AZspot AZspot

blue bits. red rocks.
Friday 25 September 2009

Very few people take the Ten Commandments literally.  We contextualize them, trying to discern the origin, intent, and purpose of these commandments in order to create a way of life that demonstrates the deeper wisdom of these teachings.  And we recognize the human disposition toward breaking them—and, to a greater or lesser degree, we offer forgiveness, understanding, and reconciliation toward one another in regard to the Ten Commandments.  And religious communities argue about how much forgiveness, understanding, and reconciliation is appropriate in any given denomination or tradition.    Taking the Commandments out of context is spiritually and politically dangerous.  To hold up these ten commandments—in Hebrew they aren’t even called “commandments;” rather, the Hebrew word is “terms”—to hold up these ten terms of the moral law without reference to the larger intent of the words leads to legalism, violence, and repression.  God intended for the Law to be joyful, a pathway for a way of life of devotion and respect for one other, a blessing and not a curse. Indeed, Jesus—a rabbi himself—made this point.  When asked what was the most important of the commandments, he replied:  “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”  The Problem with the Ten Commandments

A GNT creation ©2007–2012