An unanswerable question

[Lek]

Evidently you read something in the bible that seems to say we should kill a disobedient child. I'd need a specific reference to respond to that one. I'll guarantee you it doesn't say that.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

King James Version (KJV)


18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Exodus 21

21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

I guess my warranty was worthless. Actually, you're right on this one except that these verses refer to extreme cases of disobedience and obviously apply to grown children i.e. "a glutton and a drunkard". In Ex 21:15 the NIV uses the work attack instead of smiteth. God commanded this not only to punish the individual, but to keep the evil from spreading. Evidently, it was paramont to keep order among the Israelite nation. It's true that God did give the Israelites harsh laws to follow. There were other things that required death that would not under the new covenant. I'll give it to you, this is a hard one for me also, but it doesn't mean the punishment wasn't just under the circumstances at the time. God did warn them clearly about the penalties.