There has been a lot of talk lately in some circles about how the U.S. Constitution and judicial system should reflect the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments used to be posted on various judicial buildings, and may still be on some, and some consider them one of the cornerstones of our justice system.

But recently it dawned on me that our justice system in the U.S. is ironically more closely related to the Wiccan Creed "Harm no one - do as thou wilt." or "Do what you will. Harm none." than the 10 Commandments, and I paused to reflect what our society would truly be like if all justice and the U.S. Constitution were indeed based on the 10 Commandments, as prior presidential candidate Huckabee openly advocated. By the way, I'm not a Wiccan, but I appreciate the value of the Wiccan Creed.

So let's examine each Commandment one by one from Genesis 20 and discuss how society would be impacted if each one was the Law of the Land (in the U.S. or any other society). Let's think about whether the 10 Commandments really are precepts that we believe should be cornerstones of justice. (And I'm taking the commandments from the traditional Genesis 20 - there are debates regarding whether the commandments are stated differently in other passages from the Bible.)

Commandment #1:

If this was Law, then all religions following gods other than the one described in Exodus would be banned. That could even include descriptions of God from other parts of the Bible since Exodus never states those books contain true definitions of God. Freedom of religion would no longer be allowed in the U.S. Also, it would be necessary to precisely define in legal terms the exact non-contradictory characteristics of who God is. There could be no deviation or debate on this, or else this law could not be enforced. That includes fully reconciling any debate over whether Biblical statements of God are all consistent with one another and focusing on what the Book of Exodus really has to say about God.

Commandment #2:

It would need to be precisely defined what an "idol" actually is. Some claim people have made the Bible into an idol, and that would need to be examined too. Also, the justice system would need to be changed so that descendents of those who commit crimes are also punished for generations. Also, people would need to prove whether they actually love God and are keeping God's commandments, but that would unfortunately not exempt them from the generational punishments. Only those descended from people who love God and keep the commandments would be free from punishment under the law.

Commandment #3:

Using God's name (and that would need to be defined precisely) in any adverse way or swear word will become a crime. Since nobody would be held guiltless according to this commandment, this would apply to children too.

Commandment #4:

If this commandment was law, if anyone in your household, even a visitor, did ANY work on the Sabbath, that would be a crime. You would be held accountable for those in your household. Also, "work" would need to be clearly defined. Is changing a baby's diaper "work"? Is cooking dinner "work"? Clearly you wouldn't be able to wash the dishes after dinner. There would also need to be agreement on which day is the Sabbath Day.

Commandment #5:

Being a rebellious child or teenager would become a punishable offense under the law. As an adult, you could never deviate from what your parents taught you, or you would be punished. Although apparently you would need to be careful about Commandment #2 since if your parents misbehaved, you couldn't honor that, or your own children's children would continue to suffer for it. The verse isn't specific about "honoring" parents who disobey God. It just says to honor them, no exceptions.

Commandment #6:

Killing ANYONE under ANY circumstances would be illegal, including in war or self-defense. This verse makes no exceptions. Also, the term "murder" would need to be clearly defined. Does it only apply to killing human beings? Does it apply to killing animals too? The abortion debate would need to be resolved too, as it would need to be determined legally if abortion is murder.

Commandment #7:

Adultery would become a punishable offense under the law. I have actually read books discussing how some conservative Christians are advocating the death penalty for adulturers. The commandment doesn't state what the penalty should be, and the Bible is ambiguous on that (in the Old Testament, the woman would be killed for sure - in the New Testament, Jesus pardons the adulterous woman). So the penalty would need to be clearly defined. Also, the commandment actually makes no distinction between men and women, so all adulturers would be punished.

Commandment #8:

ANY stealing, no matter how small, even within one's own household, would be illegal.

Commandment #9:

If anyone was EVER caught in ANY lie, that would be a punishable offense. Although this actually only concerns itself with lying against somebody else, not lying in general, so that might need to be narrowed down to precisely follow what the text says.

Commandment #10:

This one would be tricky to implement since it would need to be proven what you are thinking about. If you were envious of anything anybody else had, you would be guilty. If you made any statement regarding wishing you had something similar to someone else, that would be a punishable offense.

After reviewing the 10 Commandments, which are so often bandied about as fundamental to the Laws of our Society, I have concluded that most of them are ignored, and if that ever changed, indeed we would be living in quite a different society altogether, not necessarily one that many people would support or want to be a part of. Yet it sounds so noble and pure to say "I support the 10 Commandments in the Constitution" or our justice system, until the notion is examined more closely, specifically and realistically.

Now what about the Wiccan Creed? The one which states "Harm no one - do as thou wilt."? I would contend the laws of our society and the laws most people (even Christians) advocate are far more consistent with the Wiccan Creed than the 10 Commandments, which is akin to the Golden Rule, though most people have never even heard this statement from the Wiccans. When it says "Harm no one", that could also include yourself, although that too could get rather strict, as one would need to define what it means to harm somebody. Also, the "do as thou wilt" part has a lot to say about freedom and tolerance, true cornerstones of our country in the U.S. The 10 Commandments don't exactly allow much freedom or deviation.

At the end of the day, laws should not be based on any spiritual text, not the 10 Commandments or the Wiccan Creed. Even though I personally believe in rehabilitative justice, which is far more consistent with the loving words of Jesus than any other form of punitive justice. What did Jesus say to that adulturess woman anyway, who violated Commandment #7, and what did he say to the people about to stone her to death?

Peace and Love,
BridgeBuilder

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To build a bridge, it is not enough just to have an understanding of both sides of the river, although that is a challenge indeed. Only with the guidance of Love can one master the chasm in between.

A Wiccan has informed me that what I stated is actually the "Wiccan Rede", not the "Wiccan Creed", which is something else altogether. I've heard this stated as the "Wiccan Creed", but perhaps that is a misstatement or common misunderstanding of the word "Rede". I'll defer to my Wiccan friend's knowledge on this, which is confirmed by Wikipedia too.

Peace and Love,
BridgeBuilder

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To build a bridge, it is not enough just to have an understanding of both sides of the river, although that is a challenge indeed. Only with the guidance of Love can one master the chasm in between.

I don't agree with some of your legal assessments regarding what might happen if the Commandments were instituted as laws, but it really does not matter, because my answer is that I value the separation of church and state, and so I do not think the laws should be based on any religious tenets. Individuals will of course sometimes vote according to their own spiritual beliefs but the Constitution does offer some protections to those of no religion or minority views. Probably we could use more protections.

By the way, the Wiccan rede is an expression of the ethic of reciprocity. All of the major religions have a similar ethic, and most secular humanists also share similar views. As much as I admire Wicca, Wicca did not invent this philosophy. It's not a bad rule to live by. Neither are the Christian versions, nor the Islamic, or the Jewish or Buddhist, Jain, etc:
Ethic of reciprocity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love."
- Carl Sagan

Wiccan Rede is not the équivalent of the 10 commandment, but more the équivalent of Jesus Teachings.

Love thy Neighbor - It is Christ's Answer to Religion

Love thy neighbor was, in part, Jesus' answer when the Pharisees, the chief religious sect of that day, asked Him about the greatest commandment in the Law (See Matthew 22:36-40). These religious leaders had made almost an art form of classifying all the various laws and giving them relative degrees of importance, so in asking Jesus this question, their aim was to test Him. His answer stunned them:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

10 Commandments belong to the area of religion, Jesus teachings as Wiccan Rede belong to the area of Ethics, behaviour, intent, action, will.

This concept of love is a matter of will.. We cannot control a feeling but we can control a behaviour.

Wiccan Rede has just a negative formulation, (not harming) opposed to christian formulation, not harming intentionally of course, mistakes and accident happen so often. (unfortunately)

It would not have stunned them at all-- that's just a popular misconception. The same thing was said by a contemporary of Jesus by the name of Hillel and was the general belief of the many liberal Pharisees who didn't feel that the oral law and the "building a wall around the Torah" was the proper thing to do. Jesus very much appears to reflect the overall attitude of that grouping (there was more than one sect).

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"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."-- Einstein

The Wiccan rede is comparable to the golden rule which is stated in one way or another in all the major spiritual thoughts. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even Jesus said I say many things to you but the most important of these is Do unto others as you would have them do unto you...(paraphraseing ). If we all lived by this we would have a much better world.

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

If you followed Jesus`s teachings above you wouldnt need anything else

If you followed that same message which is in all major religions, you wouldn't need anything else. There are many wise people who said that same thing in some form or another so it really doesn't matter which one you follow,

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

That is so well said. I totally believe that...all faiths speak of treating others as you want to be treated and I agree...if we did that we wouldn't need any other moral laws.

As to such things as speed limits inside school zones and civil laws like that, I think those should be based on common sense and not on any religious rules.

Maggie

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So much to learn and see and do

Living under laws based upon religious beliefs is an absolutely appalling idea. Trust me, I lived under such laws for most of my life.

The problem is, God isn't speaking, and therefore, whoever claims to speak for God is accountable to nobody. The Catholic Church and it's Pope, just for example, would like nothing better than to role back laws permitting marriage to loving same-sex couples in the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain and South Africa, and in New Jersey and Massachussetts. They would role back the laws recognizing various forms of same-sex civil unions with rights similar to marriage in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), and in California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

Laws based on religion would mandate when people were required to rest, what sorts of sexual activity are allowed between consenting couples, perhaps what food may be legally eaten, how they may be required to dress, who is allowed to talk to whom. All of these things are currently expressions of religion in law in various places around the world, and in every case, they are making some people miserable for no need at all.

And all based upon words presumably "inspired" by a God who isn't presently vouching for any of it.

Look at the state of religion. There are 34,000 named varieties of Christian! This only proves the complete impossibility of understanding and/or agreeing on precisely what it is God wants or doesn't want.

Keep religion of every kind out of the business of making laws! Trust me, I know.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.