Why does god want to cut off women's hands?

[John V]

If a lighter sentence can be handed down for failing to cause significant damage, what's the deterrence value of the maximum punishment?

You misunderstand. The sentence is the same. It's more or less severe than the offense because the actual damage of the offense is variable.

Neither is the death penalty in practice. Punishments, regardless of severity, only have a limited deterrence value.

The death penalty has likely not been a deterrent in modern societies because it typically only applies to murder.

Dear jesus. It's pointing out the slippery slope fallacy inherent in promoting deterrence (if we aren't hard on criminals, more people will become criminals). If cutting off hands is acceptable because of the alleged deterrence value of savage punishment, why not apply the most savage punishment for any crime to maximize deterrent value?

First time I've seen someone deny the slippery slope fallacy by continuing to advocate it.

Gotta set aside a day for the Yahweh brainwashing.

First, there's no requirement for brainwashing on the Sabbath. Even if there were, why would that apply to slaves and servants, if this is really just a man-made law? It also applied to animals and foreigners, who were not part of any brainwashing.

I don't need to because that was never the point.

It was the point in your last post.

Non-gods are fallible and imperfect. Perfect gods must meet perfect standards. The slightest flaw of any kind ruins perfection. A god who compromises or regrets a decision he made is a God acknowledging his own mistakes. A god who makes mistakes is, by definition, not perfect.

I disagree that compromise necessarily implies a mistake.