# They are trying it again- Ten Commandments **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 20, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134 "2024-06-20T20:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/161 "2025-11-09T04:05:16Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > if we’re going to put up the 10 commandments up, then we should follow Chronos suggestion from upthread. Counterproposal: put up the text that the Bible _actually_ refers to as “the ten commandments”. > **[Ritual Decalogue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_Decalogue)** > > The Ritual Decalogue is a list of laws at Exodus 34:11–26. These laws are similar to the Covenant Code and are followed by the phrase "Ten Commandments" (Hebrew: עשרת הדברים aseret ha-dvarîm, in Exodus 34:28). Although the phrase "Ten Commandments" has traditionally been interpreted as referring to a very different set of laws, in Exodus 20:2–17, many scholars believe it instead refers to the Ritual Decalogue found two verses earlier. > Critical biblical scholars understand the two sets of laws to... Let the so-called Biblical Christians figure out how to observe the Feast of Ingathering or cut down Asherah poles and worry about whether they’re redeeming the firstborn of an ass with a lamb or failing to bring their menchildren thrice a year to appear before the LORD. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/162 "2025-11-09T05:26:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > No, if he raped her in the country, and no one was there to hear her scream, she is innocent. But what if it was in the city? See what I’m getting at? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/163 "2025-11-09T08:37:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m not saying it’s the most enlightened law in the world, but it’s not horrendous. Anyway, my point wasn’t about rape, it was about adultery, which is not a symmetric crime under Jewish law. It doesn’t matter whether or not the guy is married. It only matters whether the woman is married (to someone else) and if she is, they are both guilty of adultery. In general, a husband who cheats on his wife is not guilty of adultery under Jewish law. Hence the Jewish definition of bastardry (_mamzerut_) - a child of unmarried parents is not considered a bastard, nor is one whose father is married to someone else; bastards are only children whose mother is married to someone other than their father, or the products of incest. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/164 "2025-11-09T12:55:29Z")
The part that’s relevant to this thread is that in general, the old testament does not consider it problematic for a married man to have sex with a woman other than his wife. In fact, he can marry a whole harem, like King Solomon. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/165 "2025-11-09T13:57:34Z")
Has anyone mentioned, yet, that the Louisiana bill that inspired this thread actually contains eleven commandments? > The Ten Commandments > > I AM the LORD thy God. > > Thou shalt have no other gods before me. > > Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images. > > Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. > > Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. > > Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. > > Thou shalt not kill. > > Thou shalt not commit adultery. > > Thou shalt not steal. > > Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. > > Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. > > Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s. IIRC, it’s because the different denominations couldn’t agree on which version of the Ten Commandments to use, so they did a Genesis and spliced two versions together (referring to the number of doublets that appear in Genis and, really, throughout the Pentateuch). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/166 "2025-11-09T13:59:36Z")
I count 12. Jews generally consider “i am the Lord thy God” to be the first of the ten commandments. I think this is the split: 2 I the LORD am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: 3 You shall have no other gods besides Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the LORD your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, 6but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 You shall not b-swear falsely by-b the name of the LORD your God; for the LORD will not clear one who swears falsely by His name. 8 Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the LORD your God is assigning to you. 13 You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 14 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/167 "2025-11-09T21:42:32Z")
I still prefer the rational reduction that the late, great [George Carlin bequeathed us](https://genius.com/George-carlin-the-ten-commandments-annotated): > And so, with all of this in mind, folks, I offer you my revised list of the Two Commandments: > First: > > •THOU SHALT ALWAYS BE HONEST AND FAITHFUL, ESPECIALLY > TO THE PROVIDER OF THY NOOKIE. > > And second: > > •THOU SHALT TRY REAL HARD NOT TO KILL ANYONE, UNLESS, > OF COURSE, THEY PRAY TO A DIFFERENT INVISIBLE MAN > THAN THE ONE YOU PRAY TO. > > Two is all you need, folks. Moses could have carried them down the hill in his pocket. And if we had a list like that, I wouldn’t mind that brilliant judge in Alabama displaying it prominently in the courthouse wall. As long he in­cluded one additional commandment: > > •THOU SHALT KEEP THY RELIGION TO THYSELF! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/168 "2025-11-09T22:28:54Z")
Like I have probably already said here, will the kids actually be able to read them? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/169 "2025-11-21T20:50:48Z")
The Bible literally says “in the city” as opposed to “in the open field”, but this has always been understood as not literal, but as drawing a distinction between situations where someone would’ve heard the woman if she had screamed, or not. It doesn’t actually matter if they’re in city limits or not. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/170 "2025-11-22T00:17:59Z")
Are you really sure this is one of those passages you want to quibble over? Because, you know, even under the most charitable reading, it’s utterly abhorrent. In fact, by your reading, it’s actually worse as it expands the area over which a woman can be judicially murdered for failing to scream loud enough while being raped. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/171 "2026-04-09T03:41:20Z")
I’m guessing this ignorant stunt should be termed _Biblical Beetlejuice_ because, of course, [they’re at at yet again](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/texas-students-could-soon-forced-142712148.html). > [@](#): > > The [conservative-majority Texas State Board of Education](https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-approves-bible-based-lessons-200443628.html)is considering adding at least 15 passages from the Bible to a [required reading list](https://sboe.texas.gov/state-board-of-education/sboe-2026/sboe-2026-april/april-2026-sboe-agenda.pdf) as part of English lessons in public schools – the latest push from conservatives to [implement Christianity into school curriculums.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/texas-pushes-lord-prayer-public-154839685.html) > > Beginning in middle school, Texas students could be forced to [read stories from the Bible](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/oklahoma-court-tosses-lawsuit-over-233154070.html)including Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, and Lamentations 3 in addition to passages such as The Definition of Love from the New Testament, according to the list reported by the [_New York Times_.](http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=44681X1458326&articleId=b2953047&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Fus%2Ftexas-considers-required-reading-list-for-schools-which-includes-the-bible.html&sref=/news/world/americas/us-politics/texas-public-schools-bible-b2953047.html) What’s the fig leaf\* they’re using this time? > [@](#): > > The list also includes well-known literary works such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, “The Odyssey,” various plays by William Shakespeare, poems by Edgar Allan Poe and more. \*Yes, that’s a Biblical term. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/172 "2026-04-09T03:45:01Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What’s the fig leaf\* they’re using this time? > > > [@](#): > > > > The list also includes well-known literary works such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, “The Odyssey,” various plays by William Shakespeare, poems by Edgar Allan Poe and more. In that case, it might fly. Just like you can include the Ten C along with the Code of Hammurabi and other historical laws, including other literary stories is kinda legit- because like it or not, believe in it or not- the Bible is indeed important literature. I think Fenimore’s works are bullshit, but still- they are important in the history of American literature. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/173 "2026-04-09T07:07:32Z")
They said schools have to study biblical passages; did they say schools can’t analyze them? Putting biblical quotes in context, understanding what the people who wrote them were trying to say, pointing out flaws and inconsistencies, comparing them to stories from other cultures… religious people _hate_ that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/174 "2026-04-09T07:18:10Z")
Exactly. Teaching the Bible as literature or a religious text isn’t forbidden in public schools. What they hate is the requirement is that it be taught like just another religious book; this week it’s the Bible, next it’s the Koran and so forth. “No teaching religion is schools” is a _concession_ to the fundamentalists, not some action against them. What they want isn’t religion to be taught about in schools; they want to see their particular version of their particular religion to be taught as an absolute truth in schools. Most separation of church and state lawsuits come from persecuted religious people, not secular people or atheists. State religion is only attractive to people who assume that it’s _their_ particular religion that will be forced on everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/175 "2026-04-09T07:35:07Z")
It won’t take long at all for them to crack down on that. They’ll make sure any teachers who teach the Bible from anything other than a clear pro-Bible, Bible-is-good-and-right standpoint will face disciplinary action. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/176 "2026-04-09T07:48:46Z")
That’s around the point where things start getting violent. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/177 "2026-04-09T08:07:47Z")
Once again, conservative school boards will be on the lookout for teachers that do this. Also, while on the list of approved books, I’m betting that teachers that want to keep their jobs won’t get around to the works of Anne Frank, Shakespeare or Martin Luther King, Jr. because they will run out of time…on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/178 "2026-04-09T08:31:36Z")
That’s what happens when you don’t have strong teachers’ unions. It’s all connected. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/179 "2026-04-09T10:11:22Z")
If anyone fancies tweaking their tails (I write as one brought up in Church of England schools and well acquainted with the Bible and assorted devotional literature) : [![](https://leedspostcards.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image1-002-e1710927528487.jpg) ](https://leedspostcards.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image1-002-e1710927528487.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/180 "2026-04-09T10:29:34Z")
but if she didn’t, then she’s required to marry the rapist [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134.md?page=10)