The Ten Commandments Options

[boots]

The Ten Commandments:

1) You shall have no other Gods before me.

2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5) Honor your mother and father.

6) You shall not murder.

7) You shall not commit adultry.

8) You shall not steal.

9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.


These are commandments which aim to supress the selfish desires of the Ego. Killing, lying, giving in to sensual pleasure and materialism, envying, worshiping idles...These are all actions which one is tempted to do by the Ego, but do not help one attain peace and enlightenment. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain. You should not believe that the Ego is more significant than God, than Totality.

I think by honoring one's mother and father, one should be honoring all who have more experience in the world. The elders, the wise ones. It is with their help that we gain knowledge and truth.

Remember the sabbath day. I am not quite sure the function of this commandment. Could it be that we live in such a complicated social world that it is to our benefit to devote a full day of the week to ourselves and our own meditation?

You shall have no other Gods before me. What is meant by this? I guess it depends on what is meant by God. If God is Totality, then this commandment is reminding us that God is more significant than the Ego, and that the Ego is only a part of God.

I think problems begin to arise when God is viewed as a separate entity from us. The other commandments seem to suggest that problems arise when the Ego is viewed as separate from God, so how can God be viewed as separate from the Ego? This first commandment should not be interpreted to mean that we should close our minds to other opinions of Truth. This would be a hinderence to our own understanding of Truth. Unfortunately, I think that many religions think this way...I think that many religions misunderstand the Ten Commandments, especially the First.

[Rick]

No. There is no practical way to distinguish a universe with divinity in it from a universe devoid of divinity. Therefore, the simpler conceptualization is the better one.

[boots]

No. There is no practical way to distinguish a universe with divinity in it from a universe devoid of divinity. Therefore, the simpler conceptualization is the better one.

Divinity....

Is divinity Love? If you believe that Love is real and present in the universe, then the universe is divine.

Atheism is the denial that the universe is divine. Can the atheist account for Love?

[Charity7]

No. There is no practical way to distinguish a universe with divinity in it from a universe devoid of divinity. Therefore, the simpler conceptualization is the better one.

Divinity....

Is divinity Love? If you believe that Love is real and present in the universe, then the universe is divine.

Atheism is the denial that the universe is divine. Can the atheist account for Love?

Love is an emotion just like any other, and a survival mechanism... aren't animals capable of love? Don't mothers in the animal world protect their young with their lives every day? Is this not love?

[Rick]

Love is an emotion just like any other, and a survival mechanism... aren't animals capable of love? Don't mothers in the animal world protect their young with their lives every day? Is this not love?

It is.