10 Commandments
How foundational are they?
I was taught as a child that the world was created 6000 years ago, which means that creation and Adam and Eve happened 4000 BC according to young earth creationists. During this time, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and got kicked out of the garden of eden. 1650 years went by as mankind got worse and worse. So out of great forethought and compassion, in 2350 BC, God destroyed the earth with a flood due to how evil man had become. The fix was to wave a magical wand, destroy everyone and everything, and start over from one man and his family. Somehow this great creation wasn’t working out so well, so rather than solving the problem, God wiped out the problem. Not very creative problem solving. Then it still took until 1500 BC, 3500 years after creation, for God to figure out that maybe, just maybe, he forgot something in this grand design. Moral laws! The 10 commandments! Oh yeah. These 10 commandments will save the world from destroying itself. Except that 1500 years later, God had to sacrifice himself because he saw that mankind was going to hell in a handbasket, even preceding god’s judgement, or something. So then, finally God transformed culture and religion from animal sacrifice to human sacrifice with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the world has been saved by human sacrifice (at least it wasn't babies). Fast forward to 2021 and can we see that the great wisdom of the 10 commandments has saved the world? Christians still teach that this is the foundation for all morality and that America was founded on the 10 commandments.
Is this really the best of all time?
Is this epitome of human morality straight from divine origin?
Is this foundational for American democracy?
Is this foundational for all human civilization, morality, and decency?
To be honest, I truly think that I had stronger morals in elementary school due to being raised in a loving home. I never even thought seriously about the 10 Commandments until Bible College, years later.
It doesn’t seem to be the best of all time since god himself can’t seem to follow his own commandments. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_violence)
It seems god could be a better role model for his people: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” (Richard Dawkins)
Shall we count together the number of ways God has broken his own commandments in the Old Testament, often bragging about it?
“We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid.” (Christopher Hitchens)
Here is a quick overview of what I am wondering and one more basic thing that is creating such dissonance in me.
Commandment 1 (from Exodus 20)
Verse 3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
If we begin with the assumption that there is only one God in all of heaven and earth, then there really are no other gods and so it is impossible to have other gods before anybody. So what is the great yahweh afraid of? If He alone is god, then false gods should pose no threat to him since they never existed. And if they do exist then why not just laugh at the silly false gods that people create in their image and shame them rather than scare them into obedience through death and hell? Can’t people see which god is most powerful and wise? Or has the one and only god been totally invisible and silent throughout history?
Also, is jealousy really a divine characteristic? Isn’t it more of an immature human response? Another anthropomorphism, a projection of human traits upon god. If the gods really can be jealous then what does that reveal? Is god sensitive and insecure about his position and power? I’ve always believed that that truth should stand on its own needing no defense. It will prove itself in the long run. Puny humans generally defend a great truth because they are insecure about what they believe. It gives me an image of god being insecure and weak among the gods and among his creation.
Commandments 1 and 2 are just injunctions and have nothing to do with morality between humans. So we cannot base the US constitution or any human morality on anything but morality between humans.
Commandment 2
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Is this as good as it gets ethically, morally, and spiritually? Is there nothing else that could be considered the second most important commandment for all eternity? Did they not know about the Great Commandment? Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself. Or did that take several thousand more years to evolve? Oops. Same time. Next chapter! Why was the greatest commandment excluded from the 10 commandments? Could it have been an afterthought? I hope not.
Deuteronomy 5:6-21 - 10 Commandments spoken by Moses to the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 6:5 - Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Spoken by Moses to the Israelites).
If it did not occur to them to use the greatest commandment as part of the 10 commandments, how about the golden rule, “Treat others like you want to be treated?” or “Don’t mistreat children or put them in cages?” or “Don’t own people as property to use for your own profit?” or “Don’t act like you know it all?” or “Don’t be a bully and wage war with people that do not agree with you.” How about, “Don’t be selfish”? Or how about, “Love one another.”
Commandment 3
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
I’m not sure if any country used this as a law foundational to their government. After being told this since childhood, I’m still not sure what it means. Every adult had a different idea of what it meant and they all used the name of god as a swear word all the time. Is it just using god’s name outside of a meaningful context? Maybe. Or maybe it goes much deeper than that. Here are some of my ideas regarding the Sacred and the Profane. And if this is so, is this commandment perhaps the most broken, misunderstood, impotent, and disregarded of all?
Maybe this commandment refers to much more than words. Maybe it refers to lives; attitudes and actions. Could it be that...
A Sacred Life = making the ordinary (all of life’s moments) sacred and meaningful.
A Profane Life = making the sacred (all of life’s moments) ordinary and mundane.
Commandment 4
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
I’ve always wondered, even as a kid, why this is the only one of the 10 commandments that became obsolete after Christ came. Didn't God know about Christ coming, dying, and ressurecting, and that most of the world and the Christians in it would be worshipping on Sunday? Basic foreknowlege magic.
In other words, Sabbath means 7 which means the 7th day which means Saturday is the Sabbath. So is this commandment even relevant anymore?
Again, I don’t think there are any countries that use this as the foundation for their morality. It may be a religious rule. But punishable by death? What is the point of that?
Here is an example of how this commandment was enforced from Numbers 15:32 and following.
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses.
I wonder what happened to “thou shalt not kill?” Sounds very hypocritical to me.
Commandment 5
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
This is a great guideline and should be taught in religion and anywhere else. But again, I don’t know of any countries that make this foundational to their government. The authority structure within each family should be maintained without meddling by the government, unless abuse is happening. I’m not sure how it would be made a rule for morality either being as subjective as it is. But the principle is critical to teach children.
Commandments 6, 7, 8
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
Finally, we get to the three commandments that have become foundational for governing countries. Oops, except for #7. Committing adultery is commonplace and not only accepted but expected among politicians, religious leaders, and the powerful beginning way back in the Old Testament. David was made an example of an adulterer and using murder to do it. It all started with coveting his neighbor’s wife. But laws did not cover adultery or coveting. It could be and is used as laws for governing if it were “thou shalt not commit adultery against a person’s will.” Then it could be named as rape, but… oops. Forgot that part, eh? It sure seems that rape and slavery should have been in there. But instead they are condoned in the bible. And, ironically, David is named as a man after God's own heart.
Commandment 9
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Check out the news in America over the past 5 years. I don’t know what you heard or wanted to hear but I heard more lies than truths. The president was the worst example of the lies and also the slander and character assassinations of the people he did not like, mostly because he disagreed with those people and he has no idea of how to carry on a civil disagreement with other human beings outside of being an outright bully (which is not at all civil or moral or decent or human)
Side note: the president that Christians voted for was the exact opposite that I was raised to be in my Christian family and he is the exact opposite that I raised my own kids to be. If my kids grew up to be like that man, I would see myself as a failure. I work everyday to be an example to my kids of someone with integrity, character, and decency. If that man were living in my neighborhood or a part of my family, either he would have to be ostracized or I would have to leave with my kids so that they would never be exposed to such filth, embarrassment, and shame.
Commandment 10
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Foundational to any government must be basic honesty and integrity. So why would America elect a person that has embodied greed and covetousness all of his life and bragged about it? And then insist that our country is built on the 10 commandments? Christianity has become a joke in America and around the world.
On another note, for those that have not noticed, capitalism is built on BREAKING this commandment. Marketing is designed to create false need and stimulate desire for that which we do not have. All day long, in commercials and signs and advertisements and all other types of media, we are told that our identity and self worth is wrapped up in getting more and more; in keeping up with the Joneses and all of the rest of the neighbors. We are told what worth and beauty look like and goaded into more and more desire, pleasure, and attachment. This is perhaps the most destructive foundation upon which to build a community.
Here is the following context within which the 10 commandments were written about. For me, this is a great example of how out of touch Yaweh is with the people. Or maybe it is the human author. I don’t know. But if these commandments are really as foundational as people say they are, then it seems more care would have been taken when recording these. Just about anyone I know with a basic education could rewrite these to make more sense.
18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
We all have learned as we mature that fear is not a motivator and neither is pain; and neither are shame and guilt. And again, it seems to me that there is a huge design issue that is being displayed for all to see, as if it were ok to treat people in this way. Did god not know that back then and had to learn the hard way that love is the only way? But is he not omniscient and omnibenevolent even back then or was he a child god that finally grew up? Like I’ve been saying for 15 years, this is too much dissonance and I’ve finally found the courage to stand up and testify against it.
A bit of history
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r8Db7bNkhZCu0GfwDT6D9r7ws5eFd-mlrbf6QvvxWFI/edit?usp=sharing
Judge Taylor of Hawkins County, Tennessee believes America was founded on the 10 commandments and the “founders were religious people whose faith influenced the creation of this nation, its laws, and its institutions of government.” Elected to higher office in 2011, he insisted that the 10 commandments be displayed in the courthouse. It would demonstrate that his religion birthed America. Above is the commissioned plaque, elegantly lettered and struck in bronze.
Eventually it was taken down. See the google doc above for that story.
In the meantime, observe the plaque. There are only 9 commandments. He left off “do not commit adultery.” This judge was later proven to be guilty of a number of felonies. But notice that not only is adultery left off, the ninth commandment is labeled the eleventh commandment (XI).
But the thing that I was never taught is that only two of the ten commandments have been made into laws in America. So our laws are not built on the 10 commandments. We are being lied to by the institution of Christianity.
The constitution of the United States has been a cornerstone of our freedoms. And one of our great freedoms that the pilgrims fled and fought England for is freedom of religion. Is it freedom of religion if it means only one religion? NO! A tyranny of one religion? Of course not, that is exactly why America was established. So that no one can tell us what to worship, how to worship, why to worship, who to worship, or IF to worship at all! There is no freedom of religion if religion is not left to the free choice of every person. No tyranny. As soon as Christianity is legislated, then there is no more freedom.
FREEDOM does not equal TYRANNY.
And therefore we have as a cornerstone of our constitution, the separation of church and state. This is clearly established from the beginning by the founding fathers. Separation of Church and State clear establishes that
There can be no FREEDOM OF RELIGION if we do not first establish FREEDOM FROM RELIGION.
A Wall of Separation
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is a statement about both freedom of conscience and the principle of separation of church and state. Written by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786, it is the forerunner of the first amendment protections for religious freedom.
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
By Matthew Harris
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was one of the most important documents in early U.S. religious history. It marked the end of a ten-year struggle for the separation of church and state in Virginia, and it was the driving force behind the religious clauses of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791.
Freedom of Religion
Statute was first attempt to remove government influence from religious affairs
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and accepted by the Virginia General Assembly in 1786, the bill was, as Jefferson explained, an attempt to provide religious freedom to “the Jew, the Gentile, the Christian, the Mahometan, the Hindoo, and [the] infidel of every denomination.” In effect, it was the first attempt in the new nation to remove the government’s influence from religious affairs.
Freedom FROM Religion
The bill outlined why established religions were dangerous
In addition to the pamphlet, Madison guided Jefferson’s bill to passage; it was finally enacted on January 16, 1786. The new statute outlined in clear and coherent language why it was dangerous to have established religions in America. It is organized in three sections.
The first section, the preamble, affirms “that Almighty God hath created the mind free” and that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
The second section discusses the act itself, stating that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry...or otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief.”
And the third section concludes by offering a warning to future Assemblies, declaring that repeal of the act would violate “the natural rights of mankind.”
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/880/virginia-statute-for-religious-freedom
Establishment Clause (Separation of Church and State)
By Hana M. Ryman and J. Mark Alcorn
The first clause in the Bill of Rights states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
Establishment clause of First Amendment often interpreted to require separation of church and state
For approximately the first 150 years of the country’s existence, there was little debate over the meaning of this clause in the Constitution. As the citizenry became more diverse, however, challenges arose to existing laws and practices, and eventually, the Supreme Court was called upon to determine the meaning of the establishment clause.
Though not explicitly stated in the First Amendment, the clause is often interpreted to mean that the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.
'Separation of church and state' metaphor rooted in early American fears of government involvement
Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, was the first public official to use this metaphor. He opined that an authentic Christian church would be possible only if there was “a wall or hedge of separation” between the “wilderness of the world” and “the garden of the church.” Williams believed that any government involvement in the church would corrupt the church.
The most famous use of the metaphor was by Thomas Jefferson in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. In it, Jefferson declared that when the American people adopted the establishment clause they built a “wall of separation between the church and state.”
Jefferson had earlier witnessed the turmoil of the American colonists as they struggled to combine governance with religious expression. Some colonies experimented with religious freedom while others strongly supported an established church.
https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/885/establishment-clause-separation-of-church-and-state
The first myth is that America was founded as a Christian Nation. The claim is demonstrably false as revealed by any number of documents from that time including America's godless Constitution, Madison's Memorial, or the Treaty of Tripoli, which was negotiated under President George Washington and signed by President John Adams with the unanimous consent the United States Senate in 1797, and which says that...
“the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
(The Founding Myth, by Andrew E. Seidel)
Extract from Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia
The error seems not sufficiently eradicated, that the operations of the mind, as well as the acts of the body, are subject to the coercion of the laws. But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.
But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
[Query XVII, “Religion”]
AUTHOR Thomas Jefferson
DATE RANGE 1771 - 1790
DATE January 1, 1782 to December 31, 1782
Where does morality really come from?
Morality is inherent in humanity and always has been. We can see it throughout history, through civilizations, and throughout religions. As humans we are given our rational minds to learn and establish mutually beneficial rules. Throughout history we have seen the results of poor thinking, planning, and morality in the fallen civilizations. It is really quite simple:
Do to others as you would have done to you.
Or do to others only what they want done to them.
Or don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.
Or don’t do to others what they don’t want. Just ask!
'My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.'
(Dalai Lama XIV)
There are some standards for morality that are simply human. Just because Jesus said the first one doesn’t mean that morality comes from religion or from on high. Jesus didn’t come to establish a religion. He simply taught us how to be human; how to live with each other in peace. Interestingly, we can trace all religions around the world to this one fundamental rule; some version of the golden rule. Why would opposing religions come up with the same idea when it comes to being human together? Because it is not about religion or no religion. It is about BEING HUMAN TOGETHER. It is that simple. If I want to not have my stuff stolen, then I’d better not steal the stuff of others. If I don’t want to be murdered in my sleep, then I better not go around murdering others. Simple. Simple. Simple. Simply simple. Simply civility.
It is a matter of remembering what we already know.
“I get my limits from a rational consideration of the consequences of my actions, that's how I determine what's moral. I get it from a foundation that says my actions have an effect on those people around me, and theirs have an effect on me, and if we're going to live cooperatively and share space, we have to recognize that impact. And my freedom to swing my arm ends at their nose, and that I have no right to impose my will over somebody else's will in that type of scenario. That's where I get them from. I get them from an understanding of reality, not an assertion of authority.”
― Matt Dillahunty
“The Samurai lived by a code of honor, not unlike the code that you live by. It’s called the Bushido. It was never written down; was always something the Samurai knew, and it was handed down from one warrior to another. One of the tenets of the code is about justice. Not the pounding of a gavel on the bench of some judge who’s been appointed to pass judgment on people by some politician. No, malaka, this concept of justice is what you feel in your bones: to die when it is right and to strike when it is right.”
― Kenneth Eade, An Evil Trade
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