Dear Clezan:

Yes, these people have taken the passages way out of context and also fail to understand that the Old Testament was not written in English, but in Hebrew, thus, the Hebrew is what must be analyzed to understand the passage.

In addition, this passage is referring to a regulation from Mosaic law. All regulations of the Mosaic period became null and void when Jesus died on the Cross and began the New Covenant. Thus, these regulations do not apply to Christians, any more than regulations about eating pork, or regulations about the Sabbath, or regulations about ritual cleansing after a woman's menstruation apply to Christians.. The commentators are wrong, therefore, that this passage in Deuteronomy has anything to do with Christianity condoning or not condoning rape.

A study in Hebrews reveals that these passages are not speaking of rape, but are speaking of a seduction in which the woman consents. But, even if the passage is talking about rape, it is absolutely not condoning it. Just the opposite, as the verses throughout this chapter, it abhors rape.

This whole chapter must be understood in the context that illustrates how valued is virginity. The price of adultery for both parties is death. The penalty of having sex with an engaged woman is death for the both of them as long as the woman cries out (as proof that she is not consenting).

In Deuteronomy 22:28-29, assuming it is talking about rape, which is not at all clear, the rapist does not get away with it. He is penalize by a fine of fifty shekels, which is about ten years wages. Think about what you make in annual income. Times that by ten, that that is the fine. Think about how long it would take to pay off that debt. This was the most serious penalty for rape than any other legal system of its time. In fact, to penalize a man for rape was quite unusual in those days. So the fact that this man was given such a harsh fine was quite remarkable.

Secondly, in todays thinking, the woman having to marry her rapist is abhorrent. But, we cannot apply 21st Century sensibilities to the culture of the Middle East 3000 years ago.

In those days, if a woman was not a virgin (excepting widows), she was damaged goods and was not likely to find a husband. For a woman in those days to be without a husband could force the woman to go into slavery, prostitute, or to die in the streets.

One has to understand what Moses was trying to do. The culture of those days was barbaric. Moses was trying to move the culture forward to a more civilized position. He could not force people to change overnight, but he could introduce law that would slowly advance the dignity of the human person.

For example, the law about an "eye of an eye". This sounds barbaric to us, but this was actually an improvement back in those days. Before the Mosaic law, people would seek revenge in an endless feud. Before long, people on both sides of the feud would be limbless. Moses, moderated that revenge in saying that if someone harms you, the revenge must equal what was does to you and no more. This ended the endless feuds.

By the time of Jesus the culture has advanced enough for a more mature approach to be introduced to not take revenge at all, but to forgive.

In the case at hand with Deuteronomy 22:28-29, women were considered property and even a commodity back then. Men could use them and discard them at will. Moses tried to moderate this with laws about marriage ans divorce and about sexual relations.

In this passage, the woman marrying her rapist (if that is what he was), and the man forbidden to divorce her, protected the life of the woman. This was a step forward from what was otherwise the case to just discard the woman like trash and let her die. Marrying the rapist was a far better choice then ostracism and death.

As the culture advanced, and as Jesus taught the fullest teachings about human dignity, these issues also advanced. St. Paul lifted women from a position of property, to a position of equality with men. Our Blessed Mother raised womanhood to an even greater position of honor.  

Change comes slowly in society. If took 1000s of years to get to the point that we are now where we consider not only women, but also blacks and other peoples, as equals under God with equal rights to be treated with the dignity that every human deserves. Even now, that equality is under treat, so society is still evolving. At least we have the fullness of the Revelation of God and His economy to guide us; Moses had only a small piece of that Revelation.

Yes, things were barbaric in those days according to our standards. But, Mosaic law sought to change that by enacting laws that would slowly bring the society to a better civilization.

The bottomline is that Deuteronomy 22:28-29 is probably not about rape in the first place, but about consensual fornication, but if it is about rape is absolutely does not condone it, but gives the rapist the most severe penalty for rape known to any legal system at that time. And the regulation saves the life of the woman. Otherwise she would have been discarded, rejected, and left to die in the streets.

We must look at this in the context of the Scripture and in the context of the times 3000 years ago.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary