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Controversies Over the 10 Commandments
It is strange to think about recent controversies over the 10 commandments in this country. They form the backbone of Judaism, and are important in Christianity as well, and form a set of rather simple rules of how one is to live his or her life. The fact is, rarely has so little controversy occurred over such a simple set of rules as the ten commandments. On both sides, passions rage, with some thinking that the 10 commandments should be proudly displayed in every public institution in the countries, while others believe that we should have the religious freedom to chose whether or not we believe in them, and therefore should not be publicly subject to them.
I have studied the 10 commandments and the controversy surrounding them. There are all kinds of bible study aids available on the internet if you wish to know more about the 10 commandments, and so even if you are not a Jew or a Christian, I suggest that you look into them. They are really pretty simple rules, advising you not to kill, steal, covet your neighbors wife or property, and other things like that. The only problem is that the 10 commandments advise you to love no other gods other than the God of the ancient Hebrews, and that is where there are some problems.
You see, although after the recent controversies involving trying to put the 10 commandments up in courthouses, schools, and other public institutions, Christian activists would have you believe that the ten commandments are about how to live your life in an ethical way, but this is only part of the whole story. They are every bit as much about worshiping a particular god, and in my opinion I should not be subjected to that admonition when on federally owned property. There is nowhere in our Constitution where it says that the bible is part of the law of the land. After putting up the 10 commandments should we go farther, and put up passages from Leviticus advocating stoning women for infidelity, or non-believers for being against the religion? The fact is, if someone wants to believe in UFOs, or two thousand year old gods, or fillings in their teeth which let the Russians speak to them, I say let them. But let us not all be subjected to the 10 commandments, or any other superstitions for that matter, just because some people can not look at the world without their delusions.
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