Written in stone?
By Norman Fleishman
I would very much like to respond to Kathy Testa”s request that I give comments on the Ten Commandments.
No. 1: “Thou shall have no other Gods before me.” This does specifically refer to Yahweh, the Hebrew deity, so we might have to tinker a bit with the First Amendment to enforce it, like getting rid of the whole freedom of religion nonsense. The punishment for those who “have other Gods,” like those in 50 other nations, or those in this one who choose another God, or no god: “death!”
No. 2: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” etc. Most of art and sculpture, even photography, might have to go; maybe even replicas of the Ten Commandments would be illegal. Infractions? “Punish the children up to the fourth generation.”
No. 3: “Thou shalt not take of the Lord thy God in vain.” All this self-serving Jesus-thanking going on in sports these days could be precisely the type of thing God had in mind. And for common, everyday swearing, etc., any perceived blasphemy ? well: “death” (see Leviticus 24:13-16).
No. 4: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy … in it thou shalt not do any work.” It”s self-explanatory. Do not mow the lawn, mend the fence, vacuum or do dishes on the Sabbath. There is some question, by the way, as to which day is the actual Sabbath day. Biblically it”s Saturday, but to Christians it”s Sunday. Should we take a vote before we begin enforcement, Kathy? Violations, of course: death!
No. 5: “Honour thy father and thy mother.” Clear enough. Punishment for violations? “Death” ? (see Deuteronomy 21:18-21). For the child that has some legitimate anger to express at a parent: Uh-uh!
No. 7: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” What is God referring to here? According to Mark 10:11-12, Jesus states that “anyone who divorces and remarries, or marries a divorced person committeth adultery.” The penalty for this crime (Leviticus 20:10-12) is, of course, “death.” Clearly, enforcement here would be rather detrimental to millions of families, but what choice, Kathy, do we have?
Norman Fleishman
Lakeport
