Responses on: 1 Commandment not 10

By: SimplySanguine

SimplySanguine — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:03:19 +0000

I once read a short story, it’s been so long now I forget which exactly, that briefly mentioned the fact that there was only really one commandment- “Thou Shalt Not Steal”…all of the others were just a different, more specific way of saying this.
1. No other gods before God- Don’t ’steal’ away the time that God deserves in your daily life and put it towards something else.
2. No idols- basically, another phrasing of the first…these idols would steal the attention you should be giving God.
3. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain- Swearing lessens the ‘goodness’ of a word, or certain phrase. So it would ’steal’ it’s value.
4. Remember the Sabbath- Not doing so would be stealing God’s day to be more openly worshipped.
5.Honor thy Mother and Father- I guess you could almost say that not doing so would be stealing their love- disobeying or otherwise going against them is not a reciprocal relationship.
6. Thou Shalt Not Kill- Stealing a person’s life, and that person away from his family.
7. Do not commit adultery- stealing away your spouses’ right to you and your promised lives’ together.
8. Dno’t steal.
9. Don’t lie- Lying steal’s a person’s right to know the truth
10.Don’t covet- Covetous behavior can lead to the person that owns the desired thing to not be able to openly enjoy it around you. Like, people who hide nice cars in old garages so no one steals it.

Forgive my short choppy explanations, but you get the idea. I am not a religious person, but this was one of the few things related to a religion that I could agree with. Following the simple idea of ‘thou shalt not steal’ is something that everyone, regardless of belief should do.

Now I’m going to go hunt through my old textbooks and try to find the story, hahaha.

Cheers

By: giffmex

giffmex — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:31:16 +0000

Sorry, venter, but I have to disagree. I think the Ten Cc’s are awesome. The Ten Commandments were given by God to a people just freed from slavery. God is saying, “In my kingdom, in contrast to Pharaoh’s kingdom, individuals’ rights to life, spouse, possessions and reputation will be honored. In my kingdom, my name and my image won’t be used by the State to manipulate people. In my kingdom parents and other authorities will be given the respect they are due. And in my kingdom, everyone, including the people on the bottom of the economic ladder, will not be exploited 7 days a week as the Israelites were by Pharaoh, but will be entitled to a rest each week.”

So I see the Ten Cc’s as a safeguard against oppression, and only secondarily then as a list of rules to obey. I am not so sure that in a non-theocratic nation such as the USA that they ought to be in courtrooms. But frivolous and unnecessary? Hardly.

And to add to the previous comment: the command not to kill may seem unnecessary in a society thoroughly saturated with Judeo-Chrisitan-Humanist influence, but if we silence that influence thinking it unnecessary, it will eventually be forgotten, and other Pharaohs and other people uninterested in such values will rise up, just as Joseph was forgotten in Egypt, and then suddenly people will be wondering how our nations got so murderous when once it was not so.

Blessings to you.

By: thetaman

thetaman — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:32:33 +0000

The various versions of the Bible throughout the ages have been so altered from the original for political and other purposes that a lot of it doesn’t make much sense anymore. No wonder you’re confused about these commandments and their value.

The first commandment does not make the rest ‘frivolous and unnecessary’ as you claim. Each one makes a specific point and by separating them out this way it draws attention to each one as itself. I think you’re missing the whole point of the Commandments if you don’t see the value of having them all delineated the way they are.