There is a movement going on gentle reader. I read about it
in the papers, I hear about it in the chat rooms in Yahoo. The
believers are in a tizzy about the Ten Commandments from the
bible. They argue that our country was founded upon these "moral"
laws. They argue that the commandments are the most pure and
perfect set of laws ever given to man. Why, they're from god,
and you cannot get any more perfect than that, gentle reader.
They are pushing to get the list in the schools, in the courthouses,
all over. Whether everyone wants it or not. But the question
I must ask is this: Are the Ten Commandments really a moral
set of rules to live by for today's society? Can you honestly
say "yes, they are"? Lets look at the Ten Commandments
gentle reader, shall we?
Taken from the King James Version of the Bible:
The set most referred to is the set of commandments out of
Exodus 20:
20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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 showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and
keep my commandments.
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.
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.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long
upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
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.
Pretty cut and dry huh gentle reader? I thought so. BUT, these
are not the Ten Commandments. The Real Ten Commandments are
found in Exodus 34:28, and Deuteronomy 4:13. The list Moses
received from the lord is a very different set than the Christians
claim is the Ten. Here below I listed them for you, and you
can see that they are not like the list from Exodus 20.
1. Thou shalt worship not other god. (same)
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.(same)
3. The feast of the unleavened bread shalt thou keep.
4. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day shalt thou
rest.(same)
5. Thou shalt observer the feast of weeks.
6. Thrice in the year shall your menchildren appear before the
lord god.
7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.
8. Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of Passover be left
until the morning.
9. The first of thy firstfruits of thy land shalt thou bring
unto the house of the lord thy god.
10. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
Very different are they not, gentle reader? But we wanted to
look at what the Christians claim is the Ten did we not? Lets
get started:
Number One: THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.
Pretty cut and dry. Simple. But, in America, this would stop
freedom of religion, and in essence establish Christianity as
the "official" religion of our country. And we know
our constitution does not allow that. If only the Christians
would realize this. And it goes against the tolerance that you
will hear a Christian cry about, their demand that others "respect"
their belief…. "Tolerate my belief but your belief is wrong."
Number Two: THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO THEE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE.
Okay, so we have to get rid of all those crosses, all those
Jesus on the Cross statues, all the angels and other symbols
of the Christian religion. Not to mention the little statues
in the name of the Ten Commandments. It would also violate our
freedom of speech, and put a stop to the registered trade marks
of companies.. That coke bottle is an image, whether you call
it a god or not.
Number Three: THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY
GOD IN VAIN.
Hmm. Violates freedom of speech stops one from criticizing
the religion, and pointing out the mistakes of it.
Number Four: REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY AND KEEP IT HOLY.
Keep in mind that the Sabbath is really Saturday, and not Sunday
as Christians hold it to be. The Catholic Church changed the
day from Saturday to Sunday, and without the backing of scripture.
(This has been admitted in the catholic encyclopedia). But anyways,
looking at this "perfect law" millions of people everywhere
in the world should be killed. Preferred method of course is
stoning. Also throw capitalism out the door!!
Okay the first four "laws" are mainly religious,
and on that basis I would say they should be disregarded as
moral absolutes which can not work in a multicultural society.
Number five: HONOR THY MOTHER AND THY MOTHER, THAT THY DAYS
MAY BE LONG UPON THIS LAND
Hmmmm…well now what if your father is abusive? Or what if your
mother is a very "loosely moral" person? What if they
both torture and beat you? What if they sexually molest you?
The bible is not cut and dry on this one, is it? All it says,
in essence, is to honor mom and pop or else. The threat is there
for you to read plain as day gentle reader. It would be in your
best self-interest to obey them and such, if you would like
to continue to live around here. Death or banishment--very moral,
huh?
Number six: THOU SHALT NOT KILL
Wow! With this one we will always witness the mental gymnastics
of the Christian! "Kill" does not really mean kill;
it means "murder." Okay, then why use the word "kill"?
The King James scribes had the word "murder" at their
disposal to use if that is what they believed the verse meant.
So, let's take the verse at face value: God doesn't want anyone
to do any killing of anything or anyone.
Now let's look at the track record of the supposed deity that
issues this commandment… lots of blood there, and either at
his command, or by himself personally (click
click!!!!!). The Christian then will say that these commandments
do not apply to God, and that people should kill when God tells
them to. So, which is it? We shouldn't kill, or we should kill
anytime we hear voices?
Fortunately, God's inconsistency is of no importance to us.
Wanton killing of other people is forbidden in all civilizations
for no other purpose than it being destructive to society to
have people at each other's throats. All civilizations also
permit some killing, under certain circumstances, according
to their needs and beliefs.
Number seven: THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
Now here we actually get into a gray area of life and morals.
Is it bad? Is it good? Who is really to say? What is meant by
"adultery"? I mean, if both people in the relationship
agree to have other partners, is that adultery? What if just
one of them wants to bring other partners into the relationship?
Is that OK? According to the Bible it is, as long as it's the
man bringing home other women. Polygamy is just fine by Bible
standards, but any relationship in which a woman has more than
one partner is wrong. This is the meaning of Biblical adultery,
since a man may have as many relationships as he pleases, as
long as he does not get involved with a woman who is someone
else's property. This is also something that the New Testament
condemns--setting up one standard for men and another standard
for women. So, Christians, if they are actually followers of
Jesus, should reject the Old Testament commands regarding adultery
and instead insist on relationships in which all parties have
equal and reciprocal rights and responsibilities to each other.
Number eight: THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
Okay, I will agree that this is a good moral guide. And it
makes a good law. To protect personal property, and stop others
from taking it is a good thing. But, what about the following
situations? A young man steals food for his starving family,
a homeless lady steals money to pay for her medicine that she
so desperately needs, a mother steals a car in order to take
her baby to the hospital, the list goes on and on. The above
law allows for no exceptions. Period. All these people mentioned
above, would be stoned to death for their actions. Just and
righteous is it not? But let us not forget when Yahweh ordered
his favorite little band of people to kill and TAKE the land
and the virgin girls. So obviously, there are exceptions to
the rule against theft. Some of us dare to think that the need
for food or medicine is a better exception than leave from an
imaginary friend.
Number nine: THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY
NEIGHBOR
Well, we have another good moral guide. And it would make an
okay law. And it is a law! You are not to lie in a court of
law, nor commit libel or slander. That is what is meant by false
witness. Considering the slanderous activity of the religious
right in the US during the Clinton administration, it is surprising
that these same people would want to draw attention to this
commandment.
This law, by the way, does not forbid lying done as a kindness.
It explicitly forbids only lying that is destructive.
Number ten: THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBORS HOUSE…WIFE…
LIVESTOCK… etc etc…
Well okay then throw capitalism away; wanting what others have
is biblically wrong!!! WOW!! Also keep in mind that a wife is
property. Not my words--the bible's. Obviously, we have a society
and economy that would be completely destroyed by slavish obedience
to this commandment. If you have a job that is in any way dependent
on creating artificial desire for a product (sales, advertising,
manufacture), you are violating this commandment.
Well now that we have those pesky little religious rules out
of the way I would offer the following set of commandments as
being relevant to our society today, and for the world in general.
Before I go into detail as whom they are from, I will list them
for you, and you judge for yourself:
1.Trust good character more than promises.
2. Do not speak falsely.
3. Do good things.
4. Do not be hasty in making friends, but do not abandon them
once made.
5. Learn to obey before you command.
6. When giving advice, do not recommend what is most pleasing,
but what is most useful.
7. Make reason your supreme commander.
8. Do not associate with people that do bad things.
9. Honor the gods.
10. Have regard for your parents.
Now, be honest gentle reader, which set of commandments do you
feel have a part in today's society? The ten from the Moses
and the bible god, or the list given above? Aha, I thought you
would say that the list above was more appropriate for today,
and tomorrow. The list above was formulated by the man Solon
the Athenian. Solon was believed to have been born around 638
B.C.E. and lived to about 558. This is not solid fact; so don't
quote me on that. The most impressive thing about this man happened
in 594 B.C.E. when he was elected to write and form a constitution
for Athens. This constitution was the basis and forming of democracy,
as we know it today. I could write an entire article about this
man, and not even touch upon the positive impact he has made
in the history of our world. Can we honestly say this about
Moses and the bible god? Did Moses and his god do the same for
mankind that Solon has done? Again, I would say no. But then
again gentle reader; do not take my word for it. I would encourage
you to find out more about the man Solon, and what he has done
for us. Once you have found out, please look and compare it
to the works of Yahweh and Moses.
