Lycandom wrote:It seems to me like you think it doesn't exist so it doesn't. You can't explain everything in the universe, you shouldn't discount possibilities, that stunts your knowledge growth. You also shouldn't say things like what I italicized above. That makes no sense. He didn't change the commandments that's why things like these: (riddled with sarcastic and meaningful notes)
I am the Lord your God So malign and scary, oh my...
You shall have no other gods before me Also very malign, this teaches people to do what? Believe in something more than themselves, dangerous...
You shall not make for yourself an idol Same as above
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God This just means don't swear with God's name.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy Sundays, good day of the week.
Honor your father and mother Don't talk back mister...
You shall not murder So malign I can't stand it...
You shall not commit adultery This is the worst of them I mean don't cheat and use another person like that...
You shall not steal Doesn't belong to you, hands off. That sounds like a really bad policy doesn't it?
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor Don't lie about people.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife Same as the adultery one.
You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor Don't want what other people have. Love what you have, cherish it.
So sarcastic remarks aside, the commandments seem alright at face value. But allow me to delve deeper. The first is self-speaking, so I'm going to skip it.
The second, "You shall have no other gods before me". This seems fine on the outside, but wait, Believe only in me and "I am your Lord"? Doesn't that seem oh-so reminiscent of North Korea? It's simply a control mechanism that completely contradicts that he supposedly gave us free will.
The third, "You shall not make for yourself an idol". That, again is a control mechanism to force you into a full belief.
The fourth, again forces the impression that for some reason, he is greater than you. So great that you are not allowed to speak his name in a unworthy manner.
The fifth, I have no qualms with. Take a day off. Perfectly fine.
The sixth, honor your parents. I don't know why this is in the set of biggest rules, but alright.
The seventh, "You shall not murder". Now this gives the false impression that humans are so incredibly simple minded that they would kill each other unless they were told not to. Tell me this. If you have rational humans who actually use common sense, do you think it would make sense that they would kill each other? No, of course it doesn't. It is an evolutionary trait for humans not to want to kill each other, since humans were the first to create large groups in which they worked with each other to survive. Humans no longer needed the "survival of the fittest" mentality because they had created community. And what defines a murder? One human killing another? Than what about an eye for an eye? Would exacting revenge not also be murder?
The eighth, "You shall not commit adultery". Do you know what was considered adultery in the Bible? Men could sleep with whomever they wished, but women who were married, or even divorced, were not allowed to touch a man besides her husband sexually. Ignoring this, there are verses that contradict this completely.
Hosea 1:2
And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms....
Hosea 3:1
Then said the Lord unto me, God yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress.
The ninth, "You shall not steal". Now this defies the "Poor are more moral than the rich" preachings of Jesus. How? Would a rich man wish to steal from a poor man? Of course not, what would a poor man have to offer? Now, a poor man stealing from a rich man, doesn't that help him quite a bit?
The tenth, you shall not lie. Alright, fine.
The eleventh, do not want to have sex with another man's wife. Eh, alright. But doesn't this seem to want to change human nature? In nature, we had to have sex as much as possible to keep the human race going, since young were often easily killed, gestation periods were long, and we had a small clutch size. But in civilization, I can sort of see the reason behind this.
The last, don't want what someone else has. This has the same problems as the stealing one.
Overall, these rules seek to lessen the value of a human mind by patronization and control. Even the ones that seem alright are seeking to control you. You can have rules, but you must also have the mind to judge a situation yourself. The bible doesn't allow you to do so, as it makes it seem like if you don't follow these, then you won't be saved. But yes, the bible says you don't have to follow certain ones*, but what good is having a set of rules if you are allowed to pick and choose?
*If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. -- Matthew 19:17-19