The Ten Commandments

Over many years the people have debated whether the Ten Commandments are still relevant. This ongoing debate has lead me to discover the inside views and meanings of this controversial matter. Firstly the Ten Commandments are also known as the Decalogue and they are a series of principles. These axioms are the foundation rules of which were handed to Moses by God to set a better future, these fundamental rules set ethical values. These rules consist of Thou shalt have no other Gods, No graven images or likenesses, Not take the Lord's name in vain, Remember the Sabbath day, Honour thy father and thy mother, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness and Thou shalt not covet. Specifically these rules influence different religious groups, such as Judaism, Muslims and Christianity despite both religions following the same rules they interpret them very differently. This leads me on to the principles themselves and different views. Christians have quite a set view about the Ten Commandments as they strongly treat the Ten Commandments as the foundation of morality. Both Christians and Jewish interpret these commandments slightly differently. As a result of this Judaism follow the similar concept as the Christians, they believe that the Ten Commandments are basic foundations in which we shall abide to, to create/live a better life however they are not as important as other commandments in which they follow. Even though both Judaism and Christianity follow a similar view Muslims abide to their own strict interpretations, they do not follow the absolute authority of the bible however they do accept that both Jesus and Moses are symbolic prophets, due to this they do follow similar aspects of the ten commandments however, the way in which they state these principles are widely varied compared to the bibles versions. Concluding this, it is quite clear to understand that both Christianity and Judaism follow similar views however the Muslim society dont necessarily abide to them strongly, but they do have some respect for them even though they are not seen as overall very important.

Thou shalt have no other Gods is the first rule in the Ten Commandments. Judaism follows this rule and, they have interpreted this as an important principle to abide to, this is because their complex understanding portrays God as a hero. They believe that God saved them and defeated their former master a pharaoh who was regarded as a living God among the Egyptians at the time also they believe this is both a statement of Gods existence and a statement of action. However Christians interpret this quite similarly nevertheless this depends on what Christian view you follow. In the new testament of the Bible the books teachings is found to state that Jesus also stated this rule in a slightly different manner, he said love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind in addition to this when he came to the obstacle of controversy between the love and worship to god between the love for material goods (i.e. money) he astutely stated that You cannot serve both God and money. This intelligently and indirectly persuades and makes people re think their actions consequently making them put God as their first priority. Furthermore another Christian view in the eyes of the Catholic Church is that very similarly to the Jewish view they believe that god set them free from slavery in the Egyptian era. Consequently they feel again they owe god and believe in his transcendent power. You shall not make for yourself an idol (No graven images or likenesses) is the second principle in the Ten Commandments, again this rule is highly respected by all sets of the religions on the other hand Muslims do interpret it slightly differently. The Christian view on this commandment is divided again into two different interpretations; firstly the Catholic view is that it does accept idolatry for the use of religious icons however they do not believe in making other equal beings your personal idol as they believe you should lead and inspire your own life without idolising somebody. On the other hand the protestant views are stricter and they believe that you should cleanse your faith and have no idols and images to idolise. Judaism follows a similar belief as the Protestants, and consequently they believe that idolatry is not right therefore they prohibit any forms of idolatry. They also state that idolatry is not limited to the worship of a statue or picture, but also includes worship of the Almighty Himself through meditators or even artist representations of God.

The third axiom is Not to take the Lord's name in vain. Christianity generally interprets this as not to
use Gods name with disrespect and the use of his name must only enter speech to bless, praise or glorify the name. This rule is taken very seriously by most Christians as if you do not abide to this it shows a great sign of disrespect. Again Jews follow the same understanding however to help prevent causing an accidental mistake they generally try to avoid using Gods name in the first place and so they consequently use substitutes such as Adonai meaning The Lord to avoid such a matter. The fourth rule is that you Remember the Sabbath day (or keep the Sabbath as a holy day). The main Christian view point is that it brings a connection between you and God as well as this they believe that it respects the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. Furthermore catholic teachings believe that it connects the Sabbath with gods rest after the six days of creation, consequently they believe that God rested on the seventh day to set an example for the human race. The Jewish view states that they believe that this commandment given directly from God and marks the statement of rest after creation. The fifth principle is to Honour thy father and thy mother, this is the most altercated matter as many people who dont necessarily follow any of these religions or believe in any of the meanings still strongly agree/disagree to this matter. It would seem that one might consider that these rules are fairly stable however everybody has their own interpretation on this matter, as one may say that These rules are foundationally set and you should honour the people who have brought you up and who have loved and cared for you, in all situations alternatively someone may say that these rules can be widely interpreted so how far do you honour your mother and father? And should you even honour them when they do wrong?. As you can see there are contrasting views depending on opinion, so how do some religions interpret this principle? Christianity take a clear understanding of this and believe that this is Gods desired order of respect (First to God himself, then to thy mother and father and then to the others who surround your life), the catholic teachings strongly state that by honouring your mother and father shows deep respect and brings rewards of peace and prosperity where as if you do not honour your mother and father then it show disrespect and slow loses your respect once held by them. Compared to Christianity Judaism take a slightly different understanding to honour thy Mother and Father this is because they teach and believe that there are 3 partners in the creation of one person these people are your Mother, your Father and God. They believe that you should show the same respect to your mother and your father as you do to God, this bring them on to believe that however you insult your parents should serve the same punishment as you would if you insulted God. As we can clearly tell Jews see their parents as almighty figures and are much more respectful of them than what Christians are due to their belief/understanding. Overall many people have different views on this matter however depending on your opinion it will depend on which view you shall take.

The Sixth commandment is Thou shalt not kill as with the fifth commandment this is a regularly debated topic due to the wide range of opinionated viewpoints. One may say that killing is not acceptable in any situation however another view point would be that killing is acceptable for defence such as defending ourselves or others, this leads us on to the question of whether killing is the same as murder?. This question may only be answered in opinion but which reason and opinion is correct?. The Christian society would say life is sacred and they believe that they no-one has the right to take an innocents life. Their perspective is that humans are Gods special creation and that a humans life is connected to God. A Jewish opinion is that they list murder as one of the 3 sins (along with idolatry and sexual immorality), they are so strongly opposed to killing that they sate One should let himself be killed rather than violate it. However these quotations do not answer whether or not you should kill for protection for the country. Some Muslims have said that it is not necessary right to take a life at any cost however if someone purposely tries to take a life without any negotiation of why and how they could be helped, also if you could save many innocent lives because of it then in a possible situation like that, it would be for the better to take a life. However how do they make that assumption? Personally I believe that this decision of action was taken on matter of opinion because not all Muslims take that as a fair answer, everyone has different views depending on opinion. The reason why this commandment has no base or foundation answer is because it is such a diverse and complex statement, which has never came without any foundation facts or reasoning, as a result of this over time people have built up opinions which have no right or wrong answer, leading to further debates. The seventh commandment is Thou shalt not commit adultery. Again this commandment raises more issues such as whether or not rape is counted as adultery. However most peoples views now is that as long as you do not hurt anyone through committing adultery then why should it not be allowed? Many people make judgements like this depending on the certain situation. Some Christians refrain from sexual relationships before marriage to help prevent the likely hood of committing adultery. They also believe that trust and loyalty is the key to relationships so Jesus taught and stated that But I say to you, anyone who looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. This helps to re-enforce that marriage is also a big commitment however adultery is an easy fall. Adultery is seen to hurt not only the people who are closely involved but the siblings/children of the family, as you can tell adultery not only affects your loved ones but it affects others whom you may love around you. Committing adultery causes pain but if both partners agree on the end of a marriage then it should be allowed. A Jewish viewpoint is very similar to a Christians however they have strong views that state, There shall be no intercourse with a woman, without previous marriage with a deed of marriage and formal declaration of marriage and also Not to have intercourse with another man's wife. Basically again meaning that adultery is easy to fall for however it brings no positive outcome.

The eighth principle is Thou shalt not steal. It has become obvious that the court of law and justice have decided to put this as one of the laws today, most people understand this and they know that stealing brings no positive impact it only weighs your life down in guilt. Christians usually refer to this commandment and link it with the statement love your neighbour as yourself this is commonly referred to because it basically states that you have got to treat people as you would wish to be treated. They believe that in no means you should steal, and if you steal you have no right to expect the right to private property. They also believe that this commandment links closely with the commandment Thou shalt not covet. This is because coveting means to long to possess or to have something; coveting brings on passion for stealing due to the desired possession. A Jewish view is fairly similar to a Christians as they believe that again steeling is wrong in all situations however they feel that once someone is in possession of a coveted item then it can mentally affect them causing them to become more violent, this may possibly lead to actions of harm and murder. Many affects can lead off of stealing and cause greater negative affects to the society as a whole, this is why so many religions and people as a whole agree on the same terms to this commonly known commandment. The ninth commandment is Thou shalt not bear false witnesses. This commandment is known and respected by all Christians however do they all follow this commandment? Mostly all Christians try to abide to this commandment however sometimes some Christians tell lies to make a better impact on society. An example of this is when a person asks you do you think I look good in this? and to make a positive impact on a person some Christians would say yes you do! however if you look at the long term effect then other inconsiderate people would make rude comments causing the persons self-esteem to drop, consequently their trust in you would be doubted even though at first it seemed a nicer thing to say. Overall many Christians are honest and believe that this commandment is very important, because being truthful makes trust and trust joins the world together. A Jewish opinion is very similar to the Christians due to, they believe that lies eventually cause harm majorly or to a minor extent however it still causes pain or a bad outcome. Also a Jewish view can also be determined from this statement, One who bears false witness against ones neighbour commits as serious a sin, this states that by lying you do commit a serious sin/bad deed.

Finally the last commandment is Thou shalt not covet. To covet something means to Yearn to possess or have something. Coveting can be of material goods such as money, clothes, technology ect. It is believed that coveting can lead to wrong doings, this is because when you covet a desired item, then in extreme cases you may steal that item, however once in possession of a coveted and stolen item it has been proved that it may cause you to act more violently. A Christian view on coveting is that ones life doesnt consist on material goods as stated by Jesus here for ones life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Furthermore they teach that coveting is the start of breaking commandments, it leads to greed, theft and lies which all are forbidden due to the commandments. A Jewish view is that they believe that coveting is a fence/boundary intended to keep them away from serious sins of theft, adultery, and murder. Another view they hold is that coveting is the start of a chain reaction of serious wrong doings; this is why similarly to the Christians they enforce such strong beliefs and teachings about the importance on this particular commandment. On the whole, Christians, Jews and Muslims believe strongly towards the significance and the importance of the Ten Commandments. Never the less it is important to refer back to the original question of this task, this question is that The Ten commandments are no longer relevant, on the whole after exploring the ten commandments themselves as well as finding out some religious viewpoints on each commandment it is clear to understand that the commandments are highly respected and bring different aspects and interpretations. However this leads me on to wanting to find out more about different groups of societies views along with these religious views. Initially my views on the ten commandments were fairly straight forward as I believed basically what they stated, however after viewing other religious cultures views and interpretations on them, it widened my personal view on each commandment, consequently this built a complex and more open opinion towards the ten commandments in general. The question that The Ten commandments are no longer relevant is completely opinionated to whether you agree or not with this. However I personally feel that these commandments were the start of rules and laws for each generation, this is because most of the laws and moral codes that we are to abide to today have hidden aspects of each commandment within them. Not only has these commandments developed from a religious background to a multicultural environment, it has set firm rules to society which guides everyone (no matter whether religious or not) to a better future. Whether or not I am religious it is completely irrelevant, because the Ten Commandments are aspects of everyday life and most people are respectful of laws which contain such aspects, (even if they are not religious) for example the 1968 act of theft is one law of which the UK abides to today about stealing evidently this law follows the same aspect of the commandment Thou shalt not steal. Personally I feel that the Ten Commandments have set such a foundation to life as a whole, whether or not they are respected doesnt make them irrelevant because of their vast impact on society. I believe they are relevant just due to their powerful, positive impact on life as a whole.

Next I am going to discover what an Absolute Moralist would say about whether or not the Ten commandments are no longer relevant. Firstly an Absolute Moralist is someone who always follows the rules, which have been either set by themselves or by external forces like the law. They believe that rules are the most important thing, no matter what the situation. The Roman Catholic tradition within Christianity and the Muslim faith are both examples of groups which follow an absolute moral stance. An Absolute Moralist believes strongly in absolute morality so their opinion on the Ten Commandments is fairly tenacious as they personally believe that rules such as the Ten Commandments lead to a better future. One quote from an Absolute Moralist is I strongly believe that Gods act through the Ten Commandments is to set rules to follow, so why shouldnt we abide all lifes rules? Most Christian parties believe that the Ten Commandments are the foundations to morality in general; this is because of their powerful influence and their long history. Referring once again back to the original question, it is quite clear that an Absolute Moralist clearly sees the importance within rules and commandments so certainly it is obvious that they find the commandments relevant. Another view would be from a Relative Moralist, a Relative Moralist is someone who always tries to judge a situation before making a decision, and this means that sometimes the rules are broken, because that course of action does not seem to be the best one. A Relative Moralists view on the Ten commandments are no longer relevant would be fairly similar to an Absolute Moralist, this is because both groups believe that set rules are important to help as guidance through life, however a Relative Moralist would say that rules are a rough guideline to follow, but if certain situations are judged and you have to take a different course of action (for a better positive outcome) then it is perfectly acceptable. Again this states that they believe, that the Ten Commandments are perfectly relevant however if breaking a rule brings a better outcome then it should be accepted. The next significant view we are going to take is of a Literal Christians. Literal Christians will read the biblical text and take every phrase as an exact event or teaching, this leaves no room for interpretation and many people believe this to be the only pure form of Christianity, and the one that is the easiest to follow because the guidance is exact. They also believe that these commandments should not be broken at all because they know the bible is the words of God. A Literal Christian would share a similar view to an Absolute Moralist this is because they both believe that the commandments are there to be followed and they are a statement of Gods rules. A Literal Christian would say the commandments are Gods precise rules which we must obey. This again tells us that they take the commandments literally so this show us that they believe the ten commandments are relevant.

Finally we are going to look at the view of a Non-Literal Christian; a Non-Literal Christian is someone takes a Non-Literal interpretation of biblical accounts, a definition of this is stated here Biblical literalism is not rigidly believed by all scholars: Non-literal interpretations of some scripture are held by both classical and modern thinkers. This may include the use of figure of speech. Non-Literal Christians are more open to topics and arguments as they endeavour to interpret their own opinion into their belief, this means that they follow the similar route as which Relative Moralist take. They would again, believe in the Ten Commandments however they would interpret their own opinion into the commandments meaning. Finally this would definitely state that they disagree with the statement/question the Ten commandments are no longer relevant because they definitely follow the rules of the Ten Commandments as well as interpreting their own view into them. Also another topic which I feel affects peoples opinion on the ten commandments, is the punishments and rewards which God states to have to offer; from abiding or disrespecting the commandments. Looking at a wider view people are generally very attached to their social lives and consequently others views are important to them. So by following the Ten Commandments it will allow the person to gain more merit, this then leads to becoming a good citizen (in Gods eyes), this will finally gain them respect from other members of the society. This means others judgemental views will be in praise allowing the person to feel confident and proud in society as well as their social lives. This is generally what I believe God has intended to do, not only to protect our environment but to also help us along socially. In conclusion to all this evidence it is naturally obvious to determine that most of todays society and economy relies on the basis of the Ten Commandments, no matter what religion, what personal belief, they all follow the Ten Commandments aspects to a degree of respect. Overall I feel that without these commandments our social ability and lifestyle would be drastically different without these firm structural rules in place.