Divine Punishment In The Tenakh

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Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, God distributes divine punishment amongst offenders of his divine law and commands. The severity of these punishments differs greatly, from the use of plagues to total destruction. Many biblical scholars argue that the holy scriptures promote the idea of retributive justice (something along the lines of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justice-retributive/) defines retributive justice as the act of enforcing punishment that is proportionate to the crime or offense committed, and that no innocent person(s) should be harmed by this punishment. Because God’s divine retribution found throughout the Tenakh is inconsistent …show more content…

And they will not ever be forgiven by …show more content…

Even in the idea of Hell, eternal suffering is a punishment, and it is the worst kind of punishment one can endure. Knowing one has sinned and would not be forgiven is a punishment so great, that in the New Testament, God chooses to sacrifice His only son to show all of mankind that God is able to forgive their sins. Therefor no man would be given the punishment to walk the earth in shame in the eyes of God as Cain did again. Suffering is only given as a punishment for grave sins against God, being idolatry and the murder of a righteous man. Regardless, these two forms of divine punishment, are much too severe for the punishment for sinning, therefor it does not conform to the theoretical prospect of retributive

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