Biblical laws and themes
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The Ten Commandments: Many
topics, viewpoints, & interpretations
Humorous quotes:
- "Only 68 of 200 Anglican priests polled could name all
Ten Commandments, but half said they believed in space aliens." 1
- "Concerning the Ten Commandments in
courthouses and legislatures: You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and
'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of
lawyers, judges and politicians...It creates a hostile work environment." 2
- Anon: "Why is it that images of the Ten Commandments are almost always portrayed anachronistically, with English text and or Roman numerals in place of the original Hebrew?
We apologize to anyone who is offended by
any of the above quotations. Including humor in a religious discussion is always chancy.

About the Ten Commandments:
The Ten Commandments (a.k.a. Decalogue) is a set of behavioral rules which
appears in three separate locations in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) of the Bible. These have historically been accepted by Judaism, Christianity and Islam as a summary of
the most important rules of behavior that God expects of humanity. Slightly more than 50% of humans on earth follow one of these three religions.
There is considerable debate in the U.S. whether the
Decalogue should be posted in public schools, public parks, government offices,
etc. There is a growing consensus that monuments containing the Ten Commandments should not be displayed by themselves on government property, because that would be widely seen as promoting one religion, or a small group of religions, as superior to other religions in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, many people have no objection if they are shown in a cultural display along with other examples of ancient and modern legal codes.

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Topics covered in this section:
About the Ten Commandments (a.k.a. The Decalogue):
Problems relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public
schools, public parks, etc.

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Related essays on this web site:
References used:
- Randy Cassingham, This is True, 1997-FEB-02, at:
http://www.thisistrue.com/ It is based on a UPI article. The full UPI quotation is:
"A survey of Anglican vicars in Britain found that while some don't
believe in heaven, more than half believe in life on other planets.
Worse, only 68 of the 200 surveyed could name all 10 of the Bible's Ten
Commandments. The only two that were almost universally remembered were
the ones about adultery and coveting thy neighbor's wife; both are no-no's."
Although the quotation may seem shocking, being asked to recite each and
every commandment is a challenging question.
- From an unsolicited Email, 2008-MAR-04.

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Copyright © 1999 to 2015 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2015-JUL-22
Author: B.A. Robinson

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