Judeo-Christian Principles vs Religion
Does a Person Need God In Order to Live a Moral Life?
Judeo-Christian Principles vs Religion
Whenever anyone mentions the obvious fact that the United States of America was founded upon Christian or Judeo-Christian principles, some Bozo (no offense to clowns) always plays the religion and government/church and state cards.
Christian and/or Judeo-Christian principles are easily separated from faith or religion. Here’s how to do it.
“Seven Rules for Living in an Orderly Society.”The 10 Commandments
Exodus 20:2-17
- “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
- “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
- “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
- “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
- “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
- “You shall not murder.
- “You shall not commit adultery.
- “You shall not steal.
- “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
The Task: Remove anything “God like” from the Commandments
I. Number One is dismissed as so much holy ego, so out it goes.
II. The not worshiping idols part of Commandment Number Two is a good idea, but for the wrong reasons. That whole “jealous God” and punishing children for the sins of their great-great-grand parents is just plain scary. We’ll toss Number Two too.
III. Three, like Two, is easily interpreted as an overactive spiritual ego, so scratch this one also.
IV. Number Four is also the right thing for hocus-pocus reasons. I believe, however, that nothing was designed to run on a 100% duty cycle, so taking an ‘enforced’ day off now and then helps keep us sane. We can rewrite this one a bit and keep it.
V. Rule number Five is easily a good idea. Respect the wisdom of those who have been around longer, and be good to your parents. It stays with a bit of a re-write.
VI-IX. Six through Nine are almost perfect as they stand. Just a bit of ‘modernization’ needed here.
X. Number Ten could use some clarification about the word “covet.”
covet
intransitive verb
to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another.
The word inordinate is the key adjective here.
With the above edits in mind, The Ten Commandments transform into …
Seven Rules for Living in an Orderly Society
- Take some time to chill with your family and friends. All work and no play you know …
- Learn from history. Pay attention to the experiences and wisdom of your elders. Be nice to your folks, they won’t be here forever..
- Don’t kill people unless they absolutely must be killed.
- Don’t screw around on your spouse, and don’t screw your buddies significant other either.
(See Rule Number Six) - Don’t steal other people’s stuff. (Reference Also Rule Number Seven)
- Don’t lie.
- It’s OK to aspire to the station of others, as long as you obey the previous Six rules.
I challenge anyone (trolls excluded) to find a problem with these Seven Rules.
The Ten Commandments reflect Judeo-Christian “Religion.”
The Seven Rules enumerate Judeo-Christian “Principles” or “Ethics.”
Even if you argue that the foundation of the United States is not based upon the Judeo-Christian Religion, you can hardly argue that it was not based upon Judeo-Christian “values,” a.k.a. The Seven Rules.
Thanks to my Atheist friend Jason, for his help in removing God from the Ten Commandments.
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