Are "our laws" based on the Ten Commandments? (I say "our laws", in quotes, because that's a silly way to phrase it. "Laws" belong to that mental illness called "The State", not to you or me.)
I see people claiming all the time that the biblical Ten Commandments form the foundation of "American Law". I sure hope not!
Actually, the first four commandments are strictly religious in nature and have no business being imposed by "law". In fact, the First Amendment forbids it (as does decency). That, of course, didn't stop Christian Sharia from being imposed.
Adultery and coveting might be bad ideas, personally, but they have no business being made "law" either. Adultery could be a contractual violation- or it might not be. Depending on your specific contract, and whether the other party violated it first. Making it a universal "law" is silly.
Coveting is a purely mental condition and, as long as you didn't act on it and steal (which is covered later), can't hurt anyone but yourself. Self-damaging thoughts are not within anyone's authority to forbid. Only a tyrant would pretend to have the authority to tell you what you are allowed to think- and I don't see how this could ever be expected to be enforced.
Honoring your parents might generally be nice (but certainly not universally a good thing) but would make a lousy "law".
Only the commandments against murder, theft, and bearing false witness have any business being defended against (notice I don't say they should be made law, since all laws are either unnecessary or harmful- you don't need "laws" forbidding aggression or theft to be right to defend yourself from them). These are secular commandments that aren't unique to Judeo-Christian morality. Natural Law covers them quite nicely without the baggage.
So, how many "laws" in the US Police State are really based upon the Ten Commandments? A small minority of them. And many of the ones which are, shouldn't be "laws" at all.
How many exceptions to the principles of the three remaining secular commandments are granted to vicious monsters as long as they commit their violations under the veil of "government"? More than it is possible to count.
So, US "laws" are founded upon the Ten Commandments? Don't be ridiculous!
.
Actually, the commandment "thou shall not kill" only applied to the Hebrews. It's a tribal thing. Shortly after Moses came down from the mountain with the stone tablets (not that I believe in that myth) the Hebrews wanted to cross the land of a small kingdom. The king refused them passage so "God" told Moses to send out his army and kill everyone in that kingdom. When the army came back with women and children captives, Moses went into a rage, then into the tabernacle to commune with "God" again. When he came out, he told the army to kill all the boy children and any females that were not virgins (in other words they could keep the young girls) who they could have for their wives (rape and slavery). So much for Biblical foundations of this nation.
ReplyDeleteYeah, killing outside your tribe has rarely been considered wrong- which is how war is justified. And with religion and states trying really hard to divide us all into different "tribes"- while at the same time claiming exclusive right to murder- it confuses the imbeciles among us.
Delete