So, I am not involved in any religious organization nor do I consider myself a member of any particular faith. There are things I like and dislike about many different religions. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, The Baha'i faith ... they all have many good and negatives things to them. The one thing that has always been interesting to me is the Ten Commandments. To my understanding (which I admit is quite limited) it is the only thing in the Judeo-Christian belief system to actually have been written by the "Hand of God." This suggests that it hasn't been altered (purposefully or not) by Man ... at least not by much?
Anyway, here are my thoughts on each Commandment. What are yours? Do you believe these were written directly by "God?" Do you believe in them? How much influence do they have in your life?
- Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.
Taking this phrase as exactly as it says, suggests that “God” is the Almighty One and to follow Him and His teachings before any other Gods. This suggests that the idea of having lesser Gods or Deities is “allowed” as long as they remain “under” the Almighty God. Or perhaps this demands no other Gods at all?
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
This suggests that we are not to worship anything BUT the Almighty God and that we are not to create any image of God. I was always perplexed with this one as how many times do we see people bowing down to the Cross or to statues of the Virgin Mary or other biblical figures? Wouldn’t these actions be in direct violation of this commandment or is the idea that one shouldn't bow to any "false idols."
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in Vain.
This suggests to me that one should simply not speak Ill of the Almighty God. I sometimes wonder if this also meant, we are not to use the Almighty God for our own purposes. Example, “I speak of God’s will which is to denounce all Homosexuals!” or “God “WANTS” all humans to remain within their own race!” Am I just over-examining this one?
- Remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy.
Now this one I think is important and yet also overly analyzed. I think it is important to keep one day out of the week for rest and reflection. Overworking is unhealthy and takes life away. However, there are some people of the Jewish faith that believe you can’t do certain things that day that are outside of what this phrase means. For example, not operating a telephone? This seems a bit outside of what might have been intended with this …
- Honor thy Father and thy Mother.
This one makes sense in many different ways. One’s parents are the two that brought life to you, hence it would make sense that they both deserve honor from this. Of course, this gets a bit complicated when you bring in certain things … such as abuse or abandonment and the like. What honor should one give to such a parent? Does this sort of parent forfeit their rights to honor?
- Thou shalt not kill.
This one will always be a controversial one, I think. If it is taken at face value, it simply says that we should not kill. Period. No killing in war, or self-defense or even to kill any life. Now, this doesn’t make much sense to us as we must kill animals to eat meat (excluding vegetarians or vegans) and many of us would kill if our life or loved one's lives are threatened. So does this really mean, “Thou shalt not murder?” As to premeditate and conspire to end the life of another Human? Now, I think that the main Christian or Jewish ideology with this one is not to murder … sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there is more to this one though.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery.
This one commands that we do not cheat on our spouse. So, if we are married under the eyes of the Almighty God, then we are not allowed to conduct in sexual activity with anyone else than our spouse. Okay, makes sense … even in a natural sense. What about outside of marriage? Of course it would be argued that sexual activity shouldn’t even be happening outside of marriage. What do you think? If no ring … then no problem?
- Thou shalt not steal.
This is another one that has a lot of gray area. At face value, it commands that you simply do not take what is not yours … no matter what. This makes sense as no one wants to lose anything that they have worked for. What if it is the only way to feed yourself or family in an emergency situation? What is considered stealing? In all honesty … would interest on loans and the like be stealing? It certainly isn’t really deserved … it is only to make a profit. Is profit in itself stealing? Does God consider the idea of money itself to be a tool of evil? This one could have a whole thread by itself. Interpretation of this one seems to be a morality choice between one and the Almighty God.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
This one is probably one of the most ignored commandments. How many times do we suggest something of someone else just because we think we “know their type?” By doing so, we have condemned this person based on baseless speculation which, in turn, is not the truth. I know I can be guilty of this one for sure! Or, taking it deeper, the idea of stating that someone is guilty of something while knowing that they are not … that is probably one of the most unjust and disgusting thing that we Humans can do to one another. This not only concerns the individual person but groups … including politics and governments.
- Thou shalt not covet.
This one I think is more for one’s own health and sanity. To spend one’s life in desire for belongings and items (keeping up with the Jones’) will drive people to do some really low things. ID theft. Burglary. Theft. In a sense, this one kind of covers all of the commandments … or at least touches on them all. “I can’t stand the idea that she is with him! So, I go and kill him.” “How dare this company make so much money … I think I will come up with a reason to press civil suit against them.” “God has all this power and allows terrible things to happen … if I had that power, I wouldn’t allow such things to happen!” The depths of this one I think go a bit deeper than just being jealous of another’s possessions but covers fear and spite within the Human race in MANY different ways.
Anyway, just curious to see what all you think of the Ten Commandments.
