and to those on this thread who consider the law abhorrent even in light of my contextual interpretation. God did not create the social customs. people spread over the earth and created their own customs long before God chose his own people. God didn't make his law for the Jews from scratch... he made many of them to accommodate customs they already had. you may see it as misogynistic, but at that time people didn't think women could have any role other than that of a maternal role. despite this, God ensured women were protected under the law. you can't simply reform a nation of their customs they've had for hundreds to thousands of years. the bible itself states some of the Jewish laws were to accommodate the culture... just look at Matthew 19. the Pharisees ask Jesus if it's ok to divorce, he says no. they ask why Moses permitted it, Jesus says because their hearts were hard but it was not that way from the beginning.
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.
-Galileo
-Galileo
