Here is a quote from one of my earliest papers on the subject of corporal punishment from 1997 in fact - In reviewing, I will add this to the new edition of my book that will eventually come out -
"The Bible is a difficult book to understand. It requires great study and discipline to truly ascertain its intended teachings. Some of these teachings are very problematic to us in the modern world and no example of this is great than those verses that relate to corporal punishment. We who are troubled by some of these statements are not alone in feely deeply troubled by them. Others have also felt the same way. Heads have been scratched for centuries to understand the intended meanings of things just as we are doing today. In this regard, a great Rabbi who lived over 1,500 years ago named Simeon ben Lakish once said: 'There are many verses which, in all appearances, ought to be burned but are really essential elements of the Torah.' (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Hullin 60b.)"
We need to look underneath the surface to find the deeper meaning, not just to look at face value just at what is written always.
This is where books like those done by scholars like William Webb (http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/review/code=2761), Marcia Bunge and a host of others (http://www.eerdmans.com/shop/product.asp?p_key=9780802848352) are so important to help us understand what the Bible means for us today.
"The Bible is a difficult book to understand. It requires great study and discipline to truly ascertain its intended teachings. Some of these teachings are very problematic to us in the modern world and no example of this is great than those verses that relate to corporal punishment. We who are troubled by some of these statements are not alone in feely deeply troubled by them. Others have also felt the same way. Heads have been scratched for centuries to understand the intended meanings of things just as we are doing today. In this regard, a great Rabbi who lived over 1,500 years ago named Simeon ben Lakish once said: 'There are many verses which, in all appearances, ought to be burned but are really essential elements of the Torah.' (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Hullin 60b.)"
We need to look underneath the surface to find the deeper meaning, not just to look at face value just at what is written always.
This is where books like those done by scholars like William Webb (http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/review/code=2761), Marcia Bunge and a host of others (http://www.eerdmans.com/shop/product.asp?p_key=9780802848352) are so important to help us understand what the Bible means for us today.
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