8 DON'Ts & 2 DOs

[Dr. Shane]

1. DON'T have any other gods before Me

2. DON'T worship idols

3. DON'T take My name in vain

4. DO remember My Sabbath

5. DO honor your parents

6. DON'T kill

7. DON'T commit adultry

8. DON'T steal

9. DON'T lie

10. DON'T covet

That is how God gave the Commandments to the Isralites fresh out of slavery. If God were to give them to us today, would He reword the same principles in another way?

[Bravus]

I've thought about this a bit before... there's a whole theory discussable later if anyone's interested. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

1. DON'T have any other gods before Me

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength

2. DON'T worship idols

As above

3. DON'T take My name in vain

Honour my name in everything you say and do - and if you label yourself with my name, you'd better live up to it by my grace

4. DO remember My Sabbath

Take time off from your work to rest, regenerate and spend time with Me and your family... don't obsess on work and make it your whole life

5. DO honor your parents

Doesn't need rephrasing... but perhaps parents need some reminders

6. DON'T kill

Honour life in all its forms and work to protect it

7. DON'T commit adultery

Honour your marriage and your partner and focus only on him/her. Build the marriage, don't break it.

8. DON'T steal

Honour others' property - don't steal in any way, including by cheating or defrauding

9. DON'T lie

Honour the truth, and protect and support it in everything you do

10. DON'T covet

Material things are ephemeral and will pass - there's no point obsessing about them and damaging relationships, losing sleep, getting into patterns that are likely to lead to stealing

[Robert]

Simple!

• 1 through 4: Faith in God

  5 through 10: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

In other words "faith in God" produces change so that he/she reflects 5 through 10.

Now if you want the law as Christ kept it, it would read as follows:

1] You must have "the faith of Jesus", which produces

2] A life free from ALL "self-seeking"!

[David Koot]

I am inclined to agree with Bravus. His wording of the 10 C's is almost word for word identical with my wording when I present them in a Power Point study. I think Shane has a good point about their being expressed in a way that a primitive people could understand. Although, I am curious as to whether or not God, Who spoke them as they are worded in Ex. 20, may have had some other reason for doing so, beyond the nature of the audience.

Dave

[Kevin H]

I do not know how to present the information, but different Bible scholars point out that it appears that what God said from Mt. Sinai were only 10 words (and if I remember correctly, they were all in the negative) and that Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, as well as lesser known repeats of the 10 commandaments are a combination of the basic 10 words with commentary, and there are differences in the commentary so that some listings of the 10 commandaments include not cooking the goat in the mother's milk.

Getting back to the best known, Exodus 20, it has been pointed out that it is in three thirds. the first third consists of 3 commandaments discussing how to love God with all your soul and heart and mind, the last third consists of 6 commandaments on how to love your neigbor as yourself, and the middle third consists of one commandament which ties the two ideas together and is seen as the only way to love God supreamly and your neighbor as yourself.

[Dr. Shane]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

different Bible scholars point out that it appears that what God said from Mt. Sinai were only 10 words

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

How would they know this if they have the same transcripts as everyone else?

[David Koot]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

I do not know how to present the information, but different Bible scholars point out that it appears that what God said from Mt. Sinai were only 10 words

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Evangelical scholarship has embraced higher criticism. Quite interesting to see what some of those guys do with the Bible. But, aside from that, Hebrew was a primitive, picture-language. Few 'picture' words were required to communicate basic concepts.

Dave

[bevin]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

8. DON'T steal

Honour others' property - don't steal in any way, including by cheating or defrauding

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

This has got to be one of the most cultural there, since it requires defining ownership.

For instance - putting a fence around an area and claiming it is mine in perpetuity is actually stealing from both the living and the too-be-born

Patenting ideas is obviously theft, since it takes away from others what they could have discovered for themselves

...

/Bevin

[Dr. Shane]

Intellectual property certainly is not a black and white issue. While the issue of obeying the law may be black and white, whether the laws should be written as they are is certainly debatable.

[Kevin H]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

I do not know how to present the information, but different Bible scholars point out that it appears that what God said from Mt. Sinai were only 10 words

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Evangelical scholarship has embraced higher criticism. Quite interesting to see what some of those guys do with the Bible. But, aside from that, Hebrew was a primitive, picture-language. Few 'picture' words were required to communicate basic concepts.

Dave

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Actally there are a few Bible texts which refer to the events on Mt. Sinai as "The Ten Words" and it has been intertextual studied (lower criticism) that has found a number of things grouped in 10 in the Bible and (sorry I don't know the language to know for sure, but if I understand the information correctly, they are all based on the same 10 words.)