How to punish a thief: The Bible vs. the Quran

The Bible says that poor thieves, who cannot make restitution for what they have stolen, are to be sold into slavery.

If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. ... If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. -- Exodus 22:1-3

The Quran says that we should cut off their hands.

As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. -- Quran 5:38

So what should be done with poor thieves? Should they be sold into slavery or have their hands cut off? (Or should we cut off their hands and then sell them into slavery?)

The Good Stuff in the Quran: A summary

In yesterday's post, I compared the amount of good stuff in the Bible to that in the Quran and found that about 1% of the verses in each are (at least what I would call) good.

But what are the good things in the Quran? Here's a summary.

Pay the poor due.

2:43, 83, 110, 277; 5:55; 7:156; 9:18, 71; 22:41, 78; 23:4; 24:37, 56; 31:4; 58:13; 73:20; 98:5

Help the poor and less fortunate.

2:83, 177, 215, 220; 4:2, 10, 36; 5:89; 17:26, 34; 22:28; 30:38, 51:19; 90:12-17; 93:9-10

Be kind to your parents and relatives.

2:83; 4:36; 6:151; 9:60; 16:90; 17:23, 26; 29:8; 30:38; 42:23; 46:15

Seek the truth. Don't lie.

2:42, 111, 113; 3:66; 6:152; 17:36; 20:114; 22:30; 53:28

Value justice.

4:135; 6:152; 22:41; 42:42

Treat women fairly.

3:195, 4:25; 9:71; 30:21

Free the slaves.

2:177; 5:89; 90:12-17

Be tolerant toward other religions. Don't force your religion on others.

2:256; 43:88-89; 109:1,6

Don't steal from orphans.

4:2, 10; 17:34

Do good.

2:195; 4:85

Seek peace.

4:114; 8:61

Don't lend money at unfair rates of interest.

3:130; 4:161

Treat everyone fairly.

3:195, 5:8

Don't kill innocent people.

4:29, 5:32

Be kind to one another.

49:11-12; 90:12-17

Fight evil by with good.

28:54; 41:34

Don't kill your children.

6:151; 17:31

Don't fight wars of aggression.

2:190

Don't hate people.

5:8

Forgive others.

7:199

(The total doesn't work out to the number on the Good Stuff list since some verses are listed more than once.)

Let me know if there are any that I've left out and I'll add them to this list and highlight them at the SAQ.

Which has more good stuff, the Bible or the Quran?

In previous post I compared the amount of cruelty in the Bible and Quran. The Bible had more than twice the number of violent verses (843 vs. 334), but the Quran was about twice as violent when size was taken into account (5.36 vs. 2.71%).

But what about the good stuff? How do they compare? Here's a summary:

	Number of good passages
Bible	260
Quran	67

So the Bible has nearly four times as many good verses as the Quran. But then it's about 5 times as big. Here's how it looks when size is taken into account.

	Good Stuff	Total verses	Percent
Bible	260	31102	0.84%
Quran	67	6236	1.07%

So when expressed as a percentage of verses, the Bible and the Quran are about equal. About 1% of the verses in each could be considered good.

At least I consider them good; you might disagree. Is Leviticus 19:18 ("Love thy neighbor as thyself.") good? I think so, but that's just my opinion. How about Quran 5:32 ("Whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.")? I think that's good too. But each person must make up his or her own mind.

I'll try to delve into this a bit deeper in a future post.

Why did God hate Esau?

Okay, the answer to yesterdays bible question (Who does God hate?) is Esau. He is the only person in the Bible (so far as I know) whom God is said to hate. (Malachi 1:3, Romans 9:13)

But why did God hate Esau? Does God hate redheads? (Gen.25:25) Hunters? (Gen.25:27) Polygamists (Gen.26:34), or what?

Can some Bible-believer explain this to me?

Whom does God hate?

I’ve often heard that God loves everyone. He hates the sin, but loves the sinner. And that might be true about some gods. But the God of the Bible hates people, right along with the sin (and figs, rags, shrimp, cephalopods, and Christmas trees).

Consider these verses:

I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more ... yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. -- Hosea 9:15-16

And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. -- Leviticus 20:23

I will ... cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. -- Leviticus 26:30

And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them ... for they are ... children in whom is no faith. -- Deuteronomy 32:19-20

The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. -- Psalm 5:5

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. -- Psalm 11:5

These six things doth the LORD hate ... A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. -- Proverbs 6:16, 19

I hated Esau. -- Malachi 1:3, Romans 9:13

So the Bible-God hates some people (foreign nations, workers of iniquity, wicked people, and liars, to name a few). But there is only one person (that I know of) that God hates by name. What is the name of this God-hated person?