[Cheese]

So lets play a game...which of the ten commandments has western society based their laws on?
"Don't kill" and "don't steal", are excellent rules to have on the books but these were already rules which were well received and widely accepted tens of thousands of years before Christians took them as their own. That eliminates #5 and #7 from the posted commandments.

The Code of Hammurabi, which predated the commandments by centuries, and of which we actually have an existing copy are...get this...carved in stone!

The Code of Hammurabi

China, India, Sumeria and Egypt all had written codes thousands of years before the Jews fled into the desert. Each and every one of those codes had prohibitions against murder, theft, adultery, and fraud. And yet Christians persist falsely that they were first.

So lets see...despite claims that the ten commandments are the foundation of our legal system, the ten commandments are not even the foundation of ....get this...the ten commandments. Humanistic laws - don't kill people, don't cheat people, don't steal from people, were around for thousands of years and formed all of the good ideas with a fully rational basis and a wide following, that far predated Moses' alleged face to face with youknowwho.

Weve suggested that Laws 5 and 7 are debunked, what about the rest?

#1. You shall have no other gods before me.
Obviously this commandment serves some of the militants very well...in both Christian and Islamic law. I cant think of any law in the last few hundred years that this forms as a basis for laws of today. This commandment has served as the justification for some of the most horrific atrocities ever perpetrated against fellow humans over matters of conscience.
This commandment is not reflected anywhere in our laws and carries no criminal penalty.

#2. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God
For breaking the first two commandments, the Chrisitan Deity promises dire consequences for three or four generations of your descendents. Not sure where that is used in todays law books...again maybe a better use for Taliban rule. In the past this law was used to ban or outlaw art that wasnt construed as Christian.
This commandment is not reflected anywhere in our laws and carries no criminal penalty, and could not be more thoroughly disregarded or irrelevant.

#3. Observe the sabbath day.
Years ago this may have been followed in Christian countries. There are still a few backwards communities that have this law in effect. They are rapidly disappearing and are not required by federal law.

#4. Honor your father and your mother.
I wonder how many teens would have to be murdered to put this law into effect. Harsh? Maybe. Its irrelavant anyways...its not in our laws or constitution.

#5 was dealt with above...

#6 adultery.
Funny that this is the only form of sex that is outlawed in the bible? In todays law, adultery isnt even worth mentioning and isnt in any federal law.
In the far past the penalty was death....not sure what happened to goat herders who had a special relationship with one of their flock.

#7 dealt with above.

#8 false witness.
This is the first commandment from the bible that doesnt carry the death penalty. Again, written laws against lying LONG preceded the 10Cs. In todays courts the hand on the bible is still used to swear in...if you choose. I wwonder what % of the people who swear on the bible lie their arses off afterwards.

#9 coveting.
Years ago I would have been stoned to death because of my coveting! Im quite sure the vast majority of posters here would have joined me in a mass stoning...and thats not the MaryJane way of stoning! Where in the heck did this come from? Jealous goat herders? Should it be mentioned that our entire economy is built on coveting what everyone else has. This has no basis in law anywhere...other than perhaps some backwoods areas of remote Africa or South America?

#10 falls right in line with #9...

Perhaps an explanation why an omniscient, omnipresent, all knowing, all loving God didnt have any commandments for the following:

Violence of any sort including assault, child abuse, or spousal rape
Beating your pet dog, llama or cat
Alcohol or drug abuse
Porn
Aggressive driving
Anything to excess
War

Anything else that should or could have been in the commandments that was missed?

In the end the Chrisitian commandments are really a whole lot about nothing...mostly stolen from past religions and taken as their own...each and every one ....HUMANISTIC principles all.