R2 Thoughts for You Why TEN Commandments?
For those of you who are regular readers, I would like to make it clear at the beginning of this posting that I will not use religion as a subject matter very much. How much? Actually, very little. How little? Trust me, very little little. :-)
Recently, I received an e-mail from a friend entitled Southern Ten Commandments. The e-mail was humorous and “got me to thinking” about why there are “TEN” commandments. As a side line on this, you may notice that Rich put these in his comment for the previous posting entitled “Religion And My Sister.”
Before I go any further I think it is appropriate to list what I think are the “regular” ten commandments. There are many different versions (translations) but here is a list that provides a little detail.
Ten Commandments – from: All About Truth
ONE: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.‘
TWO: ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.‘
THREE: ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.‘
FOUR: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.‘
FIVE: ‘Honor your father and your mother.‘
SIX: ‘You shall not murder.‘
SEVEN: ‘You shall not commit adultery.‘
EIGHT: ‘You shall not steal.‘
NINE: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.‘
TEN: ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.‘
These are not necessarily good or bad but just commandments that many believe in and, I must add, don’t always adhere to.
Now, let’s list the ten commandments, “southern style” or “country style.”
Ten Commandments – Southern Style
Some people have trouble with all those ‘shall’s’ and ‘shall not’s’ in the Ten Commandments. Folks just aren’t used to talking in those terms. So, in middle Tennessee they translated the ‘King James’ into ‘ Jackson County ‘ language…..no joke (posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro , TN).
(1) Just one God
(2) Put nothin’ before God
(3) Watch yer mouth
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin’
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(6) No killin’
(7) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal
(8) Don’t take what ain’t yers
(9) No tellin’ tales or gossipin’
(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff
Now that’s plain an’ simple. Y’all have a nice day!
Well, this is interesting and perhaps, funny. Having stated that, why do we have “ten” commandments? Wouldn’t one or maybe, two do?
The main commandment, I think, should be the golden rule of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Of course, you probably noticed that I mentioned the possibility of two. Well, that has to do with that tricky first commandment of “who” is God? You might have to add the statement “I believe in one and only one God, and that God is ? “ , where you fill in the blank. Now, isn’t that simple? Think about it.
The golden rule takes care of commandments 5 through 10. And, commandments 2 through 4 are between you and the God you believe in. If God wants you to worship his mother then do so. If God wants you to keep any or all days holy then do so. Etc., etc. … That is between you and your God.
OK, I know, this is controversial. Not to me, but perhaps, to you. Faith and belief are difficult concepts to deal with when trying to use reasoning.
Just my thinking. What do you think?
R2 Thoughts for You 
Remember alll the issues about posting te 10 Commandments in public buildings? I received the following in a humorous email. Wanted to share.
T H E 1 0 C O M M A N D M E N T S
The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this:
You cannot post ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal,’ ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,’ and ‘Thou Shall Not Lie’ in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians…It creates a hostile work environment.
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Though this is sarcasm and the victims are listed (lawyers, judges and politicians) there is an element (big element) of truth to it.
Oh, by the way, I think all sarcasm is humor based on having a “victim.” :-)
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