The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments as handed down by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai were the beginning of the nation of Israel, when they were leaving Egypt as slaves, for freedom in the promised land. They were considered to be the Law of God for his chosen people. There are, however, some major differences in interpretation. There is a difference in what the Catholic Church uses as the Ten Commandments and what the protestant churches use. In the Catholic Church they are as follows:
1. I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day
4. Honor your father and your mother
5. You shall not kill
6. You shall not commit adultery
7. You shall not steal
8. You shall not bear false witness
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods
The 10 Commandments as a Basis for Morality?
10. Thou shalt not covet.
• 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. .
This is an extremely troubling commandment in my view. First of all there is the underlying sexism whereby a wife is considered property, valued somewhere between a house and a servant. Secondly, there is a denial of human nature.
Even if a person succeeds in following the first nine faultlessly, it is just not possible to obey this last one. Nobody has ever lived without seeing a neighbour's possession and thinking at least transiently "I gotta get one of those!"
And what is wrong with coveting your neighbour's possessions on occasion. As long as you don't act on your desires and steal from your neighbour, there is nothing wrong. There is already a commandment against stealing. There is already one dealing with adultery. This rule deals not with
The Ten Commandments as handed down by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai were the beginning of the nation of Israel, when they were leaving Egypt as slaves, for freedom in the promised land. They were considered to be the Law of God for his chosen people. There are, however, some major differences in interpretation. There is a difference in what the Catholic Church uses as the Ten Commandments and what the protestant churches use. In the Catholic Church they are as follows:
1. I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day
4. Honor your father and your mother
5. You shall not kill
6. You shall not commit adultery
7. You shall not steal
8. You shall not bear false witness
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods
The 10 Commandments as a Basis for Morality?
10. Thou shalt not covet.
• 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. .
This is an extremely troubling commandment in my view. First of all there is the underlying sexism whereby a wife is considered property, valued somewhere between a house and a servant. Secondly, there is a denial of human nature.
Even if a person succeeds in following the first nine faultlessly, it is just not possible to obey this last one. Nobody has ever lived without seeing a neighbour's possession and thinking at least transiently "I gotta get one of those!"
And what is wrong with coveting your neighbour's possessions on occasion. As long as you don't act on your desires and steal from your neighbour, there is nothing wrong. There is already a commandment against stealing. There is already one dealing with adultery. This rule deals not with