Monday, December 2, 2019

An opening for the god-botherers

For years Evangelicals have been trying to push their version of moral law into the secular space. But there moral law is bulky and persons who respect the Constitution have noticed the plot.

What if the Law we're more compact? Perhaps then they could sneak it into the courthouses and schoolrooms without causing such a fuss.

Well, it is more compact than it used to be. No one who grew up among evangelicals, as I did,  believes their preachment's because they don't believe them. Do as I say not as I do is the 11th Commandment; or perhaps the Zeroth Commandment of the evangelical Christian.

Until fairly recently evangelicals tended to stay out of the political sphere; meddling, they thought, interfered with the main goal of Salvation. However, for a generation now the holy joes have been baptized -- full immersion not just dunking -- in politics.

This has clarified values immensely. We now have numerous public actions and firm declarations about what evangelicals regard as moral behavior. Let us see how much of the Decalogue remains.

  1. “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any strange gods before Me.”
    Possible keeper. This would depend on whether you think that making fun of the Lord your god amounts to putting a strange God before him.

  2. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
    Definite keeper. Trump has a potty mouth but is not a blasphemer.


  3. “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”
    Possible keeper, depending on your opinion of golf.

  4. “Honor thy father and mother.”
    Keeper.

  5. “Thou shalt not kill.”
    No longer in effect. No surprise here; rightwingers have never liked this one.

  6. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
    Bwaaaaah-ha-ha!

  7. “Thou shalt not steal.”
    The Catholic Church, whose Decalogue I borrowed, elaborates: "Embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, and vandalism are all considered extensions of violations of the Seventh Commandment." No longer in effect.


  8. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
    No longer in effect.

  9. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
    No longer in effect.

  10. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”
     No longer in effect.

    There now, not such a burden even when carved in stone.



4 comments:

  1. I don't know if anybody noticed, but the Catholics have changed No.10. When I was a pupil at Our Lady of perpetual Help school we were told god didn't want us coveting our neighbor's ox.

    That's really pretty funny, because after 40 years in the desert the neighbors wouldn't have had any oxen, who need lots of water and need it frequently.

    Should I state te obvious? The original version must have been a fake.

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  2. Not sure what you mean by "the original version must have been a fake," but Biblical scholarship is fairly clear at this point that the Moses described in the Bible likely never existed, and so the 10 Commandments, whatever their origin, were grafted onto a distinct myth without much consideration for "Marvel Extended Universe"-level consistency.

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  3. That's what I meant. There wasn't a Moses or an Exodus or a handing down of tablets. But virtually all of the Christians among whom I was raised (30 miles from Dayton, Tennessee) claimed to be literalists and demanded acceptance of biblical inerrancy.

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  4. Note to readers. I aom going to have to find a new home for Restating the Obvious. Nt sure where yet. Please email me at harryeagar@gmail.com to learn new URL. New blog will be named RestatingtheObvious Sykesville (I hope).

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