Deuteronomy 22:28-29

[Hungry Hungry Hippo]

OK guys, here's what I wrote back to him. Did I forget anything?

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This is... Sigh... This is completely asinine! So you mean to tell me that instead of just commanding people not to rape, your god basically just said "Yeah, sure, rape is cool... So long as you've got 50 shekels." That is one of the most morally repugnant things I've ever heard! Rape is one of the most morally reprehensible crimes a person can commit, and the fact that your god doesn't condemn it in this passage really turns me off from your religion.

And really? Marrying a girl to a man who forcefully took her against her will would be better than not marrying her off at all? You know, you seem to have this problem that I notice is quite common amongst the religiously-minded folks I argue with in which you don't take the time to unpack your statements and think about their implications. So... If a man brutally rapes a woman, I think you can conclude a lot about what kind of person he is based on that, and I think the conclusions you reach would generally prove to be correct. You could probably conclude that this man has no respect for women, he has abusive tendencies, he's controlling, he has a wayward moral compass... If a society of people were to faithfully carry out this law, in many cases, probably the vast majority I dare say, you would be trapping women in relationships with some of the most abusive odious douche-bags that this world has to offer. Okay.... You know what, I have a challenge for you: Go to a women's shelter, introduce yourself to a woman who has survived a horribly abusive marriage, and tell her that you think she was better off for having been married to her abusive husband than she would have otherwise been had she never married at all... Better yet, introduce yourself to a rape victim and tell her that she should marry the man who violated her because the Bible says she should. Yeah, just try that, and tell me how it goes... Okay, actually, no, don't do that, that would be a very shitty thing to say to a woman. I think you know very well how that conversation would go; you would be rightfully smacked, and you would be lucky to escape from that shelter with your life.

And why is a girl who isn't a virgin viewed as unmarriageable? What is with this obsessive cult centered on virginity? I don't understand this at all; it's as though a woman who isn't a virgin is simply regarded as a damaged product or something and it's really kind of sickening. There are plenty of men out there who've married women who weren't virgins who will tell you that they are blessed to have had the privilege of being able to enjoy a lengthy marriage with such a wonderful, loving, supportive, kind-hearted wife; and in many cases the reason these women are such good partners is largely due to the fact that they've learned a lot from their past relationships on how to be better wives.

And why doesn't the Bible give the woman any say in all of this? You know, isn’t she a person? Shouldn’t she be allowed some say in who she marries, especially given the fact that we’re talking about marrying her off to the man who raped her? Shouldn't her opinion on the matter (Yes, I DARE say this) carry more weight than anyone else's?

Dan, you're a perfect stranger on the internet and I know absolutely nothing about you, but, do you have a daughter? Would you seriously want to raise a daughter in a society that faithfully upheld this law? If a man brutally raped her, would you seriously be alright with marrying her off to him, so long as he paid you some money? Even if it were a million dollars? No, fuck that, even if you would receive all the money in the world, would you do that? You know what? If such a situation arose, I don’t think you would. I think you might say you would for the purpose of this conversation because, well, you don’t dare show any signs of weakness towards the *GASP* ATHEIST! But I think if something like that happened to your child marrying her off to her offender would be the last thing you had in mind. If anything, I think you would fight as HARD as you could to see to it that he was locked up for the rest of his life. At least, that’s what I hope… I have too much faith in humanity to believe otherwise. And if you can sit there, and sincerely tell me that you would make her marry him, I would greatly pity you; that would be incredibly sad…

Anyways, I don’t think you’ve thought much about the consequences that would arise if people in today’s society faithfully upheld this law. Rapists wouldn’t necessarily be prosecuted resulting in some of the world’s most ghastly cases of injustice, we would have men trolling the streets preying on unprotected girls, and abusiveness towards women would skyrocket. This is common sense stuff here. Earlier in our conversation I said I thought you might be morally confused, and now I know that you are beyond a shadow of a doubt. Deuteronomy 22:28-29 is a heinous law, and you ought to be embarrassed for defending it.