I’ve been vaguely wanting to find myself a simplified and abridged version of the Old and New Testaments. It’s perhaps a little too simplified, but the blogging the bible series on Slate is pretty much what I’ve been after, even if it does stop at the Old Testament.

And from the Exodus reading, here’s this incredible titbit regarding abortion:

Reader Dan Gorin points out that my last entry missed the fascinating law that comes right before “eye for an eye” in Chapter 21. If a man pushes a pregnant woman and she miscarries, but is not otherwise hurt, then the offender pays only a fine to the victim’s husband. This has interesting implications for how we think about abortion—in particular about the claim that killing a 17-week-old fetus is the same as killing a 17-year-old. According to Exodus, it’s not. As Gorin writes: “The text seems to clearly state that the destruction of a fetus is not a capital offense. It is a property crime for which monetary compensation is paid.”