# Did you know that God has only THREE requirements.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508 "2005-01-13T04:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/1 "2005-01-13T04:54:33Z")
Companion thread to our latest drive-by witness. What **did** Jesus think were the important things that people ought to do? Well, > [@](#): > > (Matthew 22:35-40) > And one of [the Pharisees], an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: > > “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” > > He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. > > This is the greatest and most important commandment. > > The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. > > All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments." The only other thing he ever said he regarded as summarizing “the Law and the Prophets” (i.e., the whole teaching of Judaism) was this: > [@](#): > > Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them–this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12) He taught the two summary commandments in a different circumstance in Luke, and explained more on what “neighbor” meant: > [@](#): > > (Luke 10:25-37) > Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” > > “What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?” > > He answered: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. > > “You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.” > > But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” > > Jesus took up the question and said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. > > But a Samaritan, while traveling, came up to him; and when he saw the man , he had compassion. He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ > > “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” > > “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.” You have to remember, in hearing this passage, that to the Jews Jesus was teaching, the Samaritans were both heretics and half-caste outcasts. He was picking a person from the group they despised. If He were telling the story today, He’d portray the guy as a gay Arab, for maximum shock value – Mubarak Dahir, perhaps? His last night with the Twelve, He told them: > [@](#): > > “I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) How to implement all this? > [@](#): > > Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: they don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! > > If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you–you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. > > But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. > > "Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. > > Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. > > "Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 6:25-7:5, 7:7) And how about this for an expansion on judgment: > [@](#): > > (Matthew 25:31-46) > "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. > > Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’ > > "Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’ > > "And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ > > Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me.’ > > "Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’ > > "Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Now, the interesting thing about all this is, save for the idea of primary and total commitment to God, the whole thing sounds strangely like humanistic concepts of how to behave properly towards one another, _without_ reference to God. But it’s cadged from Scripture as the points that Jesus seemed to think where the most essential ones on human behavior, along with some expansion on how to implement them in practical terms. So if it’s Witness Time around here, that’s mine: Not a bunch of theology, but simple statement of what Jesus said to **do** – what He Himself thought was the most important stuff. And one final comment: By my experience, when you try to live it out, you find your life richer and fuller, more meaningful, more full of love and joy. That’s a fringe benefit, but one I think people might like a lot. (Yeah, I’m perfectly well aware that those are the words of three writers a few decades after He lived, put back into His mouth, and that there’s no evidence that will convince everybody that He was who He’s claimed to be by the churches, or even that He definitely existed. But isn’t it strange that they came to agreement on what was expected of people, and that doing what they said He expected is something people generally feel is a pretty good idea anyway? John Barnes has an interesting character, a neo-Mayan who gets called to be a no-kidding prophet. And he delivers a very strange line, which I paraphrase (because I can’t quote it verbatim from memory): “It doesn’t matter whether you pay any attention to the prophet. The important thing is to live out the _message_.” Think about it. Even if you cannot believe seven impossible things before breakfast, what problems do you have with what they claim Jesus said was most important to do? ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/2 "2005-01-13T05:13:40Z")
Too difficult for most Christians. If they followed those commandments, this would mean they would oppose war. NOT gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/3 "2005-01-13T05:26:03Z")
I wish I could remember where I read it, but there was a passage I once read that basically noted that a couple of years after the Ascension, Jesus’s followers realized that it was a lot easier to worship Him than to try to live like Him. (It should probably also be noted that Paul had an awful lot to do with that…) ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/4 "2005-01-13T06:00:32Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I wish I could remember where I read it, but there was a passage I once read that basically noted that a couple of years after the Ascension, Jesus’s followers realized that it was a lot easier to worship Him than to try to live like Him. (It should probably also be noted that Paul had an awful lot to do with that…) For more on this theory, go [here](http://www.atheistsforjesus.com/paul.php). (I love these guys!) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/5 "2005-01-13T06:33:57Z")
“Did you know that God has only THREE requirements…” Actually I wish I _knew_ what God wanted of me, and if there really was a God… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/6 "2005-01-13T07:01:04Z")
**Polycarp** , yours is a gentle, generous and joyful faith, one that prompts me to try to repair my own. I hope to lay aside the larger questions of what Christianity means and focus on the simpler “What shall I do _now_?” Perhaps the larger answers come as the aggregate of a lot of smaller ones. I have been guilty of looking at religion as a sort of self-improvement course, and I am sure that’s not merely wrong, but entirely backwards. I’ll try directing my attention to the world outside, see if there’s anything useful to be done there, and let my soul polish itself for a while. I tend toward selfishness, though, so it’s useful to have the occasional reminder. Thanks for providing one. Best regards and wishes, M. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/7 "2005-01-13T07:15:15Z")
People will always differ over certain aspects of the Christian message. Indeed, the single greatest challenge for most Christians is accepting - loving - one another. Jesus understood this, I believe. Someone put it well about the core message(s) of the Bible: “It’s not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that worry me. It’s the parts I do understand. They worry me.” **Poly** has reproduced these “worrying” parts above. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/8 "2005-01-13T08:16:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “Did you know that God has only THREE requirements…” Actually I wish I _knew_ what God wanted of me, and if there really was a God… 😕 Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not worship any gods before me, and honor thy father and mother. Wait… Four. FOUR requirements. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not worship any gods before me, honor thy father and mother, and thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s ass. Five. FIVE requirements… ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/9 "2005-01-13T13:00:18Z")
I’m sure he said something about not forgetting to wear sunscreen. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/10 "2005-01-13T13:12:44Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I’m sure he said something about not forgetting to wear sunscreen. He recommended marriage instead: “It is better to marry than to burn.” 😉 * * * **Lola** , thanks for the set of quotes. I’m not opposed to Paul; I simply want something called Christianity to pay attention to **Jesus Christ** , rather than focusing exclusively on Paul and what his theories about Christ were (especially since he didn’t meet Him until after His death). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/11 "2005-01-13T15:17:35Z")
What? No Pauline _expansions, additions, and interpretations?_ How the hell are you supposed to run a religion with two or three measly little rules? ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/12 "2005-01-13T15:37:34Z")
Thanks for the shout-out, **Poly**. If you surf around a bit on the site you find [this](http://www.atheistsforjesus.com/sermon.php) page, which may be more relevant to this thread (and doesn’t centre around slurring Paul, which, while fun, isn’t as productive as actual theological debate). A taste: > [@](#): > > _Be righteous, be meek, be pure of heart, be a peacemaker, be merciful;_ when given the chance to instruct a great number of people, this is what Jesus felt to be important. Should it not be expected that all people who wish to follow Jesus, should also agree with Him that these ideas are the most important part of the religion of Jesus? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/13 "2005-01-13T16:15:07Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > …(and doesn’t centre around slurring Paul, which, while fun, isn’t as productive as actual theological debate) [continuing that aside] But where does Paul get off with his hijacking of Christianity? It wasn’t Jesus who dumped on women, gays, and guys with long hair but the merely human Paul and we’re supposed to take him at his word that all that he said was theologically correct? Rather too much like papal infallibility for my tastes. Harumph! [ending that aside] ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/14 "2005-01-13T16:37:14Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > I have been guilty of looking at religion as a sort of self-improvement course, and I am sure that’s not merely wrong, but entirely backwards. I can’t speak to Christianity, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the case there too. There is nothing wrong with using religion as a self-improvement course. Indeed, I can’t imagine why one would not have a religion if not to try to improve oneself. Of course, one can’t be _solely_ involved with introspection and self-improvement either. One must also be involved with the world and making it a better place. It is finidng that balance between the two that one must strive for. There is a _Mishna_ in _Avos_ that sums up this point fairly nicely in a statement by Hillel (IMHO). > [@](#): > > He [Hillel] used to say: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am [solely] for myself, what am I? In addition, in Judaic thought, there is the concept that one should perform the commandments, even if for an ulterior motive. The idea is that if you do good deeds for an ulterior motive, you will eventually come to do them for their own sake. So, by all means, look to (whichever) religion for self-improvement. There is nothing wrong with that. Just make sure to try to make the world a better place at the same time. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/15 "2005-01-13T16:38:17Z")
So you want to throw out which Pauline Epistles? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/16 "2005-01-13T16:55:34Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > So you want to throw out which Pauline Epistles? I don’t think we need to **throw out** any of them – just stop regarding them as if they were carried down from Mount Sinai on stone tablets, instead of being the advice of a former Pharisee with personal hangups who found peace and freedom in Christ, to some of the people he’d brought to know Jesus – and containing as much of his personal opinion as of anything direct fom God. There’s some great stuff in Romans, I Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians… and there are some “this is what I recommend for you, in the situation you’re in” stuff that doesn’t need to get turned into Rules for Everybody Everywhere, because they’re Written in the Bible. My God doesn’t have a leather cover and India-paper insides. And He doesn’t talk in red ink. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/17 "2005-01-13T17:00:15Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > So you want to throw out which Pauline Epistles? I’d say don’t throw any of them out. Just recognize them for the commentary and opinion that they are. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/18 "2005-01-13T17:02:54Z")
Sigh…of course **Poly** said it better than I could. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/19 "2005-01-13T17:31:42Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > I have been guilty of looking at religion as a sort of self-improvement course, and I am sure that’s not merely wrong, but entirely backwards. I’ll try directing my attention to the world outside, see if there’s anything useful to be done there, and let my soul polish itself for a while. I tend toward selfishness, though, so it’s useful to have the occasional reminder. Thanks for providing one. Well, hang on a minute. One of the functions of spirituality and religious belief is to improve yourself, and it isn’t backwards. There is a hidden implication in the Great Commandment that many miss. To wit: \*You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as **yourself**. I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. **Just as I have loved you** , you should also love one another.\* Before you are able to understand and show this love to anyone else, you first have to love yourself. You have to see yourself as acceptable and loved in the eyes of God despite your flaws, faults, sins or shortcomings. Once this divine love is accepted with humility, you are then able to extend it to others who are sinful and flawed like you. Accepting God’s love doesn’t make you better than anyone else, but it gives you the ability to lift others up to your level and see them as just like yourself. So, following the spirit of the OP, you live your life in quiet acceptance of divine love despite your sins, and you offer that same acceptance to your neighbor as a natural reflection of the love you experience. Vlad/Igor ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508/20 "2005-01-13T17:34:00Z")
And I thought you were going to go with “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” ah well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-three-requirements/284508.md?page=2)