Issue 53
News: The ten Commandments.
A Few articles back, I wrote an article about Biblical Law criticizing most of it, except for the naturally utilitarian laws which do make sense. I even started to criticize the Ten Commandments. In this article, provoked further by me listening to a routine of George Carlin (whom I have been a lifelong fan) dissecting the ten commandments. He slimmed them down to two with an additional one:
1) Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.
2) Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.
2.5) Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.
This prompted me to write my own independent dissection of them as I learned them.
1) You shall have no other gods.
Most people forget to add the last two words: "Before Me." These two words are crucial because they allow one to praise Buddha or some other God as long as the other God is relegated to #2. Naturally, Luther Closed this loophole.
2) You Shall not Misuse the name of the Lord Your God.
This is very misleading, as I have mentioned before. Case in Point: Many people know the person I am linking to here, especially Brits. And they should: He's the Prince of Wales. Naturally, that's just his title. His real name is Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor. In the same way, God's name is not God, but is approximated by Hebrew symbols which approximate YHVH, YHWH, JHVH, JHWH. Naturally, this cannot be pronounced without vowels, which the symbols lack due to written Hebrew's lack of vowels, and nobody has truly heard the name with vowels since 70 AD, when the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. In other words: "God" is a title, not a name. His real name cannot even be pronounced anymore.
3) Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it Holy.
Whatever floats your boat, Moses.
4) Honor your father and your mother.
This is the first commandment I agree with, even if a lot of parents may not necessarily deserve it. (Dave "Child Called It" Pelzer's Mom, anyone?) (OKC: .5)
5) You Shall not Murder.
Once again, another Good Commandment, provided that it is recognized that "murder" strictly applies to living breathing human beings, not fetuses and vegetables like Terri Schiavo, or even animals like PeTA says, and not to real living human beings, like unjustly convicted murderers and infidels. (OKC:1.5)
6) You shall not commit Adultery.
Commonly interpreted as justification for living Victorian Puritanical lives and pushing said lives on others, but I say, as long as the two (or more) parties consent to the acts, do it, within reason, as Bertrand Russell said in his book Marriage and Morals. Just don't get any Stds, and By the way, in the immortal words of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: "Purity Is For Drinking Water Not People."
7) You Shall Not Steal.
Another commandment which I approve of. (OKC:2.5)
8) You Shall Not Give False Testimony Against Your Neighbor.
If it is interpreted as meaning "If you are knowingly libelous against somebody else, I do Not approve", I also approve. However, since Luther's interpretation was that "We shouldn't speak ill of others, even if the statement is in fact true", (Where is John Peter Zenger when we need him?) I must not approve.
9) You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor's House.
If it actually occurs, it is redundant because it falls under the category of the Seventh Commandment. If thought about but not carried out, it is mindless to consider it wrong.
10) You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
It is redundant completely because it completely should be covered by number 9. I should note the fact that YHVH/YHWH/JHVH/JHWH seems to think that a person's wife is part of his property, as he lists them as property.
Finally, as an an addenum, God states "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 20:5-6). Luther says this justifies the keeping of these commandments. I say this shows an undesirable side of God which Christianity alone rarely brings out.
USABLE COMMANDMENTS: 2.5 (5, 7, and possibly 4.)
Band Name of the Day: Whale Cancer. Watch the video.
Film Idea of the Day: Guitar Musical. It is a combination Rock opera/Broadway Musical (songs recycled from previous sources a la Moulin Rouge and Singin in the Rain) with all the major characters playing guitar, except for three minor characters who play keyboard, bass, and drums, respectively. The play is about the guitarists from two rival bands who meet up and decide to create a rock duel. Other characters include a guitar shopkeep, the emcee who is dismayed by the fact that nobody recognizes the fact that he played on one Zappa album in the 1970s, and a guitar-playing groupie who plays "Classical Gas" in one scene.
Film Review of the day: Welcome to the Dollhouse. This movie about a preteen girl who is victimized by her classmates, Teachers, and Family, is for the most part,very similar to my life at that stage, except that my parents were good to me, and that I am an only child, so the subplots involving the siblings would be moot and the bullying was limited completely to the (Christian Private, not Public) school. The Similarities to my life aside, It had a quirky script and an excellent soundtrack.
Quote of the Day: "I will make him pay out the @$. No Ifs ands or Buts. I'm going to be really Anal about this. ... Sphincter."
______Peter Griffin, Stewie Loves Lois.
Link of the Day: Theocracy watch: People just as concerned about the rising theocratic right-wing control of America as I am.
A Few articles back, I wrote an article about Biblical Law criticizing most of it, except for the naturally utilitarian laws which do make sense. I even started to criticize the Ten Commandments. In this article, provoked further by me listening to a routine of George Carlin (whom I have been a lifelong fan) dissecting the ten commandments. He slimmed them down to two with an additional one:
1) Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.
2) Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.
2.5) Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.
This prompted me to write my own independent dissection of them as I learned them.
1) You shall have no other gods.
Most people forget to add the last two words: "Before Me." These two words are crucial because they allow one to praise Buddha or some other God as long as the other God is relegated to #2. Naturally, Luther Closed this loophole.
2) You Shall not Misuse the name of the Lord Your God.
This is very misleading, as I have mentioned before. Case in Point: Many people know the person I am linking to here, especially Brits. And they should: He's the Prince of Wales. Naturally, that's just his title. His real name is Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor. In the same way, God's name is not God, but is approximated by Hebrew symbols which approximate YHVH, YHWH, JHVH, JHWH. Naturally, this cannot be pronounced without vowels, which the symbols lack due to written Hebrew's lack of vowels, and nobody has truly heard the name with vowels since 70 AD, when the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. In other words: "God" is a title, not a name. His real name cannot even be pronounced anymore.
3) Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it Holy.
Whatever floats your boat, Moses.
4) Honor your father and your mother.
This is the first commandment I agree with, even if a lot of parents may not necessarily deserve it. (Dave "Child Called It" Pelzer's Mom, anyone?) (OKC: .5)
5) You Shall not Murder.
Once again, another Good Commandment, provided that it is recognized that "murder" strictly applies to living breathing human beings, not fetuses and vegetables like Terri Schiavo, or even animals like PeTA says, and not to real living human beings, like unjustly convicted murderers and infidels. (OKC:1.5)
6) You shall not commit Adultery.
Commonly interpreted as justification for living Victorian Puritanical lives and pushing said lives on others, but I say, as long as the two (or more) parties consent to the acts, do it, within reason, as Bertrand Russell said in his book Marriage and Morals. Just don't get any Stds, and By the way, in the immortal words of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: "Purity Is For Drinking Water Not People."
7) You Shall Not Steal.
Another commandment which I approve of. (OKC:2.5)
8) You Shall Not Give False Testimony Against Your Neighbor.
If it is interpreted as meaning "If you are knowingly libelous against somebody else, I do Not approve", I also approve. However, since Luther's interpretation was that "We shouldn't speak ill of others, even if the statement is in fact true", (Where is John Peter Zenger when we need him?) I must not approve.
9) You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor's House.
If it actually occurs, it is redundant because it falls under the category of the Seventh Commandment. If thought about but not carried out, it is mindless to consider it wrong.
10) You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
It is redundant completely because it completely should be covered by number 9. I should note the fact that YHVH/YHWH/JHVH/JHWH seems to think that a person's wife is part of his property, as he lists them as property.
Finally, as an an addenum, God states "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 20:5-6). Luther says this justifies the keeping of these commandments. I say this shows an undesirable side of God which Christianity alone rarely brings out.
USABLE COMMANDMENTS: 2.5 (5, 7, and possibly 4.)
Band Name of the Day: Whale Cancer. Watch the video.
Film Idea of the Day: Guitar Musical. It is a combination Rock opera/Broadway Musical (songs recycled from previous sources a la Moulin Rouge and Singin in the Rain) with all the major characters playing guitar, except for three minor characters who play keyboard, bass, and drums, respectively. The play is about the guitarists from two rival bands who meet up and decide to create a rock duel. Other characters include a guitar shopkeep, the emcee who is dismayed by the fact that nobody recognizes the fact that he played on one Zappa album in the 1970s, and a guitar-playing groupie who plays "Classical Gas" in one scene.
Film Review of the day: Welcome to the Dollhouse. This movie about a preteen girl who is victimized by her classmates, Teachers, and Family, is for the most part,very similar to my life at that stage, except that my parents were good to me, and that I am an only child, so the subplots involving the siblings would be moot and the bullying was limited completely to the (Christian Private, not Public) school. The Similarities to my life aside, It had a quirky script and an excellent soundtrack.
Quote of the Day: "I will make him pay out the @$. No Ifs ands or Buts. I'm going to be really Anal about this. ... Sphincter."
______Peter Griffin, Stewie Loves Lois.
Link of the Day: Theocracy watch: People just as concerned about the rising theocratic right-wing control of America as I am.
Labels: The Damn Bible
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