Are We Kinder Than God?

Do you avoid the Old Testament because of the violence which you cannot explain? I mean, the penalties for breaking the laws are really harsh!

So, dear readers, what do you think? Could we be kinder than God and come up with better results? I am purposely asking questions, rather than providing answers. Let’s think about this together.

Early in the history of this world, right after the Great Flood that wiped out all of humanity except for a family of eight, God decreed, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” (Gen. 9:6) That’s a mandatory death penalty for murder. Most modern Western countries have decided that that is an unusually cruel punishment, opting instead to imprison the killer for a median time of 15 years in the US. However, many murder cases are plea-bargained to lesser offenses, often resulting in sentences less than a third of the median time. Then the offenders are let back out on the street to re-offend a frightening percentage of the time. That’s a good example of being “kinder than God.” Or is it?

Statistics show that 1% of the population with 3+ convictions) account for 63% of violent crime convictions in Sweden (1973–2004), a pattern echoed in U.S. studies. How is this even possible? That means that each person let back out on the street after committing a violent crime, including murder, commits more crimes and leaves more victims.

Let’s stop a moment to correlate those statistics with being “kind.”

The violent offenders appear to be receiving the “kindness.”
The terrified woman who was raped experiences little kindness.
The children left fatherless experience little kindness.
The hard-working factory employee who could afford only liability insurance on his stolen car experiences little kindness.
The single mother whose husband was murdered experiences little kindness.
The family whose house was broken into, with the interior vandalized and valuables stolen, experiences little kindness.
The family whose corner store was fire-bombed experiences little kindness.
The reporter who was seriously injured and almost killed by a mob experiences little kindness.
The mother who weeps over the body of her daughter, who died of an accidental drug overdose, experiences little kindness.

Due to modern “kindness” towards violent offenders, it seems that they generally spend less than three years in prison. Most violent offenders (95 percent) are plea-bargained (i.e., aggravated assault charges become disorderly conduct convictions, leading to them being quickly released back onto the street.

Compare that to the laws during the time Israel was directly ruled by God as a “theocracy.”

There were no prisons. Instead, the following penalties applied:
Murder: Death, with a provision to flee to a City of Refuge if it was involuntary manslaughter. Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:12.
Assault causing injury: Restitution for damages (e.g., medical costs, lost wages) if the victim survives; death penalty if the injury leads to death.
Ex. 21:18-19.
Kidnapping (to sell as a slave): Death Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7.
Striking or cursing parents: Death. Ex. 21:15, 17; Lev. 20:9.
Rape: Death if the victim is engaged or married. Deut. 22:25-27;
A fine, if the victim was unmarried, and the man must marry the woman and could never divorce her. Deut. 22:28, 29.
Adultery: Death for both partners. Deut. 22:22.
False witness: The false witness received the punishment the victim would have received. Deut. 19:16-19

Yes, the penalties above look “harsh” to modern eyes, and that’s why modern Christians may prefer to read the New Testament with the “meek and mild Jesus,” forgetting that the Jehovah/Yahweh of the Old Testament was the pre-incarnate Son of God Himself. (Compare John 8:58-59 with Exodus 3:13-15)

But what about the innocent victims of crime committed by repeat offenders? Are they not treated harshly when they have not committed any crime?

So, what do you think? Are our modern man-made laws kinder than the laws God gave to Israel?

Why do you think that the laws God gave to Israel were so “harsh”?

What factors should we consider in making a comparison?

Abbreviated Bibliography:

Note: These are relatively old statistics. As most readers can observe, violence has increased dramatically during the last 10 years or so, and more contemporary statistics might look worse.

“Recidivism Among Federal Violent Offenders,” United States Sentencing Commission. Accessed October 26, 2025.

“The 1% of the population accountable for 63% of all violent crime convictions,” PubMed, October 31, 2012. Accessed October 26, 2025.

“Violent Offenders Drive Crime and Incarceration,” Crime in America, February 4, 2019. Accessed October 26, 2025.

“When few do great harm,” Patterns in Humanity, April 23, 2023, Accessed October 26, 2025.

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I don't think we should or can be kinder than God. That being said, I get a little uncomfortable when people try to hold up the judicial system of the Old Testament as the ideal. There are a few things that we do need to keep in mind
1. As a theocracy with the high priest who wore the urim and thummin, Israel had a direct line to God. If there was a complicated case, God could be consulted. Hence there was no chance of a miscarriage of justice.
2. It was absolutely crucial as a nation that Israel be pure as they were to be a light that drew people to truth and ultimately the Messiah. I feel that's why there were so many sentences of death for so many crimes. God could not allow evil to root itself in the nation and harsh measures were needed. That is why I would not support the death penalty for say, homosexuality or adultery today. There is no theocracy now and thus those penalties do not apply. Paul seems to agree as he only urges the Corinthians to expel the immoral brother of I Corinthians 5. He never urges him to be killed. (Of course, the Corinthians would not likely have been able to do that anyway, but neither does he appeal for urging the Romans to make their laws more like Israel). We also have the example of Jesus' treatment of the woman caught in adultery which was certainly a sham trial as the man was not there, but Jesus never said, go get the man and stone them both.
3. Many of the laws do reflect the values of the world that Israel was a part of. Slavery is a key example. I don't believe it was ever God's will but He regulated it through laws. There are other examples I could mention. For example, a woman who was found to not be a virgin was to be put to death. There is no equivalent punishment for men. Is that because God only cares whether women are sexually pure? I doubt it. I feel to some extent it reflects societal standards of the times.

I have commented before about capital punishment which I do oppose, not so much in principle but because it is vulnerable to errors and miscarriages in justice, especially in regard to racial minorities and the poor. I won't rehash some of my ideas here, but I know that some people believe in it because of the Old Testament system.

However, I would remind all of us that in Israel's system, 2 or 3 witnesses were necessary to convict for a crime. One was not enough and obviously circumstantial evidence was also not enough. Many people in the US have been sentenced to death on a lower standard than that and that's especially the case for those in the groups I mentioned above.

I personally am glad that the death penalty has been eliminated in my country, Canada, and many others. I don't think it's about being kinder than God, but in our imperfect world, it is very risky to kill people for crimes. Innocent people have been executed and will continue to be. Now that doesn't mean murderers should be released in 15 years. I don't agree with that. There should be some balance.

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Are We Kinder Than God? — 3 Comments

Tim Heischberg on October 28, 2025 at 2:18 pm said:

Inge, I like your article! It definitely puts the issue in perspective however, you forgot to mention that countries that are tough on criminal offenders generally have less crime. In the United States and other Western nations it seems that the justice system is favoring the criminals rights over and above the victims rights. Therefore victims become twice victimized, once by the criminal, and the second time by the justice system's response. That makes the contrast between God's justice and American "justice" even starker!

Repeat offenders should not be allowed back into society. Many of them are sociopathic and have no remorse for their crimes or victims. Case in point the person who stabbed that young girl in the neck on the mass transit system in Charlotte, N.C., and she bled to death while others around her did nothing. He had been a repeat offender over 50 times. His own family said that he was a menace to society and should be kept off the streets.

A reprobate society doesn't want accountability or justice. They want to do what they want to do and consequences be damned. "Poor Johnny, he came from a broken family!" There are plenty of "broken families that have turned out upstanding citizens because their parent or parents weren't afraid to discipline them in their formative years.

To the question, "Can we be kinder than God?", I must say, we are only fooling ourselves if we think so. God is not mocked, whatever a person, or country sows they shall reap. The pagans and secular humanists don't realize this principle is true. For too long we (humanity) have sown the wind. Now we are reaping the whirlwind.

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- Inge Anderson on October 28, 2025 at 3:59 pm said:
  
  So it seems your answer to the question in my title is, "No."
  
  You nudged me to remember what a missionary couple shared almost 50 years ago. They had spent time in Singapore, which then had extremely strict laws, not far removed from the biblical laws I mentioned. From the news I had received a very bad impression of Singapore - as though it were a very primitive aka unsafe country. But they loved Singapore! They said it was the cleanest and safest city they had ever been in. You could leave a purse sitting on a park bench in the afternoon and pick it up the next day, untouched. (Public caning was the penalty for theft, as well as imprisonment and restitution.) They said that the city was nearly crime-free. At that time, it was probably #1 in the world for low crime rate.
  
  In the meantime, Singapore laws may have relaxed a little, and I now see it is #2 for exceptionally low crime, after Tokyo (efficient law enforcement), with Singapore listed with the comment, "Strict laws yield near-zero tolerance; excels in personal safety." Some lists put Taipei, Taiwan at the top, with "low petty crime."
  
  The bottom line appears to be that fewer people suffer with strict laws for crime and the country enjoys a more peaceful and friendly atmosphere.
  
  Contrast that with the atmosphere of fear and violence that was, until recently, the situation in the US capital. I understand that, after a renewed implementation of strict law enforcement, the capital city is again as I remember it from more than 50 years ago -- a beautiful city where tourists can stroll unmolested.
  
  If trying to be kinder than God doesn't work today, perhaps it should help us understand why and God dealt strictly with rebellions people groups in the past.
  
  Does anyone else have experiences to share?
  
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Christina Waller on October 28, 2025 at 4:42 pm said:

I don't think we should or can be kinder than God. That being said, I get a little uncomfortable when people try to hold up the judicial system of the Old Testament as the ideal. There are a few things that we do need to keep in mind
1. As a theocracy with the high priest who wore the urim and thummin, Israel had a direct line to God. If there was a complicated case, God could be consulted. Hence there was no chance of a miscarriage of justice.
2. It was absolutely crucial as a nation that Israel be pure as they were to be a light that drew people to truth and ultimately the Messiah. I feel that's why there were so many sentences of death for so many crimes. God could not allow evil to root itself in the nation and harsh measures were needed. That is why I would not support the death penalty for say, homosexuality or adultery today. There is no theocracy now and thus those penalties do not apply. Paul seems to agree as he only urges the Corinthians to expel the immoral brother of I Corinthians 5. He never urges him to be killed. (Of course, the Corinthians would not likely have been able to do that anyway, but neither does he appeal for urging the Romans to make their laws more like Israel). We also have the example of Jesus' treatment of the woman caught in adultery which was certainly a sham trial as the man was not there, but Jesus never said, go get the man and stone them both.
3. Many of the laws do reflect the values of the world that Israel was a part of. Slavery is a key example. I don't believe it was ever God's will but He regulated it through laws. There are other examples I could mention. For example, a woman who was found to not be a virgin was to be put to death. There is no equivalent punishment for men. Is that because God only cares whether women are sexually pure? I doubt it. I feel to some extent it reflects societal standards of the times.

I have commented before about capital punishment which I do oppose, not so much in principle but because it is vulnerable to errors and miscarriages in justice, especially in regard to racial minorities and the poor. I won't rehash some of my ideas here, but I know that some people believe in it because of the Old Testament system.

However, I would remind all of us that in Israel's system, 2 or 3 witnesses were necessary to convict for a crime. One was not enough and obviously circumstantial evidence was also not enough. Many people in the US have been sentenced to death on a lower standard than that and that's especially the case for those in the groups I mentioned above.

I personally am glad that the death penalty has been eliminated in my country, Canada, and many others. I don't think it's about being kinder than God, but in our imperfect world, it is very risky to kill people for crimes. Innocent people have been executed and will continue to be. Now that doesn't mean murderers should be released in 15 years. I don't agree with that. There should be some balance.

(1)

Reply ↓

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