10 commandments (Deuteronomy, exodus, followers, America, church)

[Ciscokid]

I'm thoroughly confused on something. Why were the 10 commandments ever placed into our courtrooms? We only follow two of the 10.

Another question is, WHO decided it was a good idea to put them there?

Was it our forefathers?

[Majikthise]

I find the 10 commandments to be quaint wall dressing in this context. My guess is somebody put them up to keep the christians happy.

Hey, Poncho drank your wine!!!

[YamiB.]

The only ones I’ve heard of were put in relatively recently. In one case the Supreme Court put up a representation of them along with other symbols from old law codes. When they are being displayed as though they actually mattered in American law I would tend to think it is an attack from followers of Abraham towards the separation of Church and State.

[Aqualung]

We follow more than two...

[YamiB.]

Originally Posted by Aqualung

We follow more than two...

1. "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt..." - This commandment is to believe in the existence of God.
2. "You shall have no other gods besides Me...Do not make a sculpted image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above..."
3. "You shalt not swear falsely by the name of the Lord..." - This commandment is to never take the name of God in a vain oath. In Exodus, the text reads "in a vain oath" (לא תשא את שם ה' לשוא), while in Deuteronomy it reads "in a false oath" (לא תשא שם ה' לשקר).
4. "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy" (the version in Deuteronomy mentions "Keep" rather than "Remember")
5. "Honor your father and your mother..." - This commandment is a development when compared to other laws of the Ancient East (for example, the Code of Hammurabi) that do not call for equal respect of the father and the mother.
6. "You shall not murder" - The Hebrew Bible makes a distinction between murdering and killing (see Jewish interpretation below).
7. "You shall not commit adultery"
8. "You shall not steal" (sometimes interpreted as kidnapping, since there are other injunctions against stealing property in the Bible).
9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"
10. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house..." (in Exodus, the text reads "... neighbor's house, ... neighbor's wife, nor his manservant..." etc. while in Deuteronomy, "thy neighbor's wife, ... thy neighbor's house, his field" etc.) Copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments because I didn't feel like typing them out.

1. Contradicts the first ammendment.
2.Contradicts the first ammendment.
3.Don't remember seeing that law.
4.Nor this one.
5.Likewise
6.We found a match! Of course you would be hard pressed to find a law code that did not have some restriction against murder.
7.As far as I know not a crime.
8.Another match. But like 6 it is very common among law codes.
9.I suppose this could be applied in certian cases, like perjury. It is not however all around a matchup, so lets say half a point for that one.
10.Not a match.

So we have a match of about 2.5.

[john63]

Originally Posted by Ciscokid

I'm thoroughly confused on something. Why were the 10 commandments ever placed into our courtrooms? We only follow two of the 10.

Another question is, WHO decided it was a good idea to put them there?

Was it our forefathers?

Good question. I don't know. Some other good questions would be why are so many people bothered by it? And. Why is there so much pagan symbolism in government architecture?

[YamiB.]

Originally Posted by john63

Good question. I don't know. Some other good questions would be why are so many people bothered by it? And. Why is there so much pagan symbolism in government architecture?

I was bothered that there was something up on a goverment building that was commanding me to worship the god of Abraham. It also bothered me that this gave the false impression that our system of law was built on the ten commandments. I do not see an equivalent for this in pagan symbolism in goverment architecture.

[nutshell]

The 10 Commandments were never meant to be part of American law directly. Rather, they represent the Christian foundation this country was built on.

And please restrain yourself from making any sarcastic comments about "Christian values." No one is perfect (except the Savior).

[nutshell]

Originally Posted by YamiB.

I was bothered that there was something up on a goverment building that was commanding me to worship the god of Abraham. It also bothered me that this gave the false impression that our system of law was built on the ten commandments. I do not see an equivalent for this in pagan symbolism in goverment architecture.

As I just posted, the American government is not commanding you to follow the 10 Commandments. That would violate separation of Church and State. The 10 Commandments are a representation of the beliefs our forefathers had when they establised this great country. Those beliefs were Christian, not Pagan.

[retrorich]

Originally Posted by Ciscokid

Why were the 10 commandments ever placed into our courtrooms?

For the same reason "In God We Trust" is on our money. To create the false impression that all good Americans believe in God.