The ten commandments. They are the ten things we should do. The rest of the book tells us some of the things we shouldn't do, although a comprehensive list is not provided. Therein lies the problem, man has been provided with an out. The argument being, it doesn't specifically say I shouldn't, therefore, I can. With that thought the whole thing began. At first we ( christians ) had the disciples telling us what Jesus said. It was all just word of mouth, well except for the old testament. The old testament had been written specifically for the Jewish people. The old testament tells of the coming of Jesus, a few hundred times, although the Jewish people are still waiting for him. We Christians of course believing in his birth and presence here on earth. The only point being, the old and new testaments are subject to interpretation, that's the out. Those ten commandments are pretty clear in their meaning. Interesting to note is that in the old testament there are actually 613 " laws " that the faithful Jewish person is supposed to follow. I'm no scholar of Judaism, perhaps some of you are, but I'm thinking that list has been shortened considerably. There are denominations, if that is the correct term, of Jews as well as Christians. Each group has slightly altered the law, to suit a purpose. Just what that purpose is I will leave to you to speculate.
Now all of that concerns the Jews and Christians of the world. The other major group in the world is the Muslims. There religion is called Islam. They have their own book the Quran. Now you can argue about it but from what I have read it is basically a rewrite of the old testament Bible. The stories are pretty much the same. The main differences being when Mohamed included at least 109 verses declaring violence against the non-believers. That's the big difference really and the one that bothers me. If you don't believe in Allah and refuse to convert, they should kill you! Well, unless you are useful as a slave for labor or sex. Then you may be spared, for a while anyway. I have read a number of those verses and they are pretty clear to me, although some Muslims seem to have a different interpretation of just what they mean. Some Muslims would have me believe that they don't have to believe that portion of their Holy Quran at all, it's optional, as long as you believe in Mohamed. Leaves me a little confused. I haven't heard of any parts of the Bible that are optional.
I have no idea about Hindus, Buddhists, or the Shinto religion. I wonder if they make exceptions to their laws. I would expect that they don't. But whatever it is they believe I also expect it has been altered over the centuries. That is what I'm talking about here. The changing of the practice of religion over time. Man has always sought a more, shall we say, permissive God. It makes no difference what God you are talking about. Many cultures assigned different Gods for different things. I wonder if the thought process was, it takes a majority to condemn you. You know, that way I could displease this God but I could still satisfy another, kinda even the score. I don't know but it's a theory. The thing is obeying the law. Isn't that what Gods are all about, having you obey! Usually it is only one God but the Greeks had a bunch of them, as did other ancients. Must have been confusing.
The golden rule. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Mathew said that followed by, for this sums up the law and the prophets. I looked up what prophets he was talking about and they were Isiah, Micah and Hosea. They are all old testament prophets. I agree with Mathew, it does sum it all up. If we all just treated each other the way we want to be treated there wouldn't be an issue. But we make exceptions. It began when Adam ate that apple. Did you know if they had waited, Adam and Eve, for just three years they could have eaten that apple without consequence? Yeah, but they couldn't wait. Then, later on God gave us the Ten commandments, we haven't been able to follow them either. You know I'm thinking that the golden rule was the first rule given to man by God. We all know it, we all agree it is the best way, no one disputes that. Then we began to make exceptions. Exceptions are granted to gain an advantage. In order to follow the golden rule we would all have to be equal. But we're not, we are all special. Isn't that right? That's the exception.
Now all of that concerns the Jews and Christians of the world. The other major group in the world is the Muslims. There religion is called Islam. They have their own book the Quran. Now you can argue about it but from what I have read it is basically a rewrite of the old testament Bible. The stories are pretty much the same. The main differences being when Mohamed included at least 109 verses declaring violence against the non-believers. That's the big difference really and the one that bothers me. If you don't believe in Allah and refuse to convert, they should kill you! Well, unless you are useful as a slave for labor or sex. Then you may be spared, for a while anyway. I have read a number of those verses and they are pretty clear to me, although some Muslims seem to have a different interpretation of just what they mean. Some Muslims would have me believe that they don't have to believe that portion of their Holy Quran at all, it's optional, as long as you believe in Mohamed. Leaves me a little confused. I haven't heard of any parts of the Bible that are optional.
I have no idea about Hindus, Buddhists, or the Shinto religion. I wonder if they make exceptions to their laws. I would expect that they don't. But whatever it is they believe I also expect it has been altered over the centuries. That is what I'm talking about here. The changing of the practice of religion over time. Man has always sought a more, shall we say, permissive God. It makes no difference what God you are talking about. Many cultures assigned different Gods for different things. I wonder if the thought process was, it takes a majority to condemn you. You know, that way I could displease this God but I could still satisfy another, kinda even the score. I don't know but it's a theory. The thing is obeying the law. Isn't that what Gods are all about, having you obey! Usually it is only one God but the Greeks had a bunch of them, as did other ancients. Must have been confusing.
The golden rule. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Mathew said that followed by, for this sums up the law and the prophets. I looked up what prophets he was talking about and they were Isiah, Micah and Hosea. They are all old testament prophets. I agree with Mathew, it does sum it all up. If we all just treated each other the way we want to be treated there wouldn't be an issue. But we make exceptions. It began when Adam ate that apple. Did you know if they had waited, Adam and Eve, for just three years they could have eaten that apple without consequence? Yeah, but they couldn't wait. Then, later on God gave us the Ten commandments, we haven't been able to follow them either. You know I'm thinking that the golden rule was the first rule given to man by God. We all know it, we all agree it is the best way, no one disputes that. Then we began to make exceptions. Exceptions are granted to gain an advantage. In order to follow the golden rule we would all have to be equal. But we're not, we are all special. Isn't that right? That's the exception.
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