Ten Commandments
I think the Ten Commandments are great. They are not the foundation of the Consitution however.
Here is one interpretation of the Ten Commandments:
1. I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me.
2. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
4. Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
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 or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.
In direct contrast are the first ten amendments to the Constitution scripted by the Founding Fathers and labelled the Bill of Rights:
Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II. A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
So we have here ten rules to prevent action in contrast with ten assertions to preserve and protect action. Separation of Church and state in more than name, also in methodology. The seventh Amendment affirms common law which literally unseats the notion of a fixed code. The Constitution likewise adapts a mutable form allowing for revision. The first Amendment guarantees any individual the right to violate at least Commandments 1-5 and perhaps 7 and 10 as well. The second Amendment speaks directly to the need to kill, implicitly opposing Commandment 6. The tenth Amendment evokes the value of the people, the state, and the government, directly conflicting with the Commandment 1. There are more nuances, but these evident contradictions demonstrate an incongruence of the Ten Commandments with the Bill of Rights.
Moreover, there is no reason to fear the law of the land in this nation for violating almost all of the Commandments. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, & 10 are not crimes. 6 can be done in certain circumstances and our nation presently in in the mode of putting to death more criminals than almost any other nation. 8 & 9 are usually crimes, but they are not called the Two Commandments, these are the Ten Commandments.
The man who came up with the name 'the United States of America' also penned "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church." (The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine). The large influences on the Founding Fathers came from Montesquieu, David Hume, John Locke and Thomas Paine, not Moses.
Here is one interpretation of the Ten Commandments:
1. I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me.
2. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
4. Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
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 or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.
In direct contrast are the first ten amendments to the Constitution scripted by the Founding Fathers and labelled the Bill of Rights:
Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II. A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
So we have here ten rules to prevent action in contrast with ten assertions to preserve and protect action. Separation of Church and state in more than name, also in methodology. The seventh Amendment affirms common law which literally unseats the notion of a fixed code. The Constitution likewise adapts a mutable form allowing for revision. The first Amendment guarantees any individual the right to violate at least Commandments 1-5 and perhaps 7 and 10 as well. The second Amendment speaks directly to the need to kill, implicitly opposing Commandment 6. The tenth Amendment evokes the value of the people, the state, and the government, directly conflicting with the Commandment 1. There are more nuances, but these evident contradictions demonstrate an incongruence of the Ten Commandments with the Bill of Rights.
Moreover, there is no reason to fear the law of the land in this nation for violating almost all of the Commandments. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, & 10 are not crimes. 6 can be done in certain circumstances and our nation presently in in the mode of putting to death more criminals than almost any other nation. 8 & 9 are usually crimes, but they are not called the Two Commandments, these are the Ten Commandments.
The man who came up with the name 'the United States of America' also penned "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church." (The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine). The large influences on the Founding Fathers came from Montesquieu, David Hume, John Locke and Thomas Paine, not Moses.
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