Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
In the Landover Baptist thread, I was in a bit of a side discussion with Thunderball, who claimed that the Bible forms the basis of the laws of Western society. I challenged him on that fact, and asked which specific Biblical passages he meant. His first reply was, "Well, the 10 Commandments are a pretty obvious one..."
This is, of course, a great fallacy. The 10 Commandments absolutely do not form the basis of our laws. In fact, in several cases, our laws are specifically opposite to what is demanded by the 10 Commandments.
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Actually, you're totally offbase, which doesn't surprise me all that much. Just because something forms THE BASIS of the code of law (both common and civil law) does not mean this still reflects this and has not been updated. Does modern law match up with the ten commandments? Nope. Only a few are still prominent. Law constantly changes and progresses.
Lets go through this again with a more objective eye:
1. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Before the 20th Century, there was extensive laws on the religion of the land in Europe and North America. The United States was probably the first to grant freedom of religion. Mark this one as past influence of law.
2. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
This commandment has transformed from defamming God to libel and defammation of character. The context is very relevant. Mark this one as influential.
3. Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.
Up until the late 1960s, Alberta had laws on holy day activities. These have since been revoked, but I'd imagine some posters, and definitely everyone's parents and grandparents who lived in Canada in that time can remember when nothing was open on Sundays. Mark this one as former influence.
4. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
This is the preamble to the age of majority. Previous to this, you were/are considered the property of your parents/guardians. One is to honor their laws as they are liable. This has obviously liberalized in recent society, but you can't tell me this doesn't have its basis in modern western societies.
5. You shall not kill.
No brainer.
6. Neither shall you commit adultery.
Divorce laws are only now starting to bring in "no-fault." In many jurisdictions, adultery is considered a positive cause for divorce and can be used to assign fault. Previous to modern divorce laws, many western societies considered adultery illegal (unless one was rich and powerful enough... but is that really different than the celebrity show trials we see today?) Consider this one an influence.
7. Neither shall you steal.
No brainer again.
8. Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
Perjury and treason have both been drawn from this. While not a Bible only law (same with 5 and 7), they definitely influenced western society.
9. Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife.
Divorce was illegal in most Catholic nations until modern times. Its a stretch, but its an influence too.
10. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Modus operandii can be successfully connected to this principle. Murder of purpose and malice aforefront is always considered more heinous than accidental murder or when matters of money, sex or power are not involved.
So, my revised count shows that every commandment has some relevance in the progression of Western society from the Magna Carta to present, despite many falling into disuse in the past 100-150 years.
This is probably the last time I'm going to bother with these threads because its the same BS every time. The atheists are adamant that christianity is evil at worst and misguided at best, and should be done away with. The theists are adamant that christianity is the true faith, faith is important, and there is value in the teachings. The academic theists claim that even if you don't take the book to heart (which one isn't supposed to), there is merit in the teachings and that Christianity has had a profound influence on western society, most of it positive, yet concede that they brought a very fair share of negative too, and that while much is outdated, there is still a use for a liberal christian church that promotes love, tolerance, acceptance and faith while recognizing the advance of science. The academic atheists claim that western society came to be DESPITE christianity, have outgrown it, and needs to be sent out to pasture to die.
No one is going to budge. Hell, I'm not very religious at all... I haven't been in a church for anything aside from a wedding in at least 4-5 years. However, arguing that Christianity had no influence and brought about no basis for the modern legal system is about as assinine as claiming the Earth is 6000 years old, and God created it on a Saturday.