Rules in Exodus and Leviticus

Peace and blessings, and all praises to the Most High.