A lot of people still rave on about the 10 Commandments as a sort of framework, a foundation for life which outlines a set of morals and ethics from which to live the good life, a life pleasing to a god and hopefully find favour with that god, or which might help create a peaceful, pleasant and civil society. Actually, it would almost work in reverse. Excepting the few that were already existing pre-Judaism (from which Christianity borrows plentifully) in three other earlier religions and philosophies, the extra padding that accompanies them is just plain ridiculous. Let’s examine them to sort out the signal from the noise.
1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”
I find this one strangely suspicious, because it implies that there are actually other gods out there. Not that Yahweh is the higher god or a King of the Gods (like a pantheon), but just that there are other gods. Some apologists attempt to get around this by saying that the other gods are actually angels, specifically fallen angels, that are not even referenced in the Bible but are from external tradition. So, were these other gods actually mentioned? Of course they were. Check out Other gods and deities in the Old Testament
2 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them”
So pictures of Jesus, stained-glass windows, paintings, art used as objections of worship. They also can’t be used in any kind of shrine. This includes crucifixes in church. Used if used as a form of remembrance, instead of an empty tomb. Lot of people breaking this one.
3. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
God is proud and ego-driven, as hinted here. Using his name as appeal to authority, when in fact nothing was ever written by God. Killing people in the name of God (okay, he might appreciate that one, considering the killing and genocide he commands and endorses) or calling upon him for help. Those who feel arrogant enough that they can call upon his favour to change their circumstances when it must obviously be a part of his Grand Plan. Thinking you know better than God? That must annoy him.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Sorry Sunday (or Saturday, for the Seventh-Day Adventists), you can’t work and get your extra rates to support your family. You need them to go without and have a tighter budget. Sit on your arse instead and do not help your family. Oh, what about a friend or neighbour who doesn’t believe in your convictions, are you going to go and tell them to stop working, or doing up the back yard and doing some gardening? Good luck with that.
5. “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Yes, if your father abandoned you, or your mother is neglectful, and both are abusers, heavy drinkers, gamblers or completely apathetic towards you, you still need to respect them? What nonsense. Put up for adoption? Weren’t wanted as a child? Sorry, got bad news for you, God wants you to miserably still love them. Does that seem nice?
6. “You shall not murder.”
Seems reasonable on the surface of it, but what if you need to kill? What if you need to kill, or have indirectly through a butcher, an animal to eat for survival? Or, someone is threatening you with mortal danger? Self-defence through secular eyes says yes, the Bible says, just be killed. You can’t pre-emptively return the favour. Some apologists say there is a legal definition between killing and murder but surely it’s as simple as taking the life of another living being, or it’s not?
7. “You shall not commit adultery.”
Basic human morality already rules that this is a bad thing. We do not need religion to tell us. But in fact, adultery is commanded in the Old Testament, so it seems noone can commit adultery, unless by divine permission. Convenient isn’t it? This was already a part of Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Confucianism and from Rabbi Hillel. Nothing new here.
8. “You shall not steal.”
Once more, basic human morality already says we shouldn’t do this, purely because we wouldn’t want it done to us. Borrowing is certainly permitted, because it is taking something, with the original owners knowledge, and permission, usually with a faint promise of it returning. Do you mean the people got to Mount Sinai thinking it was okay to steal, only to be let down and told it’s now naughty? Please.
9 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.”
Again, on the surface of it, sounds good. If you lie all the time, your reputation suffers, you are deemed untrustworthy. But what if it’s to protect someone else? Someone else’s life? Courts are one thing but in the everyday life, lying can be important, even needed, in the right circumstances. Once again, human society was able to figure this one out before religion decided to steal it and codify it.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”
So you being envious of what others have or want to mimic them because of what they have. Or “Keeping up with the Jones'”. If this were strictly obeyed, there goes capitalism, innovation and social progress. The need to have that something better, that something more efficient, more shiny, bigger, more impressive, is what drives industry. What do they want, for us to be stuck in the Stone Age, or Medieval times? No.
Human solidarity, tribalism and the need to band together either literally as family, or like a family, is how human society was able to progress, evolve and improve. Where everyone knows everyone else, do you really think that someone could have got away with breaking 6-9 without consequences? Those who have no care or reason about breaking those are called sociopaths, or worse, those who get joy from breaking them, psychopaths. They would not have survived long, either by retribution or being punished in other ways only imagined.
So that is four rules which are not exclusive to Judaism or Christianity and certainly pre-date it by a long time, three rules about a narcissistic, psychopathic, genocidal, toying, capricious maniac who loves a bit of attention, one rule about a day of observance and appreciation of this monster and celestial dictator, another about your parents which involves something as disgusting, stupid and short-sighted as compulsory love and one more about remaining stupefied, ignorant, technologically and socially stagnant which only breeds further misery.
No, I think we can do away with the extra noise, the basic signal is just fine, and we already had them before religion which history has already demonstrably proven.
Acknowledgments: The author gratefully acknowledges a speech by the late great Christopher Hitchens which partly inspired this post.