Why do Catholics have a different set of the 10 commandments from Protestants?
Catholics at some point got rid of the commandment that says “do not worship idols” They made the 9th commandment into the 9th and 10th by splitting it up.
Did some Pope do this? When did it happen?
Well, they don’t…it’s just a numbering thing. As the Catholic Encyclopedia puts it.
In other words, for Catholics, the “Worship G-d” and “Don’t have idols” are both 1 commandment, while for most Protestants, they’re 2, while the “Don’t covet your neighbor’s wife or his ass” are 2 commandments for Catholics, but most Protestants combine the two prohibitions.
There are only 9 commandments, so one of them must be split up in order to come up with 10 total.
Protestants have 2 ‘Thou shalt not covet’ commandments.
Catholics have 2 ‘Thou shalt have no other Gods’ commandments.
Make that-
Catholics AND Lutherans have 2 ‘Thou shalt not covet’ commandments.
All other Protestants (I think) have 2 ‘Thou shalt have no other Gods’ commandments.
Don’t forget the lesser-known version from Exodus 34 – the only list actually called the "Ten Commandments in the text:
And so on, until we get to…
Not at all like the familiar version. AFAIK, neither Protestants nor Catholics put much stock in this list.
There are three places where it says the God handed Moses ten commandments: Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 4:13 and Deuteronomy 10:4. (I have never heard the section referred to by ThreeGumpy as being the Decalogue. I have always seen that list noted as one of the several sets of instructions given by God, with the reference to the “ten” at the end being an instruction to go to the other list for more information.)
There are two places where those ten commandments are listed, without being “named” the ten commandments and without having numbers assigned to each commandment: Exodus 20:1 - 7 and Deteronomy 5:6 - 21.
Since the tradition of the “ten” is separate from the enumeration, there is a little bit of latitude in how the ten are reckoned.
The three traditional numbering systems are as follows (number 1 makes the most logical sense):
The division of the Commandments (with some supporters of each list):
__I.
_II.
III.
Come to think of it, why “hew tables of stone” when the commandments were written down elsewhere (eventually)? I mean, the first set were smashed – but not before their contents were recorded in scripture. And if those commandments had already been transcribed, then why the second set of stone tablets?
But that’s not relevant to the O.P.
By the way, still during the Reformation this was a big bone of contention-- the “idols” clause and in which spot in the commandments it was included was a huge issue that played a strong role in the iconoclastic debates, like those resulting in the 1566 fury in Antwerp. There were a number of rhetorician’s plays and pamphletts that argued about this in tedious detail.
kpm: Care to prove your assertion that the Catholics “got rid” of the commandment forbidding idols?
This should be entertaining since THEY DIDN’T!
kpm: Enquiring minds are still waiting on substantiation from you regarding your assertion about the Catholics dumping the prohibition against praying to idols.
Better yet: admit you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Huh? Moses received two stone tablets. He started down the mountain to give these to his people. Before he got all the way down, he saw that they were cavorting and worshiping false idols. He got pissed off, and smashed one of the tablets. He went into camp, kicked ass, then trudged back up the mountain to get another copy. Later, these two tablets were placed in the Ark of the Covenant. The Commandments were not written down until years later.
As this is a matter of some theological debate, the OP perhaps can be forgiven for thinking that they did.
Catholics will say (and I am a former Catholic, with 12 years of religious education in Catholic schools) that of course they did not “get rid” of this commandment. But anyone who has been in a Catholic church (or a church of many other Christian denominations) will note that it is full of graven images - statues and other carvings - that are solemnly venerated by the faithful. This would seem to contradict a literal reading of this section of the commandments:
Catholics and other Christians that do venerate images would contend that the critical part of this injunction is not the making of graven images per se, but the part that says “Thou shalt not . . . serve them.” That is, it’s OK to make the images themselves but not to worship the image itself as a god. (And for a full discussion, I would suggest consulting The Catholic Encyclopedia and this analysis of The Veneration of Images) which admits:
Some Christian groups, as well as Muslims (at least, some groups) understand verse 4 to be taken literally and thus to prohibit any depictions at all. According to this interpretation Catholics (and many other Christians) might well be considered to have abandoned this section of the commandment.
Colibri:
Exodus 25:17-23, either God was contradicting himself or he meant something else than what you’re implying is the literal understanding of the first commandment
Wouldn’t be the first time.
I see after checking that the verse you quote refers to making cherubim to decorate the Ark of the Covenant.
I am not “implying” that one or the other interpretation of the commandment is correct. I am merely stating that the interpretation is debatable, and that it has in fact been debated at great length by theologians for centuries (and probably millennia).
You should familiarize yourself with something called a “reliquary”
Then look up “catholic idols” on google.
Then get acquainted with the various petitions to saints and the virgin. (PROHIBITED in the 10 C’s)
Also check out which day is the “seventh” (Saturday) and learn why you go to church on Sunday.
Put that thing back in your holster, sonny. This ain’t the pit, and catholics didn’t invent God or write the bible.
Well, this isn’t the pit, and it’s not great debates, either, so I’ll just say that different Christian denominations interpret the ten commancments, and the prohibitions about idolatry differently. While we can debate which interpretation is more correct, this isn’t really the place to do that.
Where do the Ten Commandments say that you’re not allowed to ask a few friends for help with something?
Ahem.
We are not going to have a theology debate in General Questions. I promise you. Cross my heart and hope to ban anyone who keeps it up after this post.
Does there remain a General Question on the table?
manhattan:
Actually, I think that the Pit is the appropriate place to respond to stockton’s comment.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=116121