Deriving the Ten Commandments

By Tihamer Toth-Fejel

 

Did we really need God to carve a bunch of stone tablets to tell us right from wrong? 

 

Of course not.  When I taught seventh-grade Sunday School at St. Patrick's in Brighton, MI, my class was able to re-derive the ten commandments in half an hour - with only a little bit of nudging.

 

The best place to start is at the beginning – the very beginning – i.e. the Big Bang.  Who started it?  Whoever it is, he/she/it is our creator and deserves a heck of a lot of respect, not to mention gratitude.  If you look at the details of creation, like the nucleosynthesis of carbon and how dependent it is on the fine-tuning of the fundamental forces, you can’t help but be impressed enough to say, “Wow!”  That is the essence of worship.  Furthermore, if we have a creature-creator relationship with anything else other than this creator, we’re making the same mistake as people who really love their cars, and treat their spouses as objects. So worshiping God and no other false idols seems like a good idea.

 

Second, how should this worship take place?  Well, what do we know about this Creator?  It turns out that because of Moses, we do know His name: “I am”.  Well, duh – the essential characteristic of an independent creator is existence.  Given the power of words, it would seem like a good idea to respect His name, especially in our speech.

 

Third, what did the creator do again?  Oh yeah, He created the world.  How long did it take?  Six divine days (whatever they are; it’s not literea), and then he took a break.  Now, since we’re made in His image and likeness, that means… (Remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery) … Yep, it would be respectful for us to take a break after every six days, just like He did.  OK, it didn’t really take six days, the “divine days” is juat a ceremonial symbol.  Tell me, how would you feel if someone took your picture (a ceremonial symbol) and dropped it in the toilet?  Or burned you in effigy?  It is fairly obvious that symbols have power.

 

Fourth.  Ok, enough about God, the universe and everything.  What about you?  You specifically.  Where did you come from?  Yep, they do teach sex ed in schools – you came from your parents.  Not just your genes; you didn’t starve to death, you got your inoculations against polio, diphtheria, and tetanus, and you didn’t freeze during the winter.  Now you’re potty-trained, you can tie your shoes, and you can even push buttons on your TV remote--all because of your parents.  What is the logical response?  Shoot them and have their brains for dinner?  Not quite – if that had been the logical and reasonable thing for you to do, then they would have prevented it by feeding you to the family dog as soon as you were big enough to make it worthwhile (for the dog).  Might gratitude be an appropriate response?  Duh.  What about blind obedience?  Nope, because they might get annoyed and tell you to go play in traffic (parents aren’t perfect, you know).  The reason you obey your parents is because that is the best way you can get ready for when you don’t have them around anymore.  As you get to be an adult, and can handle the consequences of not obeying them, you don’t have to obey them any longer.  But does that mean that you should stop being grateful?  No.  How does one show that gratitude?  Yes, honoring your parents sounds like a good middle ground between obedience and indifferent rebellion.

 

Fifth, we’re still near the beginning:  If each person wants to exist, then what is the most important thing any two people need to do?  Obviously, they need to continue existing, and if there are two (or more) of them, then the other(s) shouldn’t stop that existence.  So, the most important guideline that all people must follow is to not murder each other. Another way to think about it is this:  What is the most awful thing that happened to Adam and Eve within 30 years of them screwing up?  Hint: Cain and Able. I can’t think of anything possibly worse for a parent. Just don’t do it.

 

Sixth, getting back to your parents, or to you when you become a parent.  OK, everyone has agreed to not murder each other. What else do the children need to do in order to survive and be happy?  Hint: What did Judith Wallerstein discover about divorce? That’s right, the children need both parents, and they need both parents to love each other.  So what hurts that love more than anything else? That’s right, adultery. So for the good of their children, the parents better avoid it. And if they don’t have children, ask a copy why they hate (and fear) answering domestic disturbance calls.

 

Seventh, now imagine a couple of people living near each other who have agreed to not murder each other and to stay committed in marriage.   What else do they need to do in order to survive and be happy?   Well, they’re busy hunting and gathering, and some people are busier than others, so those people get more stuff.  What’s to stop the lazy people from taking from those who have worked hard?  Violence, or at least the threat of violence and then we’re back to number five.  What happens if someone always takes the results of your hard work?  Will you continue to work?  No.  So the next famine wipes out all of you because nobody worked.  Therefore, the group needs the concept of property, and even a four-year-old recognizes that when that property is taken away from him, “that’s not fair!”

 

Eighth, let’s say you come home from hunting and gathering, and your stuff is gone.  Angrily, you ask your neighbor Joe what happened to it.  He claims that some animals took it.  Or he says that he didn’t see anything.  Or he says that Bill took it.  Obviously, in order to enforce the other rules, members of a happy and productive society will tell each other the truth. Society works much more efficiently that way.  Go to Wikipedia and compare the transparency index of countries with their standard of living.

 

Ninth.  What is the process by which people do anything wrong?  Exactly -- they think about it first.  It turns out that people generally don’t have too many problems honoring their parents, and while honoring them is very important, your parents generally don’t affect your everyday life after you grow up.  Similarly, while murder is very serious, it is also a mean, vicious business with a wicked wrongness that is so obvious that it doesn’t need repeating.  On the other hand, when in a boring or difficult marriage, the enticement of a member of the opposite sex might be so alluring, and the consequences so distant, that a commandment against adultery does need to be repeated. Don’t even think about it.

 

Tenth.  Same with thievery.  The temptation is powerful.  So don’t even think about that, either.