Why does anything exist ... why not nothing?

He is the image of the invisible God , the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him. - Colossians 1:15

A word about rape in the context of the Scriptures:

There are people who try to slander the Scriptures by taking verses and stripping the cultural context away and removing the distinction of that context. The laws in Deuteronomy 17-22, are often misapplied.


The mixing categories becomes prohibited because Israel is being trained to recognize boundaries established by God. The cultural distinction is the nation of Israel having practices different than the surrounding nations.

These passages also are about Holiness and purity and the responsibility of sex and marriage.


” If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.”


Adultery is not permitted. It is a violation of God’s holiness and the sanctity of marriage.


“If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her, you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death – the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.”


The implication is that because the woman did not cry out, then she is a willing partner.


But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die. Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him. When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

It suggests that in the city – a woman crying out for help would be acquitted and the man punished.


If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered, then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives. Deuteronomy 22:23–29


A virgin who is not pledged culturally impacts on her future. First is her reputation and second the families reputation and financial obligation. The law considers that the woman’s scorn for not being a virgin might affect her marriageability in the future and therefore her status and welfare.


The man is required to pay the girl’s father and marry her without the right to divorce her. This preserves her status and image and also protects her livelihood.


The caveat is – only If she agrees to it – otherwise – the man would likely be executed (“the man who lay with her shall die”).


The biblical text is operating with ancient Israelite legal categories, not with the modern legal concept of rape as primarily an offense against an individual’s sexual autonomy.


The law is concerned heavily with marital/sexual status. The passage distinguishes between an engaged woman, an unengaged virgin, and different circumstances in which intercourse occurs. Questions of virginity, betrothal, family honor, and bride-price are prominent—categories that don’t correspond neatly to modern sexual-assault law.