Tuesday, 27 October 2009

• The Ten Commandments: A Text of Bad Morals?!

  Last Saturday, my wife and I joined a friend of mine in visiting the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. The lineup to get tickets to see the exhibit went around the block. Thankfully, our friend pre-bought the tickets online the night before, so we were able to by-pass the line outside. However, we had two occasions when we also had to stand in line - when we went in for the actual exhibit downstairs (which was packed with people) and later, when we went upstairs to look at the shrunken scroll containing the decalogue (more popularly known as the Ten Commandments, taken from the book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Tanach and the Christian Old Testament) - which was a 45 minute wait when we got there, and the line only really increased after us.
  
  For me, this is quite significant, especially with this being in Toronto - a city that takes great pride in its atheism, "independence", and moral relativism. Now, one would expect that the people who would have flocked to this exhibit would be only faithful Jews, Christians and Muslims - as it is a find that gives significant credence to their religious convictions (imagine - a set of 2000 year old documents, preserved enough to understand them, and remarkably similar to the versions in use today...). A few days ago on Yahoo, I saw an article that was praising a man who had received a Nobel prize, and his dismissal of the Bible as a "handbook of bad morals."  You can read the article here.  
  
  And yet, if it was so insignificant (read "book of fairy tales") and such a book of bad morals, why is it that so many people from various backgrounds (I was speaking to a Hindu man while walking through the exhibit, and another man, while standing behind us in line for the 10 Commandments based his explanation of their importance on Indiana Jones - which is both historically inaccurate and a work of fiction, much like the DaVinci Code of a few years ago - so obviously someone who is not practicing any of these three religions either...) are so drawn to it?
  
  My guess would be that there is a certain something that is missing here in our great and advanced culture (which, ironically enough, I would even say that we have back-slidden in many ways, which the Hindu gentleman would agree with me). Admittedly, especially with the gift shops on top of the entry fee, it did kind of give me a certain feeling that this was more a pilgramage to a holy site in order to see and touch the sacred relic/artifact, and paying indulgence moneys for the commodification (turning something into a commodity) of Scripture and Religion - which is something that Jesus was very much against, as was Martin Luther and others at a later point. But for the sake of argument, let's take a look at the text in question and see if we can spot the evil, bad morality in its writing... (Deut. 5:6-21 - translated, of course, into English using the New Living Translation©. The commentary beneath is mine.)

  • I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. Do not worship any gods besides me.

  I think here, as in all, it is best to look at the context here, and ask just who this God is who is asking for total loyalty from his people. If you have read the account of Genesis and Exodus (both in the Bible), you will know that this God is the one who, according to the Bible, created the heavens and the earth, destroyed earlier civilizations because of their wickedness (first by a flood - which is curiously attested to by world-wide mythologies, which indicates to me that there is significant proof of such an event being an historical one; and later, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah); and also judged Egypt in the midst of removing this people group from being slaves there. Also curious is that other world-wide spiritualities also hold to a single Creator-God. Given the interest that this God has in his people, I could see his reasoning for telling them to worship only him.

  • Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.

  We may not think that this applies so much to us, since we have 'evolved' past the era of bowing down to graven images. Being a Christian myself, I sometimes struggle with whether or not worshipping the image of Christ on the cross is, in fact idolatry (which it would be if the cross becomes the central focus of the worship, rather than what it actually means). I also don't think that this is a ban on artistic creativity, so much as it is one on the worship of the creation, rather than the Creator (which if we were really honest with ourselves, we are just as guilty as they were). Likewise, just as we should not worship the creation, we also should not abuse or destroy it... but that is for another topic.

  • Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

  This one is a tricky one. What does it mean to misuse God's name?  Of course, the obvious is there. I have heard so many people use the name of Jesus as a cuss word, even several who claim to be Christian (which makes me cringe and overheat from shame and anger. Imagine the reaction if we use the name of Buddha or Darwin, or even one of our peers in such a way. We'd never hear the end of it!!). But would that be enough to cause the Jews to change God's name to a title (or even to say "The Name" instead of his actual name), or to keep all documents with the Name written on it to never touch the floor? Could our mispronunciation of God's name (in English, we say Jehovah, which is a bastardization of it), or the use of God's name as a comma or period in our prayers also constitute dishonoring his name?  Could it not be that we have taken it too lightly here?  ((which, as a side note, again - I see no "bad morals" here...)

  • Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day, no one in your household may do any kind of work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out with amazing power and mighty deeds. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

  Question: Should the Sabbath day be on Fridays (Muslim), Saturdays (Jews - the original Sabbath, btw), or on Sunday (Christian)?  Does it really matter? For me, while I do attend several churches on Sunday (which doesn't make it very restful), I find Saturday to be a much more fulfilling rest day. And what of those who work in jobs that do not allow them to take Sundays off? I think, rather than getting our panties in a knot over which day is the most holy, let's look at the principle here. Everyone has to work to survive - there is no disputing of that. But on the flip side, we all also know that everyone also deserves a day off - including our employees and newcomers to Canada who work in the service industries. As well as this, the soil also needs a rest, as nutrients are depleted over time, and can only replenish themselves after having a period of rest.  Once again, no bad morals so far...

  • Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land that the LORD your God will give you.

  Hm... honoring parents bringing long and full lives? This I can see. True, it can be abused by rather violent examples that we see and hear about regularly, and it can be very difficult when your parents do not share the same worldview as you. But think about it: who else can you run to for advice when your children are growing up, but those who have gone before? And while we sometimes hate to admit it, our parents know us better than we like to think they do. Not to mention the benefits of loving and honoring those who are older for their wisdom and the gifts they can bring to us. It's either that or throw them in a home and have nothing more to do with them, eating up your finances and also increasing the scourges of loneliness and depression in our culture even further. But once again... bad morals?!

  • Do not murder.

  I think this one is self explanatory - which, by the way, if we consider THIS bad morals, then our culture has REALLY lost it.

  • Do not commit adultery.

  Kind of tough in our culture, when our sexuality is a mark of our pride, to be flaunted from the roof tops; when we hear of various leaders - "successful" and powerful, in whichever capacity, suddenly falling for this one - whether through sexually molesting children, or having sexual relations with another woman other than his wife (or man, other than her husband, etc.), or addictions to pornographic material. I wish I could say that the people who claim to uphold these laws (Jews, Christians and Muslims) were better in this, but I cannot. In order to add to this, what about sexual promiscuity outside of marriage, or serial monogamous "common-law"? Would that be considered adultery? Spoken from a Christian perspective, it would, because one's sexuality is a very precious thing - you are sharing yourself with another in such an intimate way that you become joined to that person... and imagine the heart ache when things turn sour and your relationship fizzles and you must start all over again. Hm... Bad morals... I don't know. I think I would rather be faithful to my wife.

  • Do not steal.

  Self explanatory... although there has been some discussion that I have overheard in my short 29 years as to what constitutes stealing, what constitutes injustice, and what is to be considered a free-for-all. I am also reminded of those corporations who buy out the competition specifically to dismantle them and hold onto a monopoly - as well as of the AIG execs who took big payouts from the funds given by the government, after laying off a whole bunch of low-end employees, or CEO's who run their companies into the ground and leave with the big pay-outs, while the company is left to wallow in bankruptsy - or a certain director of the Canadian Mint who was discovered a few years ago to be skimming from the money, and so was laid off with a sizable pension that many of us will never see in our lifetimes.  If you agree with me that these are examples of theft and stealing, and the command not to steal is "bad morals" then I think we have a deeper problem than your downloading movies from the internet or swiping gum from the grocery store (which are both wrong also).

  • Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

  The funny thing about lies, they always catch up with you, and you must continually reinvent bigger and bigger stories to cover it up.  Also, people already mistrust one another in this culture - for we are a culture of litigations (suing one another in court). Imagine if everyone had it in their heads that we can and should do this?  Not only would there be lots more work for lawyers, but people would trust each other even less!  I mean, have you ever been falsely accused of something you didn't do, and then someone testified falsely, or the judge was bribed against you?  Me neither, but it can't be very good.  Once again, which one is "bad morals"?  I will let you, the reader decide.

  • Do not covet your neighbor's wife. Do not covet your neighbor's house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns.

  Ooh... ouch... another one that strikes at the heart of our North American culture. By not coveting the things we don't have, we won't buy into the lies that say "thou shalt keep up with the Jones's" and run yourself into deeper and deeper debt from credit card and mortgage bills. Also, we won't be tempted to commit adultery, murder, or steal either. But all of this money, all of these possessions, all of this stuff... (including the trophy wife/husband)... what does it really get you in the end? Your life becomes cluttered, and you become obsessed with the next biggest toy, which becomes obsolete the second you buy it, and you discover - lo and behold - that the new cologne does NOT make Jennifer Lopez fall in love with you. (Which, I apologize to Ms. Lopez if there is any offense in using your name here. You were the first example that came to my mind...). Rather, the ideal that is being portrayed here is to find satisfaction in what you DO have, and to stop comparing yourself with everyone around you. They may have a BMW or a Porche, but are they really happy? Judging from tabloids and how they treat their fellow people, not usually (although there may be some exceptions that I am not aware of...) Once again, bad morals? I think not.

  I don't know about you, but I don't see "bad morals" here. Rather, I see some good wisdom for living that I fear we have lost in the midst of our striving and our covetous, consumeristic, relativist society. I guess the choice is for everyone, but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
  
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