The Ten Commandments
Yes, this should be in the "religion" page. It isn't because I reckon the concept of the Ten Commandments to be more relevant to life as we know it than to religion itself.
The Ten Commandments
(Exodus 20:2-17)
1: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
1: This Commandment contains ambiguities that
depend entirely upon who (specifically) you assume the Commandments were written for. I pulled
the picture opposite from the net. It's dated 1768. If you can figure out what language it's in,
it's going to exonerate those who speak it, and damn everyone else.
2: You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the
Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing
mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
2: My recollection of the subject uses the word
"graven", so I'm not sure which is correct. "Carved" seems specific,
whilst "graven" could be several things. But therein lies the rub...I am
an ex-military man: a rumour given birth in the N.A.A.F.I. one morning will end
up twisted out of all recognition come nightfall. How far out of kilter would
that put a subject that has been nibbled at over centuries?
3: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will
not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
3: Again, I think we are all screwed. It is said that the
most over-used phrase in the movie business is "...let's get outa here..."
I disagree. "Oh, my God..." seems far more widespread. And that in
relation to sexual experiences, fear, humour...in fact, just about any human
sensation you could name. All relatively innocent, right? But, taken at the
level that most bible-punchers would like it to be taken, we are all condemned
out of hand!
4: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do
all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it
you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male
servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is
within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
4: I don't even want to go there...
5: Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land
which the Lord your God is giving you.
5: As a father, I agree with this one whole-heartedly. If
only I could get my offspring to feel the same way...
6: You shall not murder.
6: Stands to reason! Then again, one man's idea of
murder is another man's justified homicide. This leaves us where...?
7: You shall not commit adultery.
7: Ah! The phrase "Honi
soit qui mal y pense"
springs immediately to mind. You'll have to Google it!
8: You shall not steal.
8: Agreed! But does that include ideas? I suppose it
does.
9: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
9: How ambiguous is false witness!
10: You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall
not covet your neighbour's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant,
nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour's.
10: Not even just a little bit??
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Yes, I know! Too damned tongue-in-cheek!
The point is, most voluble Christians seem to possess selective-vision - they take parts of the Bible literally, whilst glossing over - smudging - other bits. For my money the above could read : "Do it your own way...so long as that way doesn't hurt anyone else!"