One story in the bible that I always wondered about is the one in which Jesus saves a woman from being stoned by telling the crowd: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:3-11). I always wondered (somewhat snarkily) why Jesus himself doesn’t start the melee given that he is (supposedly) “without sin.”
Christopher Hitchens writes about this incident in God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
First, he points out that the New Testament is supposed to vindicate the “gruesome laws of the Pentateuch,” of which stoning adulterers is one. How, then, does Jesus (who is not yet, at this point in the story, “proven” to be divine) get off undermining that code and “forgiving” a criminal? What authority does he have, and what does this incident say about Mosaic law?
Second, regardless of the cruelty of the punishment, how is a justice system supposed to work if only non-sinners can prosecute individuals?
Third, the woman in question was caught in the act of committing adultery, but there’s no mention of her partner-in-crime who, by the same law (Leviticus 20:10), should be stoned to death as well. And not only does he escape punishment entirely, but the woman apparently gets off scot free as well after Jesus intervenes. Does this imply that Christianity should take a more liberal attitude toward sexual transgressions? That adultery is OK and forgivable?
Given that this parable seems to demonstrate that Jesus advocates ignoring the laws laid out in Leviticus in favor of something approaching reason and tolerance, and that he seems to think that deviant sexual practices are OK, maybe today’s Christians can follow that example with regards to lying with mankind, as he lieth with a woman. They don’t seem to have a problem cutting their hair and shaving (Leviticus 19:27), or with the blind, lame, or flat-nosed (Leviticus 21:17-18).
