{"id":1664,"date":"2013-07-04T06:30:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-04T13:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/incredulous\/?p=1664"},"modified":"2015-07-25T12:32:59","modified_gmt":"2015-07-25T19:32:59","slug":"10-awkward-facts-about-the-ten-commandments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/incredulous\/2013\/07\/04\/10-awkward-facts-about-the-ten-commandments\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Awkward Facts about the Ten Commandments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Context: Catholicvote’s <\/a>“Top 10 \u00a0Awkward Facts About the Atheist Monument”
\nSee also Hemant Mehta’s rejoinder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Charlton Heston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10 Awkward Facts about the Ten Commandments (for American Catholics)<\/p>\n

10.<\/strong> There aren’t ten. And there is no agreement on which ten of the many are “the” ten. The phrase “ten commandments” appears in Exodus 34 and in Deuteronomy 10, which is a reference, but not a list. The strange thing is that the line about Moses writing on the (new) tablets “the ten commandments” is preceded by a list of totally different orders, such as “you shall keep the feast of the unleavened bread”. The familiar list is given earlier in Exodus 20, except that it is never there called “the Ten Commandments” and there is no mention of tablets until 11 chapters and 600-some commandments later.<\/p>\n

Also, Exodus 20 gives thirteen specific orders, not ten. The same list is repeated in Deuteronomy 5, yet again not<\/em> called “Ten Commandments”. Wikipedia offers this helpful table <\/a>showing how seven different branches of Christianity\u00a0carve up the “Ten Commandments”.<\/p>\n

\"Left<\/a>
Left to right, that\u2019s Septuagint (think Orthodox Christianity), Philo, Talmud, Augustine, Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

9.<\/strong> The First Amendment of the US Constitution is a requirement to break the First Commandment. Or, at least to create a society based on doing so. Cherishing the founding fathers and the Constitution means openly endorsing the right of every person to blatantly violate God’s numero uno law. Awkward, if you think the Godly Commandments are the moral basis of rightful behavior a la murder, lying and so on.<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong> Catholics have to believe\u00a0Exodus 20 doesn’t really<\/em> mean it when it says “no carved images”, because this:<\/p>\n

\"Seem<\/a>
Seem pretty graven to me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7.<\/strong>\u00a0As if in reply to God’s “You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain” suggestion, \u00a0the founding fathers included a Constitutional protecting against all those who might break it. \u00a0American’s have freedom of speech that trumps the delicate feelings of known and unknown gods. This is all still in the First Amendment. Don’t sweat it though, if anyone asks, we’re a ‘Christian nation’ (except Tripoli, if they ask, we’re totally not).<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> America is now largely dedicated to avoiding “keeping the Sabbath holy” in any way. I used to work retail and I can tell you this: Sunday is by far the busiest day of the week, every week, without fail. Then of course, there’s this <\/a>popular Sunday activity where we actually require God to work and work for us<\/em>:<\/p>\n

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