... has to go.
Robert the Cacographic Christian has 'The Ten Commandments' as a feature on his blog's home page.
Richard of Richard's Bass Bag, rightly so, takes umbrage at this and in his most recent post writes:
"I went to reread Robert's post about being vulnerable, but it seems to have gone. Maybe his latest thinking is, "Be a bit of a bastard."
All I could find, on his blog, that looked new, was the ten commandments.
"The ten commandments
1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. 4. Honor your father and your mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbors wife. 10. You shall not covet your neighbors goods."
The first thing I noticed was the American spelling (neighbor, honor) and the lack of possessive apostrophes (neighbors goods, neighbors wife).
Maybe God is American?
As you probably already know, the first three commandments are about sucking up to God. Probably the two most logical commandments are telling you not to steal or kill. Did we really need number 10? Not stealing really covers that one. Again, number 9 is really covered by number 6. Number 8 sounds like an attempt to say, "Be nice to other people." Why doesn't it just say that?"*****************************
I generally agree with Richard and 'The Ten Commandments' has always been an annoyance to me even when I was a Catholic child being taught in Catholic schools. The whole thing is a crock of shit and could have been done better by Jacinda Ardern who said "Be strong and be kind". Hell, even that waste of space simp Melania Trump nailed it by saying "Be best"...
... but, knowing her it was probably some kind of superego claim.
The so-called ten commandments are extremely light on the important things that are fundamental to ethics, morality and responsible living and, as Richard said, too heavy on "sucking up to god".
It beggars belief that these ten rules for good living that christians seem to believe are sacrosanct make no mention of sexual abuse, slavery, racism, genocide, abuse of power, and not writing endless posts about double bass practice. It's as if those things are not deemed important and and, by default, sanctioned.
It's about time that they were dumped and a new code of ethics created and promulgated - not by any churches but by some respected world body - maybe
The United Nations which has already a quite useful and interesting charter:
UN Charter"United Nations Charter -Preamble
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
AND FOR THESE ENDS
to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,
HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.
Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations."
That'd be better than the other nonsense.
**************************
Here,
Cesar Sojo, in 'Injustice' investigates 'The Ten Commandments and comes up with basically the same conclusion as Richard and me - it has to go.
"For the sake of understanding how unexceptional the Ten Commandments are, we need to go through them. I‘ve bunched them into different groups and examined their flaws.
The Jealous God
- I am the LORD thy God
- No other gods before me
- No graven images or likenesses
- Not take the LORD’s name in vain
The first half of the commandments aren’t even practical pointers for a better life. They’re just statements declared by a green-eyed god. A god that can’t handle his creations rooting for other deities, and gets a bobo each time someone would utter his name in vain.
Not Terrible Advice
- Remember the sabbath day
- Honour thy father and thy mother
While it’s a good idea to honor your parents and take time off from work, I think it would be even better if we treated all humans with decency and respect. It encompasses a much larger group.
The Unoriginals
The only commandments that might actually reduce human suffering.
- Thou shalt not kill
- Thou shalt not steal
- Thou shalt not bear false witness
The few Commandments that are actually of value weren't even innovative for their time. People weren’t murdering and looting willy-nilly, having no idea what they were doing was wrong. “Wait, so it’s bad to slaughter other people? I had no idea?” Murder has been viewed as an unethical act in many cultures far before Judeo-Christian tradition.
Control Of Property
- Thou shalt not covet
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor — Exodus 20:17
Until this point, all the commandments have been laws telling people what actions were immoral, but this commandment takes it a step further and tells people that even thoughts can be immoral.
Thoughtcrime is real. Stealing your neighbor’s donkey is not enough of a crime, even thinking about wanting a donkey of your own is already wrong according to this commandment. Because you’re coveting that which belongs to your neighbor.
It’s impossible to follow the Ten Commandments when even thinking can be considered a sin.
- Thou shalt not commit adulteryIn Judaism adultery meant something very specific:Not having sex with “another man’s wife”
Not having sex outside of wedlock
The bulk of the emphasis was placed on a woman’s relationship to men and their“sexual purity”.
The Ten Commandments was and still is used as a tool to manipulate marginalized groups. Forceful men in positions of authority have cashed in on exploiting peasants for centuries.
Undermines the Class Struggles
The Bible and the Ten Commandments have been used as tools to persuade the masses of the status quo. A farmer must not covet the possessions of their rich neighbor, or yearn for a better life. For a farmer disgusted by inequity is sinning against God. Those in power use religion as a tool to keep the public from revolting.
Jesus himself was killed as he clashed with religious authorities. I go into further detail in my post on Jesus.
Did Jesus Really Exist?
How did a poor, illiterate, uneducated, pious, Jewish peasant start a religion?
Patriarchal Structure
In the Bible, women are second-class citizens and viewed as male possessions, on par with donkeys. I would have at least hoped that one of the commandments would have been reserved for protecting the rights of women. But clearly, that did not happen.
Racial Inequality
Throughout European, Latin American, and Northern American history, slavery was framed as morally justifiable based on guidelines set in scripture. In the eyes of the lord slavery, segregation and discrimination are all fine and dandy.
It horrifies me that none of the commandments make sure that all people ought to be treated equally. In fact, slavery is a common element of many biblical stories. God doesn’t seem to worry too much about having people enslaved or segregated.
Other Sources of Wisdom
Many believers will not seek out other sources of wisdom to base their morality upon. Why read Confucius, Plato, or Kant when God holds all the answers in heaven.
A Better World
The world becomes a brighter place without the Ten Commandments. It seems to me that it’s time to revamp our moral code. The following is a list of suggestions I’m making.Treat others with love and respect
Every person has the right over their own body
Do not enslave other people, like… seriously
Do not harm or abuse children
Do not force your religion upon your children or other people
There would be significantly less suffering if people took these principles into consideration. Incidentally, there’s nothing special about this list, anyone could come up with a similar list. It doesn’t take a degree in Philosophy or Theology to understand that it’s wrong to harm children or discriminate against other people. A bit of critical thinking and forethought goes a long way.
This is not a sacred list, and avoid following it dogmatically. Scrutiny and examination are more than welcome. Unlike the Ten Commandments, it’s encouraged to change your convictions when confronted with new information.
The Ten Commandments are underwhelming at best and a destructive device of tyranny at its worst. The commandments are used for social control and keeping people in check. I came up with a new set of recommendations that you can take or leave.
Your life will change when you realize that there’s nothing special about what is said in the bible. You can come up with something even better.
[Sorry about the format there - the cutting and pasting proved to be a bit difficult. Robert is better at that as he's more experienced]
