In the OT, only a panel of rabbis could authorize punishment. A Hebrew (now Jewish) court has a panel of rabbis, the accused, and witnesses. The rabbis’ job was to determine if the accusations agreed. If a witness testified falsely, that was a capital offense in itself. After the accusations, the accused could make a statement, which might in some cases exculpate him or mitigate what he did. If the testimony was inconsistent, the judges were not permitted to impose a penalty. There were limits on the punishments the rabbis could mete out. That is the principle of an eye for an eye. If the malefactor put out someone’s eye, the worst possible penalty was putting out his eye. If it turned out that in the rabbi’s judgment, the event did occur but was an accident, the penalty could be less. The Bible prohibits judges from being partial to the rich or to the poor, and were required to be indifferent to majority opinion in their ruling. It is not biblical for the majority to rule when it is wrong (Exodus 23:2). Biblically, if there is a contest between the civil rights of a minority and their unpopularity with the majority, civil rights must win.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by CanuckJacq: My response to the World Net Daily video about why Gays should be killed. http://is.gd/8EtCz #uganda #lgbt…