# Ten Commandments Bullshit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 27, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757 "2006-12-27T16:23:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/21 "2006-12-28T14:21:25Z")
[QUOTE=Auntbeast] Please note: They misspelled adultery on the monument. Given what I have known about this county, **haven** travelled in and out of it for about 30 years, I am amazed they spelled anything wrong. [/QUOTE] Let she who is without sin … ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/22 "2006-12-28T14:41:57Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Twenty thousand dollars. Many of the houses on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are without any kind of heat unless firewood is donated. The average income is less than $3,900 a year. There is 80 to 85% unemployment. These people in Dixie County who support this monument are unthinkingly cruel. They themselves are a poor county and will be losing money before this is over. [/QUOTE] Except we’re talking about FLORIDA, **Zoe** , not South Dakota, and these people are white but they’re also… gasp!.. poor! Believe it or not, it happens. Believe it or not, it isn’t always rich white slobs crushing poor brown people under their heels. Sometimes it’s more complicated. And apparently I’m going to be a raging bitch today. Shoulda stood in bed. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/23 "2006-12-28T17:23:12Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] Let she who is without sin … [/QUOTE] Not only did I have a typo, but I also said I was amazed they spelled anything right, which was the opposite of what I intended. Also, by the strict letter of the law, I, myself am an adulterer. Then again, I don’t go around putting 10 Commandments in courthouses. And as far as throwing stones, I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a barn. That is what happens when you live enough, you realize that sometimes the desire to be good gets outweighed by the desire to be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/24 "2006-12-28T17:35:08Z")
I wonder if they plan on enforcing the biblical punishments for violating the Commandments? At least four of them require death:[ul][_]Taking the Lord’s name in vain ([Leviticus 24:16](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/lev/24.html))[_]Working on the Sabbath ([Exodus 31:15](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ex/31.html))[_]Cursing a parent ([Exodus 21:17](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ex/21.html))[_]Adultery ([Leviticus 20:10](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/lev/20.html))[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/25 "2006-12-28T18:25:00Z")
One of the Ten Commandments (the first or second, depending on which version you use) forbids worshipping any gods other than the God of the Bible. But the First Amendment to the Constitution, by allowing freedom of religion, allows exactly that. Wouldn’t it be cool if things actually _did_ vanish in a puff of logic because of contradictions like that? I’d want them to put up more Ten Commandments monuments if they did, just to see it happen… ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/26 "2006-12-28T20:16:37Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] [Nitpick] For some reason, several branches of Lutheranism use the same numbering scheme as Catholics (I don’t know why, it is the least logical of the group) and Jewish sources from the first century (Josephus and Philo) actually used the numbering system currently used by the Calvinist and Anglican (and some Lutheran) groups. I am not sure when the Jewish numbering system changed. [/Nitpick] [/QUOTE] There are different numbering schemes? Enlighten this very very very very non-practicing ev.luth., please? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/27 "2006-12-28T20:26:47Z")
[QUOTE=auRa] There are different numbering schemes? Enlighten this very very very very non-practicing ev.luth., please? [/QUOTE] [Here](http://www.positiveatheism.org/crt/whichcom.htm) and [here](http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_10c4.htm) are sites that discuss the various numbering schemes. A funny aside to that: I got some material about my Swedish ancestors from my uncle. One of them had had a child out of wedlock, and was mentioned as being “forgiven for breaking the sixth commandment”, meaning forgiven for committing adultery. I think of the commandments in the Jewish listing, so to me the sixth commandment is “you shall not murder” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/28 "2006-12-28T21:18:03Z")
An earlier [post of mine on the decalogue](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5777737#post5777737). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/29 "2006-12-28T22:06:03Z")
I guess you could look at a monument like that as a good thing - it’s an obvious warning about what kind of people you’re dealing with here. This caught my eye, from the first link - > [@](#): > > The nation’s top justices voted 5-4 in favor of leaving the Ten Commandments monument in place in Texas, with the majority noting that “the Ten Commandments have an undeniable historical meaning. . . . Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the (First Amendment).” So, if we took up a collection on the Dope here and had a nice non-Christian monument (perhaps the afore-mentioned Pink Unicorn) made up and placed beside the Ten Commandments, that would be kosher, I assume? Actually, placing a monument beside that one, and seeing the reaction would be absolutely priceless. It would set off a shitstorm, I’m guessing, whether it stayed or went. (Is it just me, or does anyone else keep thinking about Heinlein and how prophetic he was about the way religious things are going?) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/30 "2006-12-28T22:17:55Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I So, if we took up a collection on the Dope here and had a nice non-Christian monument (perhaps the afore-mentioned Pink Unicorn) made up and placed beside the Ten Commandments, that would be kosher, I assume? Actually, placing a monument beside that one, and seeing the reaction would be absolutely priceless. It would set off a shitstorm, I’m guessing, whether it stayed or went. [/QUOTE] The IPU is not historical (though it is hysterical). Better to put up a Masonic monument or a copy of [Jefferson’s bible](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible) with all the miracles cut out to make Jesus look non-divine. We don’t want the fundies fighting us, we want them fighting each other. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/31 "2006-12-28T22:19:28Z")
It’s not just you, **featherlou**. Heinlein himself wrote on that very subject in an afterword to his story, _If This Goes On_. IIRC, he specifically condemned the fanatical bent of Christianity rearing its ugly head. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/32 "2006-12-28T22:23:09Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] An earlier [post of mine on the decalogue](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5777737#post5777737). [/QUOTE] Yes, yes, but you left out the 11th Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Schtup a Schiksa.” ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/33 "2006-12-28T22:39:15Z")
Anyone ever see that Colbert Report where he was interviewing some guy about this issue? He asked the guy what the ten commandments were. A sudden completely puzzled look came over the guy’s face and he asked you want me to say the ten commandments? Stephen said yes and the guy couldn’t do it. Pretty eye opening. This guy who was so adamant about having them in public didn’t even know what they were. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/34 "2006-12-28T23:16:19Z")
Here is the clip I was talking about: [http://youtube.com/watch?v=KcofsmFXCYE&mode=related&search=](http://youtube.com/watch?v=KcofsmFXCYE&mode=related&search=) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/35 "2006-12-29T01:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=pool] Anyone ever see that Colbert Report where he was interviewing some guy about this issue? He asked the guy what the ten commandments were. A sudden completely puzzled look came over the guy’s face and he asked you want me to say the ten commandments? Stephen said yes and the guy couldn’t do it. Pretty eye opening. This guy who was so adamant about having them in public didn’t even know what they were. [/QUOTE] Whereas I’ve heard Colbert recite the whole Catholic Creed in about thirty seconds. I guess the “false witness” commandment would be a good one to keep in mind in a courtroom. As for coveting your neighbor’s ass – maybe you should just keep that to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/36 "2006-12-29T01:53:38Z")
Forgot to add – is it possible that “Phil Dirt” is somebody’s porno name? (What’s mine, you ask? Al’s the name. . . Al Dente.) ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/37 "2006-12-29T01:58:28Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] These kinds of “Christians” are every bit as scary to me as the “Muslims” who cut the heads off reporters. [/QUOTE] Wow. You must not think very highly of reporters. [QUOTE=Auntbeast] Grandma is waiting for all the other religions to demand equal time, she figures it would take up most of the courthouse, but she would love to see it. Start molding your invisible pink unicorns now folks. [/QUOTE] I like this idea. I’ve often thought that it would be nice to see a government building decorated with monuments of the Ten Commandments, Buddha’s Eightfold Path to Enlightenment, the philosophy of Wicca, and all other equivalent messages from all religions (including the Church of Satan). One space would be left blank, however, and the monuments rearranged regularly, so that the atheists can always have their monument, the Empty Space Where The Ten Commandments Used To Be. With this method, everyone is included and can feel free to pause at their respective monuments and have a little time to reflect on what is important. Undoubtedly, someone would soon found the Church of Nekkid Chicks. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/38 "2006-12-29T01:59:04Z")
> [@](#): > > This guy who was so adamant about having them in public didn’t even know what they were. Well, there’s, like, TEN of 'em. If they are not posted in public, how is anyone supposed to remember them? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/39 "2006-12-29T02:11:03Z")
Good question, **tomndebb**. I propose that, given their obvious importance, we establish a chain of structures to be built all over the land. And since they’re so important, the people will have no problem with funding those buildings privately and without using tax money. I further propose we staff these buildings with certain members of the general public, persons whose employ at these special structures also will not be funded by taxes. So, what should we call these structures and these persons? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757/40 "2006-12-29T02:20:05Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] So, what should we call these structures and these persons? [/QUOTE] I dunno, but see my Post #5. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-commandments-bullshit/385757.md?page=3)