The Ten Three Commandments

Or... why seven of the Ten Commandments are incompatible with the United States legal system..
Or... is it really appropriate for a Court of Law to display laws that are in conflict with the law of the land?
Or... The Bill of Rights: Who'dve thunk it?

Disclaimer: Which Ten Commandments are "The" Ten is a matter of debate, it varies based on which source you consider to be canon. For the purposes of this list, I have used the "Protestant" Ten Commandments from the King James Bible, as reprinted on the web. That site also lists alternative versions and notes the differences between them.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Contrast with: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

With this first commandment, we are already off to a bad start. It explicitly rules out the concept of religious freedom except for religions that are rooted in Judeo-Christian beliefs. For the sake of argument even if you assume that this is inclusive of any branch of Christianity, Judaism or Islam you still exclude a tremendous body of the cultural heritage of many americans. See this wikipedia entry for a broader list than I could easily fit here.

Religious freedom is in fact the very first freedom established in the Bill of Rights.

Verdict: INVALID

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them... (or else).

This commandment is really just a rehash of the first commandment, unless I am missing something. It is an expansion of the "no gods before me" doctrine to include the worship of items or images as gods. I'm certain that a subset of the religions listed earlier would violate this commandment as well.

Verdict: INVALID

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

This is arguable, but I don't believe it is a valid "foundation of American law". The concept of "swearing", which includes religious as well as sexual and other references, is illegal in various places according to varying community standards. However, the commandment does not seem to be worded to prevent the use of vulgar terms, rather it is a requirement of respect for God.

Freedom of Religion is the right to worship as you choose. Perhaps my religion does not respect another. It seems that many in the United States do not. This is unfortunate, but not illegal.

Regardless of community standards regarding swearing, it is not illegal in the United States to say the occasional "god damn it", especially in the privacy of one's own home.

Verdict: INVALID

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter... etc.

It is not illegal to work on the Sabbath (be it Sunday, Saturday, or any other day of the week) in the United States. Due to various union restrictions and other labor laws, it may be illegal to force someone to work on this day, but there is no requirement that an individual may not work on such a day if he so chooses.

Verdict: INVALID

5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Although it is nice to respect one's elders, it is by no means a requirement in this country. In particular, many of the parents in this country have not earned the respect of their children, be they deadbeat parents, child abusers or simply disinterested in their children.

Verdict: INVALID

6. Thou shalt not kill.

Assuming that God makes allowances for concepts such self defense or just war, this is the first commandment that has valid legal standing: it is the crime of murder.

Issues such as capital punishment, abortion and work with stem cells complicate the philosophy here, but I believe that the purpose of this commandment is legally valid. The arguments for these concepts involve whether or not these acts are murder, not whether or not murder itself is permissable.

Verdict: VALID

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Although it may be grounds for divorce, adultery is not a criminal act in the United States.

Verdict: INVALID

8. Thou shalt not steal.

This is perfectly valid, theft is an illegal act in most legal systems, including our own.

Verdict: VALID

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

This is perfectly valid, this embodies concepts such as perjury and slander which are indeed illegal.

Verdict: VALID

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Crime in the United States is based on your actions, not on your thoughts or wishes. In some cases, for instance "hate crimes" spring to mind, it is based on a combination of your actions and the thoughts behind them, but the thoughts alone are never illegal unless acted upon. The idea that coveteous thoughts themselves would be criminal stinks of George Orwell.

Verdict: INVALID

Comments? Email me! I'm looking forward to posting hatemail, and my soul will be eternally unfulfilled, dark and empty if none arrives.