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The Ten Commandments [W:52]

When you actually break it down the 10 commandments are quite silly and unenforceable minus Thou Shalt Not Steal or Thou Shalt Not Kill which aren't exactly legal epiphanies as almost every society since the beginning of time has outlawed those things.

I do wonder what the American Right Wings obsession with these commandments are.
 
You seem to have a conversation going on in your head that is vastly unrelated to what is on this printed page.

Okay, bye then.
 
Countless millions of people in the United States and worldwide have faith in God. They enjoy that faith and it brings them and their families great happiness.

Yet, you post threads seeking to ridicule and destroy that faith. Can you imagine how much pain you would cause others, so many millions of Christians that you don't even know, adults, children, the elderly, if you were able to accomplish your goal?

That, amigo, is hate.

how strong was their faith, actually
if another can share a different perspective which causes their previously held beliefs to crumble under the weight of the presentation heard

Mother Theresa confessed of having a black heart, where she questioned the basis of the very religion for which she became a spokesmodel
other Christians, including ministers, have expressed that only by questioning their religious beliefs were they able to establish the strong, true faith that they later acquired

your post is of concern because you appear to object to those holding other views expressing them, potentially causing those who listen to their words to then adopt an alternate spiritual belief. if one's belief is so fragile as to be unable to withstand the scrutiny of reasoned debate, then how strong was that faith in the beginning?
 
I don't frankly see anything outdated about them at all. They are pretty much keystones to living in a civilized society.
Respect, reverence, honesty, satisfaction, honor, and the other qualities recommended as ways of living are still good guideposts today.

Good morning, lizzie. :2wave:

I am giving you multiple LIKES on this post! :) Any list of guidelines that list the "thou shall" and "thou shall not" rules in ten short sentences certainly would, if followed, lead to an almost perfect society, IMO. And the fact that they were written thousands of years ago shows us that we, as humans, have not changed much, since they are all still applicable today. :peace:
 
Good morning, lizzie. :2wave:

I am giving you multiple LIKES on this post! :) Any list of guidelines that list the "thou shall" and "thou shall not" rules in ten short sentences certainly would, if followed, lead to an almost perfect society, IMO. And the fact that they were written thousands of years ago shows us that we, as humans, have not changed much, since they are all still applicable today. :peace:

Another person who has not read the commandments in question, I can only assume.
 
Certainly outdated. Most are unconstitutional. Only two and a half of them are parts of modern American law, and there are some pretty glaring gaps.

Taken from the King James version:

1: I am the lord thy god, and thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Unconstitutional. Requiring religious allegeance is one of the things that the US and modern society exists to oppose.)
2: No graven images. (Unconstitutional. See 1.)
3: Do not take the name of the lord in vain. (Unconstitutional. Free speech. Also kind of vague, as people keep disagreeing about what this actually means.)
4: Keep the sabbath day holy and do not work on it. (Could theoretically be enforced, but isn't, and would likely be an unconstitutional infringement of liberty. Also Christians keep forgetting that this is Saturday, not Sunday.)
5: Honor your parents. (Not really enforceable. The first amendment allows us to honor whoever we want to, or not, as we like. Also, some parents are awful and oughtn't to be honored.)
6: Do not kill. (Some people say murder, but that's just a semantic argument. This one is an American law. 1/6 so far.)
7: Do not commit adultery. (The right to choose our sexual partners is definitely constitutionally protected. This may usually be a good idea, it is certainly not something that the constitution allows us to make a law about.)
8: Do not steal. (2/8.)
9: Do not bear false witness against a neighbor. (Sort of. Lying in general is certainly legal, but not under oath. Ancient Hebrews didn't have much of a real legal system, so we'll give this one half credit. 2.5/9.)
10: Do not covet. (Again, a state of mind and thus constitutionally protected. Also the foundation of capitalism.

Meanwhile, it forgets pretty basic ideas like do not rape, do not keep slaves (both of which are essentially endorsed in the bible), do not assault people. In fact, those three rules' absence is especially telling towards women. By biblical rules, a man can pick out a woman he's interested in, rape her, pay her father the biblical price and then she is forced to marry her, and then she is required to submit to him sexually and he can beat her in order to make that happen. That's entirely in line with biblical laws, and the ten commandments do nothing to stop that.

There are a few parts of the ten commandments that are okay, but they're the obvious parts like stealing and killing. These ideas are obviously not exclusive to this list and no one ever needed this list to know not to do that. There are some that might be decent guidelines, but aren't enforceable as law. Again, not unique and not needed on a list. And there are some that are just demanding adherence to a specific religion, which is evil. It's an interesting historical document, but hardly a comprehensive list of moral tenets and pretty outdated, along with a lot of other rules in the bible, like murdering witches and segregating women on their periods out of society.
 
Another person who has not read the commandments in question, I can only assume.

Good morning, Amadeus. :2wave:

I have read them many times. This is not to say I haven't failed at times to obey all of them, but I am human. :peace:
 
Do you believe that the Ten Commandments...

1) ...were written by God?

Nope.

2) ...were well-written?

Nope again. The standard text is horrible. The "jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation" is clearly not a "good guy", and has no business dictating rules of morality to anyone.

And, of course, listing "no graven images" and "no speaking the name of God in vain" along with "no killing" can only trivialize murder and other real crimes and sins.

3) ...are out-dated?

Depends on what comes to replace them. It is a lousy code, but it is a code, and it does stop some people, sometimes, from killing, stealing, bearing false witness....If it is replaced with nothing or with some "Moral Code of the Builder of Communism", we are in deep trouble.
 
Good morning, Amadeus. :2wave:

I have read them many times. This is not to say I haven't failed at times to obey all of them, but I am human. :peace:

Do you wear a crucifix?
 
Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.

I can cut them down to these six as meaningful in any society.
Honoring ones mother and father is about respect. I think respect has gone out the window over the last decade or so. People have lost respect for each other and so it makes it impossible to ever find common ground. The thing about respect is it runs to ways. If you expect to be respected you have to participate in giving it. Parents need to respect their children and who they are. Many don't and so respect goes out the window, especially in the I generation.

The next is about killing. What does this mean? In my mind it means not killing for any reason. I see those in support of God supporting wars, I am not sure if this is what this commandment means or not. IMO killing is killing. You can't support a God and war or capital punishment. They do not fit together according to this. This is a call for peaceful coexistence. It is bolstered by respect. If we respect each others beliefs and way of life and even honor them we have no need for the killing.

Commission of adultery. This is a tough one but as long as we have marriage as it stands today which is still a joining and ownership adultery is a problem. We can take this back to the respect issue. If a couple is married and you respect them you will not want to break their relationship up by stepping in where you should not. Adultery and respect are not in themselves crimes against the state but when added to other points made in the commandments these can morph into actually breaking the law. He slept with my wife so I killed him. She disrespected me so I punched her in the head. Back to killing and respect. But brought on by two others.

Stealing goes back to respect. If we have respect for others stealing is a non-issue.

Bearing false witness or lying or gossiping. Respect. Simple

Coveting the neighbors house? Greed drives humans to do some very ugly things. This can touch all the others in a way.

I see them as useful as guide posts if people don't have common sense. Most people fit into what I would view as good. It is a small percent who break the laws. If we respect each other nad don't push our views and opinions down their throats we can live in harmony. The problem is when your rights step on mine when my rights in no way hurt yours.
 
Certainly outdated. Most are unconstitutional. Only two and a half of them are parts of modern American law, and there are some pretty glaring gaps.

Taken from the King James version:

1: I am the lord thy god, and thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Unconstitutional. Requiring religious allegeance is one of the things that the US and modern society exists to oppose.)
2: No graven images. (Unconstitutional. See 1.)
3: Do not take the name of the lord in vain. (Unconstitutional. Free speech. Also kind of vague, as people keep disagreeing about what this actually means.)
4: Keep the sabbath day holy and do not work on it. (Could theoretically be enforced, but isn't, and would likely be an unconstitutional infringement of liberty. Also Christians keep forgetting that this is Saturday, not Sunday.)
5: Honor your parents. (Not really enforceable. The first amendment allows us to honor whoever we want to, or not, as we like. Also, some parents are awful and oughtn't to be honored.)
6: Do not kill. (Some people say murder, but that's just a semantic argument. This one is an American law. 1/6 so far.)
7: Do not commit adultery. (The right to choose our sexual partners is definitely constitutionally protected. This may usually be a good idea, it is certainly not something that the constitution allows us to make a law about.)
8: Do not steal. (2/8.)
9: Do not bear false witness against a neighbor. (Sort of. Lying in general is certainly legal, but not under oath. Ancient Hebrews didn't have much of a real legal system, so we'll give this one half credit. 2.5/9.)
10: Do not covet. (Again, a state of mind and thus constitutionally protected. Also the foundation of capitalism.

Meanwhile, it forgets pretty basic ideas like do not rape, do not keep slaves (both of which are essentially endorsed in the bible), do not assault people. In fact, those three rules' absence is especially telling towards women. By biblical rules, a man can pick out a woman he's interested in, rape her, pay her father the biblical price and then she is forced to marry her, and then she is required to submit to him sexually and he can beat her in order to make that happen. That's entirely in line with biblical laws, and the ten commandments do nothing to stop that.

There are a few parts of the ten commandments that are okay, but they're the obvious parts like stealing and killing. These ideas are obviously not exclusive to this list and no one ever needed this list to know not to do that. There are some that might be decent guidelines, but aren't enforceable as law. Again, not unique and not needed on a list. And there are some that are just demanding adherence to a specific religion, which is evil. It's an interesting historical document, but hardly a comprehensive list of moral tenets and pretty outdated, along with a lot of other rules in the bible, like murdering witches and segregating women on their periods out of society.

Please explain how the 10 commandments you listed are unconstitutional. Religious believes is a personal choice. The Constituation establishes what the govt can and cannot do. So if one wants to believe and accept the commandment "thou shalt have no other gods before me", one can choose to do so. The govt can't dictate you do or do not do so.

Your analysis is wrong.
 
Homosexuality doesn't get a mention in the Ten Commandments, but making symbols of idolatry (e.g. crucifixes) gets a prime spot at #2. Do you get me?
 
Please explain how the 10 commandments you listed are unconstitutional. Religious believes is a personal choice. The Constituation establishes what the govt can and cannot do. So if one wants to believe and accept the commandment "thou shalt have no other gods before me", one can choose to do so. The govt can't dictate you do or do not do so.

Your analysis is wrong.

They are unconstitutional to enforce as laws. Since they are presented as laws even in the bible, I imagined that this would obvious and would not require explanation. And even then, I referenced whether or not they are a part of American law. Is English not your first language?
 
Man, that Christopher Hitchens was a disgusting reprobate.

I wonder how he's doing now.

You might be surprised by how many people pray for him. I hope you are too.
 
Homosexuality doesn't get a mention in the Ten Commandments, but making symbols of idolatry (e.g. crucifixes) gets a prime spot at #2. Do you get me?


I think you're a little mixed up about "graven images of God" and symbols of a crucifix as an image.
 
Homosexuality doesn't get a mention in the Ten Commandments, but making symbols of idolatry (e.g. crucifixes) gets a prime spot at #2. Do you get me?

I didn't know God took the physical form of a cross. :roll:
 
I believe that the 10 Commandments where given by God to Moses and that they were recorded in the Bible.

I also think that they are still valid.
 
When they were written, they were given to the herbrews who had left the bondage of egypt.

Those people wandered in the desert for 40 years and that was their law before they entered the promised land.
Even if God wrote the Commandments and handed them to Moses, there is still no evidence of Jews being in bondage in Egypt or wandering the desert for 40 years.
 

The commandment is admonishing Israel not to create images of God whom they have not seen. The cross was a symbol of Christ crucifixion, not an image of God. People don't worship or pray to the cross. I think you're taking it out of context.


“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God."
 
They are unconstitutional to enforce as laws. Since they are presented as laws even in the bible, I imagined that this would obvious and would not require explanation. And even then, I referenced whether or not they are a part of American law. Is English not your first language?

I expected as much from you.
No one is asking the govt to enforce. What part of personal choice don't you understand?

As far as english, its my second language. I don't have a first.:lol:
But keep living in your mind P, that is what your good at.:mrgreen:
 
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