The worth of a woman: the Bible vs. the Quran

Don't you love it when the Bible and the Quran agree (more or less) on something? I do. Because whenever they do, you can be pretty sure they're both wrong.

Take the worth of a woman, for example. They go at it from slightly different angles, but come up with the same answer. A woman is worth about half as much as a man.

Here's what the Bible has to say.

And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver.... And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. -- Leviticus 27:3-7

So, depending on their age, females are worth 1/2 to 2/3 as much as males.

But what does the Quran say?

Well it doesn't come right out, like the Good Book does, and place a monetary value on human life, male and female. But it does compare the value of men and women from a financial point of view.

Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females, and if there be women more than two, then theirs is two-thirds of the inheritance, and if there be one (only) then the half. -- Quran 4:11

... unto the male is the equivalent of the share of two females. -- Quran 4:176

And the Quran tells us just how much we should trust a woman's testimony: it's worth half that of a man's.

And call two witness from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not at hand, then a man and two women. -- Quran 2:282

So praised be Jesus and Muhammed (peanut butter and jelly be upon them)! The Bible and the Quran agree: a woman is worth half as much as a man.

A tale of two prophets

Okay. I've missed another one. (Thanks Joshua Ditty)

In 1 Kings 13, there's a story about two prophets, where one prophet is killed by God (well, a lion that is sent by God) for believing another prophet's lie.

I know it's a silly story, and it's a bit complicated, but it ups the score for God to 2,124,335+ (not including Job's sons and daughters). Satan's score remains at 10.

Have ye saved all the women alive?

Oops! In my post, How many has God killed?, I forgot to include the Midianite massacre. But luckily David Plotz in Blogging the Bible reminded me.

Plotz calls it the "most hideous war crime in a Bible filled with them." And he's right about that. It is simply impossible to read this and still believe that it was inspired by a kind and loving God. Here's a brief summary, but if you haven't read the entire story, be sure to do so. (Numbers 31:1-35)

God tells Moses to "avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites." So "they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males," taking the women and children captive.

But when the officers returned from the battle, Moses was angry with them, saying, "Have ye saved all the women alive?" So he tells them to

...kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. (Numbers 31:17-18)

The soldiers do as they were told, killing all the women and children except for the virgins, of which there were 32,000. And since there must have been at least twice as many men, non-virgin women, and young boys, I used 90,000 for the Midianite massacre in the revised death toll.

The Brick Testament: Massacre of the Midianties

Some suggestions for the next Left Behind Game

The Left Behind video game has been criticized for being too violent. But Jerry Jenkins defends it by saying, "It's not as violent as the Old Testament." And he's right about that. It isn't.

So Jerry has some work to do in future revisions, because the game should be just as violent as the Bible. To achieve that goal, I suggest that the following scenes be included in the next Left Behind game.

Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm. -- Isaiah 9:19-20

Their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. -- Isaiah 34:3

And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine. -- Isaiah 49:26

Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land ... with drunkenness. And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them. -- Jeremiah 13:13-14

And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend. -- Jeremiah 19:9

Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers. -- Ezekiel 5:10

I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. -- Zechariah 11:9

Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. -- Zechariah 14:12

And it's important to show the kids how they should view all this mayhem. The Bible is very clear on the subject and this should be an integral part of the game.

The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. -- Psalm 58:10

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street ... And they ... shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another. -- Revelation 11:8-10

Christian children should look forward to seeing their non-believing family, friends, and neighbors viciously killed, be willing to participate in the slaughter, and be eager to wash their feet in the freely-flowing blood of the unbelievers. Because the Left Behind game should not only be good clean fun; it should also help prepare the children for what is soon to come.

God's death toll in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Quran

In previous posts, I counted the number of people killed by God and Satan in the Bible: 2,821,364 and 10, respectively. That made me wonder how God's death toll in the Bible would compare with its rival holy books: the Quran and the Book of Mormon. Here's what I found.
(I'm only including killings that provide an exact number of victims.)

The Book of Mormon

Who	Passage	Number Killed
Laban	1 Nephi 4:10-18	1
Sherem	Jacob 7:15-20	1
Noah	Mosiah 19:16-24	1
Lamanites	Mosiah 9:18	3043
Nehor	Alma 1:15	1
Amlicites	Alma 2:16-19	12532
Amlici	Alma 2:30-31-19	1
Korihor	Alma 30:59	1
Zerahemnah	Alma 44:12	1
dissenters	Alma 51:29	4000
Amalickiah	Alma 51:33-34	1
Lamanites	Alma 57:14	2000
Ammoron	Alma 62:36	1
Paanchi	Helaman 1:7-8	1
Zemnarihah	3 Nephi 4:28	1
Nephite soldiers	Mormon 6:9-15	230,000
Mighty men	Ether 15:2	2,000,000

The Quran

Who	Passage	Number Killed
Korah	28:79-81	1
Noah's wife and son	11:42	2
Lot's wife	66:10	1

And here's a summary of all three.

	God's Death Toll
Bible	2,821,364
Book of Mormon	2,251,586
Quran	4