Question from Dustin on 1/16/2008: 
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this question, but I have asked the apologetics forum twice and have not received an answer. So here goes. How does the Catholic Church justify the rape, slavery and murder practiced and condoned in the old testament? Even if the law does not apply today, it would seem that it gives us an idea of how Yahweh thinks. Thank you for your time.
Answer by Fr.Stephen F. Torraco on 1/17/2008:
Just because something is in The Bible does not mean that it is morally right thing to do. The Bible is a story about sinners whom God seeks to redeem.
Fr. Stephen,
ReplyDeleteThe "law" was dictated by God Himself to Moses...I agree with you about rape and murder but what about slavery (Exodus 21:1-11)? We, as Catholics, "accept(s) as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself" (CCC paragraph 105) as I know you are well aware of. I am sincerely seeking some guidance on this matter as I am discussing it with a family member.
In Christ,
Joe