THE TEN COMMANDMENTS SAY WHAT?

First of all, the ten commandments we’re most familiar were not the first commandments. Noah set forth seven commandments. When Moses threw down the original tablets containing the commandments, they were replaced by slightly different ones. Still, I’ll stick to the generally-accepted ones. And Moses is not the only famous ancient law-giver. There were also Manou, Minos, and Mises; all law-givers, all given their truths on a mountaintop. It’s also worth noting that roughly the same commandments appear in the Egyptian Book of The Dead (the Declarations of Maat) (believed to have been written roughly 1500 years before the ten commandments).

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; do not have any other gods before me.

The first commandment is that we place no other gods before God. Whether we believe in God or not is not mentioned – only that we not put other gods before him. This is so easy anyone can do it. But Christians DO put another god between us and God; Jesus. If this were meant to be so, why didn’t God stipulate it in the first commandment? “No other gods, except my son.” Seems easy enough. The penalty for breaking this commandment is DEATH. (Deut 17:2-7)

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The second commandment is against making idols (statues) and bowing down to them or worshipping them. Have you ever been in a Catholic church? Idols are prayed to there on a regular basis. The Catholic Church also keeps alive some of the practices of witchcraft (ritual lighting of candles and ‘warding’ the altar with a censer), though they are directly responsible for the torture and aggravated murder of thousands of people simply because it was suspected they might be witches. The penalty for bowing to idols is DEATH.

Punishing the children for the sins of their parents doesn’t seem fair. But the reward for 1,000 generations (at 20 years per generation, that’s 20,000 years!) seems great. But who has achieved it? Write me.

3. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

The third commandment is not to make wrongful use of the name of the Lord. However, He isn’t very clear on what His name IS. His original name was apparently “El.” Later, He says it is “I Am That I Am,” and JHVH (which no one is sure exactly how to pronounce). Since we’re not exactly sure what His name is, we might use it wrongfully by accident. This is another silly oversight. It would have been good if the commandments began, “I am the Lord your God, and my name is _____.” Or at least, “You can call me _____.” What if it turns out His name is actually Jehosaphat? That could mean trouble, because the penalty for breaking this commandment is DEATH (Lev 24:16).

4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

Which day is that, again? Jews and Seventh Day Adventists believe it’s on Saturday (Friday evening to Saturday evening). Catholics and Protestants believe it’s Sunday. Couldn’t we even get this one thing right? After all, the penalty is – can you guess – DEATH! (Ex 31:15)

5. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Honor your father and mother. Penalty for disobedience; DEATH (Lev 20:9). In fact, should a teenager rebel, he or she shall also be put to death (Lev 20:10).

6. You shall not murder.

Yet wars are not only supported by, but at times are STARTED by the church. Not just in ancient times, but NOW. You can see it in the ongoing violence between Israel and Islam. Check the news, it still happens all the time, all around you.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

Penalty: DEATH (Lev 20:10)

8. You shall not steal.

Penalty: DEATH

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Penalty: DEATH

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Penalty: Come on, you can guess. Just for thinking that you wish you had a house like your neighbors', DEATH

It’s interesting to note how many things were NOT included; abortion, transgenderization, prostitution, slavery, homosexuality, child abuse, drug use, or whether it’s okay to look into how the universe works, are just not there. It seems a silly oversight in view of human nature. If it were worth mentioning, surely it would be in there? The only place you’ll find social issues addressed is in Judaic Law. Not commandments from God, but principles ancient Jewish law-makers thought were reasonable. These are the same guys who, when they heard “keep the Sabbath holy” decided that it would be a punishable offense to push a button or take too many steps on a Saturday.

There’s a bit among the lesser-known commandments, where we’re told not to come before God empty-handed, which must mean that if you’re so poor that you have nothing, you’re not welcome to come to church. Homosexuality is among these other commandments as well, but the penalty against homosexuality is no more severe than that against seeing a family member naked (of course, both are DEATH).

In fact, if everyone who ever broke a commandment was put to death, we wouldn't be having nearly the overpopulation issues we're having right now!