Expert: Jim Miller - 9/11/2011

Question
why, dose the ot talk about stoning people to death for there sins? isnt that un Christian?

Answer
Would it be easier simply to make them fall dead at your feet (Acts 5:1-11)?  There are various reasons for stoning someone in the Old Testament.  Some have to do with the severity of the wrong, some have to do with the time and place, and how the transgression would impact the community.  And sometimes, I believe, it has to do with the mindset of the people.  Some cities were completely killed off in the Old Testament, but for at least one case, Judges 21:8-12, it is clear that the people were following their own twisted ideas, not God's will.  Most of this story, Judges 19-21, is about God's people doing things that God definitely did not approve.
I hope you find this helpful.
Jim Miller