When I first launched the blog somebody asked me, “Where do you believe the 10 Commandments came from if not of a divine source?”

For reference here’s the ten commandments (quoted from the NASB):

1. You shall have no other gods before Me (Ex 20:3).
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth (Ex 20:4).
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain (Ex 20:4).
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work…(Ex 20:8-11a).
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you (Ex 20:12).
6. You shall not murder (Ex 20:13).
7. You shall not commit adultery (Ex 20:14).
8. You shall not steal (Ex 20:15).
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Ex 20:16).
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor (Ex 20:17).

I would agree that laws against murder (6), theft (8), and perjury (9) are good. I would even agree that laws to honor your parents (5) and to not commit adultery (7) could be good if they were counted by laws against domestic violence.

The 10th commandment is abhorrent on several levels. For starters, it puts a rather petty thought crime on par with murder. Secondly, it clearly codifies wives and other persons (slaves) as property.

It would seem that laws against rape, assault, destruction of property, breaking contracts, and slavery would be preferable to laws about who to worship (1), how to worship (2), how you speak (3), and what day to worship on (4).

So to answer the original question, it would seem that the Ten Commandments were the idea of some sick twisted jackass who cared more about controlling people than helping them live good lives. Of course that does fit pretty well with the picture of god in the Bible.

While we’re on this topic, for those who think the US’s legal system is based on the Ten Commandments, at most three or four of the 10 could even remotely be viewed as constitutional, and those few Commandments have been laws in just about every country in the history of civilization.