| The (top) Ten Commandments 1 You shall have no other gods before me If you point out to Christians the many errors and inconsistencies in the bible they invariably leap to a common defence: “The bible was inspired by God but written by imperfect men therefore it is unreasonable to expect all of it to be perfect in every detail.” This defence might be valid for most of the bible, but it can’t be applied to Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 – 17, the Ten Commandments. According to Christians these commandments were written directly by God (on stone)! Therefore when analyzing these engraved words are we not entitled to use an entirely different standard from the rest of the bible? Reading through the book of Exodus, when we reach chapter 20, shouldn’t we notice an abrupt change in the style of writing? Shouldn’t the Ten commandments take our breath away with their wisdom, their profundity, their timeless significance for all of mankind? Shouldn’t these verses reflect the wisdom, the love, and the perfection of their author? Sadly, for Christians, the Ten Commandments do none of the above. Firstly, when reading Exodus, including chapter 20, it is obvious that the style of writing is consistent throughout. There is nothing in the Ten Commandments that indicates their origin is any different from the rest of the book. As for their wisdom, profundity and timeless significance, let us examine them by number: Re Commandments 1 thru 4, it is utterly inconceivable that an omnipotent, perfect, loving God, the creator of a 28 billion light-year diameter universe, would be so insecure and so needy that His first four commandments to mankind would all involve the manner in which He is to be worshipped! Commandment no. 5 is of no value whatsoever when written as a blanket statement. Suppose your mother was a saint but your father was a serial killer? Suppose both of them abused you as a child? Suppose they knowingly transgressed all of the other Ten Commandments? Should these kind of parents be honoured? How come God couldn’t think of wording that excluded undeserving parents? Commandments 6 thru 9 prohibit murder, cheating, stealing and lying – prohibitions which are universal throughout all civilisations, even ones pre-dating the bible. And isn’t it reasonable to assume that before they received the famous stone tablets the Israelites had already figured out without the help of any deity that murdering, cheating, stealing and lying were not the best ways to run any kind of functioning society? Commandment 10 is a prohibition on freedom of thought. "Coveting” is wishing. This commandment makes thinking about something a crime! In any other context would even devout Christians accept that thought control was a good or moral practice? It is not only the content of the Ten Commandments that betray their real authorship. What they don’t contain is an even better indicator. If they really did originate with a loving and perfect God why is there no prohibition of slavery (a common practice at that time)? And where is the ‘golden rule’ - treat others the way you would like to be treated? Why is there no commandment to protect children from the abuse of indoctrination? Why no commandment to look after the environment or to be kind to animals? Isn’t every one of the above far more relevant and important than not coveting your neighbour’s ass or not working on the Sabbath?! It is absolutely mind-boggling that any civilised human being could read the Ten Commandments and believe that they were written directly by the creator of the universe and that they represent a perfect “moral compass” for mankind. So who did write the Ten Commandments? We think the late, great, George Carlin got it right:
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