(June 20, 2014 at 1:08 pm)Chad32 Wrote: The bible seems conflicted on whether to punish someone or not. Having to marry the woman he raped without being able to divorce her is somehow considered a punishment.It's a protection for the woman. The law allowed men to divorce their wives fairly easily. It wouldn't be right for a man to seduce a woman only to dump her shortly thereafter, especially in a society that placed value on virginity in a wife.
Another point is that atheists frequently charge that the law required the woman to marry the man. This is incorrect. It was up to the father, who presumably had his daughter's best interests in mind. If it was a case of young love and the man seemed like he would be a good husband, fine. If not, the father did not have to give up the daughter, but the man still had to pay the bride price. Deut 22:28-29 is frequently cited by atheists, but most seem unaware of the parallel passage in Exodus.
Ex 22
16 If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride-price of virgins.
