Why biblical precepts must be interpreted with regard to historic context:

This summer I spoke to a group of teens at our youth camp. My assigned topic was, “What’s the Deal with the Bible?” I began my talk by reading this passage from the Bible. “When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner’s property.” (Exodus 21:20, 21)

Source: Christianity: A Tree Growing Up From the Soil of Scripture – Brian Zahnd