Why do people have all these stupid "Keep The 10 Commandments In Our Courthouse" bumper stickers? The 10 Commandments are completely insane. If I thought for one second that our legal system was in any way influenced by those stupid commandments, I would leave this country tomorrow.
Has anyone actually read the 10 Commandments? One of them is "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's donkey." Yet, I don't see any mention of rape or pedophilia. I'm not aware of any part of the Bible that condemns rape or pedophilia, but I'm certain that the 10 Commandments don't mention them. If these are supposed to be the 10 most important rules, it seems like rape and pedophilia should have made the list before not coveting thy neighbor's donkey. If these commandments are to be believed, then it would be better for you to fuck your neighbor's children then to wish you had their donkey. Is that really the sort of moral compass we want to direct us?
I would like to see someone go to confession one Sunday and tell your priest that your neighbor just got this new donkey, and you really wish you could have it. Tell them that you're constantly thinking to yourself, "Man, if only I could have that donkey. Think of all the plowing I could do with that.(?)"(I HAVE NO IDEA EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE NEED DONKEYS FOR) Tell your priest that you've just got to have that donkey. Go on and on about it for about an hour or so. After all, you've broken one of the 10 most important rules, so for sure your sin should be worth his time. You should come back to confession every week and say things like "I had another dream about that donkey" and "Sometimes I call the donkey late at night and hang up."
Why is it limited specifically to donkeys? Can you covet your neighbor's horse? Or what about their dog? Can you kill their dog? When it says "Thou shalt not kill" is it just talking about people, or does that include everything? If it includes everything, does that mean that I've broken a commandment if I step on a cockroach? Also, is it worse for me to covet my neighbor's donkey or to kill my neighbor's donkey? What happens if my neighbor isn't married, but he and his girlfriend are just living together? Can I covet my neighbor's girlfriend? What happens if they are married, but my neighbor's wife has her own donkey? Can I covet my neighbor's wife's donkey? And would it be okay for me to tell my neighbor that his wife has a nice ass as long as I was talking about the donkey?
If these commandments are so important, and they were written by an all knowing god, then why are they so vague and subjective? Also, in what way is having the 10 Commandments in our court houses not a violation of "separation of church and state"? Can somebody please tell me that? Because I'm confused.
I think that the 10 Commandments were a way of duping people into following made up rules by telling them that "God said so." I say we take the 10 Commandments out of our courthouses, and stick them back up Moses's ass, which is where he apparently got them from. I wish someone would put that on a bumper sticker.
|
mrplow8's blog
follow this blog
subscribe via RSS
send message
invite to meetup+play
Troll? I will respond anyway. Read them. It's not just about donkeys. I am an athiest, btw but ignorance is ignorance.
It seems like you only blog on NVGR related things.
Cool stories, bro.
I think the idea was that most people would already know that rape and pedophilia were wrong.
Either that or they didn't think they were wrong.
Religiontoid.
But will it sell?
@ETERNALDEATHSLAYER
So most people already knew that rape and pedophilia was wrong, but not that murder and stealing was wrong?
@PKN
Which 10 Commandments should I read? Every branch of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have their own versions of the 10 Commandments.
@ MrPlow: Does it matter?
@Mr Plow: If it does matter, you're caring to much and are part of the problem.
Your mom was wrong, LAST NIGHT! BURN!
Also, whatever happened to Christian Gamer?
@mrplow8
No.
Judaism and Christianity both have the same set of 10 commandments, found in the Old Testament.
Orthodox Jews also follow Mosaic Law, which is the name for all the popular rules you hear about such as "dairy and meat on separate plates".
The Islamic faith has 5 pillars (guidelines) to follow, in addition to additional rules dictated by God to Muhammad, found in the Qu'ran.
So no: not every faith has a different "10 commandments", just a different set of rules found in their respective sacred texts. So instead of pretentiously attacking religion, I suggest going to your local library and getting your facts straight.
As a religion major, I've had many discussions with atheists, and all of them were fairly educated on religious subject matter. Do some research if you want to be taken seriously.
Also Also, read the Cajun 10 Commandments, it is the only true version.
THE CAJUN TEN COMMANDMENTS
(unaltered original version found in Deut 5:6-12)
* 1. Jus be one God in dat Heaven!
* 2. Don't be having no idols.
* 3. Don't be cussin' at nobody.
* 4. Brought yo-self to church when dey open da doors.
* 5. Listen to you maw-maw an' paw-paw.
* 6. Don't be kilt nobody.
* 7. Ma chere, don't sleep wit yo brother's wife.
* 8. Don't go took nothin' from nobody.
* 9. Always told da whole troot.
* 10. Don't go wish fo yo' neighbor's pirogue or tings.
@EternalDeathSlayer
It matters as long as people want to keep their commandments in courthouses. If they want to display their commandments in a building that my tax dollars pay for, then I have some things to say about them. If they keep their religious beliefs in their own churches and homes, then I couldn't care less what they believe.
@ MrPlow: Does it really hurt you to see that in a courthouse? It's not changing anything.
I can't stand people who complain about shit just because they can. It's not hurting anyone so grow up and worry about something more important.
Take the issue to court if you've got a problem.
And then get a life.
@Mrplow8
Now I see that you're just uneducated.
The Supreme Court is working on it, and are well aware of the separation of church and state. The fact is, we are a Judeo-Christian country, and you're going to have to deal with that for some time.
Along with my statement above, suffice to say this conversation is done.
@Eternal
I don't want to turn this into a debate, but our country cannot endorse any one religion in particular: this is bound by our constitution. If the 10 Commandments are allowed in a state or federal building, then every other religious sect should be allowed to display their text of choice as well.
Of course, none of this changes the fact that mrplow8 doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about, so I don't see a need to continue here.
I think that being this concerned about the commandments in your courthouse shows that you don't really have your priorities straight.
I think theres much more to worry about.
@Daxelman
How am I part of the problem? The problem is that displaying religious guidelines in a US courthouse is a violation of seperation of church and state. Anytime anyone points this out we're "part of the problem." It's like if a house is burning down and you say "We need to put that fire out.", and I say "You're complaining too much. You're part of the problem."
I've never once seen any "Take The 10 Commandments Out of Our Courthouses" bumper stickers. If those bumper stickers exist, they're greatly outnumbered by the "keep the 10 Commandments" bumper stickers, because I see those every day. It also seems like you always see people protesting the removal of the commandments, and not vice-versa. So you tell me which side cares too much.
Why is it that beliefs only held by certain people can be displayed in courthouses? I have to pay taxes too.
@Magnalon
You're wrong, the 10 Commandments slightly vary even within different demoninations of Christianity. I don't care if you call them commandments, or rules, or whatever... How do you justify displaying one religions "rules" and not anothers?
You can be as condesending as you want, I don't need to do any research to know that you're violating the constitution by trying to promote your religion in public courthouses.
You claim that we're a "Judeo-Christian country"(which is bullshit), and then you say that the country can't endore any one religion. Both of those can't possibly be true. And stop calling me names because you don't agree with me.
@nukka jdav
That's the classic defense of a man with no argument. Anytime someone objects to a position that you can't defend, they have too much time on their hands, or they need to get a life, or there are more important things to worry about.
@Mrplow
Again, uneducated.
"I'm" violating the constitution? I'm not violating anything, I'm an American citizen.
I already said every sect should have their views promoted.
Also, WE ARE A Judeo-Christian society. 76% of America's population are Christian. This is an irrefutable fact.
Was I saying that our fore-father's Judeo-Christian undertones put forth in our country's texts are justified? No. I'm simply saying they exist.
"Our nation, under God" - Pledge of Allegiance
"In God we trust" - On our national currency
Yes, we are a Judeo-Christian nation! I am Christian, yet I do not think we should endorse one faith. How is that hard to understand?
Read a book!
@Magnalon: While I agree that we are a Judeo-Christian nation, the examples you cite weren't part of our national government until the mid-1950s. Our founding fathers had nothing to do with them.
It was something the government added to the cultural landscape because we wanted a unification front against the communists during the cold war (as organized religion was more or less outlawed in the Soviet Union).
"One Nation Under God" and "In God We Trust" weren't added to out pledge/currency until the 1950s. They shouldn't be there either.
Why is it that only Christians say "Judeo-Christian"? I've never once heard any Jewish person say that.
Judaism and Christianity are two very different religions. Just because Christianity branched off of Judaism doesn't make them the same. Mormonism branched off of Christianity. Why don't you consider us a "Judeo-Christian-Mormon" country?
Anyway, we're not a "Judeo-Christian" country anymore then we're a white country.
We shouldn't display any religious rules in courthouses. If you think we should allow all of them, then should we allow The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts" from the Pastafarian religion? If you don't, that's discrimination, and if you do, then that opens the door for pretty much any crazy thing that anyone wants to display in courthouses to be displayed. Doesn't it make more sense to just keep church and state separated, like the founding fathers intended?
I didn't mean to imply that my paragraph on our founding fathers was linked to the next few statements. It's common knowledge, but I should have clarified.
The point still stands that over time, we have become increasingly more Judeo-Christian.
@ Magnalon: I'm not saying every religion shouldn't be equally represented; I'm telling him that nobody gives a shit, and if he gives a shit then he should do something about it instead of complaining on a video game website.
Like I said, he should take it to court if he really cares about it. But he won't, because he's only here to drum up some attention for himself.
Also, he really shouldn't be talking about shoving the commandments up Moses' ass. That's just not nice.
@EternalDeathSlayer
By "Moses' ass" I meant his donkey, which according to the 10 Commandments, I can shove things up as long as I'm not coveting it.
Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?
You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:
About 5,000 years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together to try to figure out how to control people and keep them in line. They knew people were basically stupid and would believe anything they were told, so they announced that God had given them some commandments, up on a mountain, when no one was around.
Well let me ask you this- when they were making this shit up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision! It is clearly a bullshit list. It's a political document artificially inflated to sell better. I will now show you how you can reduce the number of commandments and come up with a list that's a little more workable and logical. I am going to use the Roman Catholic version because those were the ones I was taught as a little boy.
Let's start with the first three:
I AM THE LORD THY GOD THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME
THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN
THOU SHALT KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH
Right off the bat the first three are pure bullshit. Sabbath day? Lord's name? strange gods? Spooky language! Designed to scare and control primitive people. In no way does superstitious nonsense like this apply to the lives of intelligent civilized humans in the 21st century. So now we're down to 7. Next:
HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER
Obedience, respect for authority. Just another name for controlling people. The truth is that obedience and respect shouldn't be automatic. They should be earned and based on the parent's performance. Some parents deserve respect, but most of them don't, period. You're down to six.
Now in the interest of logic, something religion is very uncomfortable with, we're going to jump around the list a little bit.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS
Stealing and lying. Well actually, these two both prohibit the same kind of behavior- dishonesty. So you don't really need two you combine them and call the commandment "thou shalt not be dishonest". And suddenly you're down to 5.
And as long as we're combining I have two others that belong together:
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTRY
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE
Once again, these two prohibit the same type of behavior. In this case it is marital infidelity. The difference is- coveting takes place in the mind. But I don't think you should outlaw fantasizing about someone else's wife because what is a guy gonna think about when he's waxing his carrot? But, marital infidelity is a good idea so we're gonna keep this one and call it "thou shalt not be unfaithful". And suddenly we're down to four.
But when you think about it, honesty and infidelity are really part of the same overall value so, in truth, you could combine the two honesty commandments with the two fidelity commandments and give them simpler language, positive language instead of negative language and call the whole thing "thou shalt always be honest and faithful" and we're down to 3.
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR"S GOODS
This one is just plain fuckin' stupid. Coveting your neighbor's goods is what keeps the economy going! Your neighbor gets a vibrator that plays "o come o ye faithful", and you want one too! Coveting creates jobs, so leave it alone. You throw out coveting and you're down to 2 now- the big honesty and fidelity commandment and the one we haven't talked about yet:
THOU SHALT NOT KILL
Murder. But when you think about it, religion has never really had a big problem with murder. More people have been killed in the name of god than for any other reason. All you have to do is look at Northern Ireland, Cashmire, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the World Trade Center to see how seriously the religious folks take thou shalt not kill. The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed. So, with all of this in mind, I give you my revised list of the two commandments:
Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.
&
Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.
Two is all you need; Moses could have carried them down the hill in his fuckin' pocket. I wouldn't mind those folks in Alabama posting them on the courthouse wall, as long as they provided one additional commandment:
Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.
Its not that I don't have an argument, but I think its just such a small deal compared to many other things you should be concerned about. I actually do agree that there needs to be a much more distinct separation between church and state, but I think that starting with getting the ten commandments out of courthouses is probably the most ass backwards place to start.
Yeah, it'd really be making a difference.
All I know is ball. And good. And rape.
And I was wondering who was gonna post that tewdee.
I laughed so hard while reading this. Good job!
I am constantly annoyed by the injection of religion into our government system. If this continues, we will eventually have a national religion and the government will retcon the fact that several of the founding father's were Deists.
And my neighbor's wife has a fine, fine ass.
I read this while eating a hamburger.
True story.
@tewdee
I LOVE GEORGE CARLIN R.I.P.
While I agree with your sentiments, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. We all know the specific text of the commandments is outdated. In order to be taken seriously, you have to examine the intent.
Tewdee broke it down appropriately. Proponents of placing such displays call the commandments pillars of modern law. However, only a few are actually related to US law. The first three deal exclusively with a specific deity, which has no part in our legal system. Four more, while perfectly decent moral codes, are nowhere codified in federal law. Only three, perjury, theft, and murder, are codified in law.
Perhaps we ought to display 3/10 of the commandments in public buildings.
Again, I agree with what you're arguing. I just think the argument itself is terrible. :P
I agree. Did you know that there has even been talk of it being engraved in public schools?