A guide to the ten commandments from a realistic (Atheist) point of view

1&2 - Thou shalt have no other gods before me. -Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

The commandment regarding not making any graven images is dismissed and upsetting to many catholics and is actually left out because where would christian art and devotion be if you couldnt make impressive images of God, Jesus, Mary etc...

3 - Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

None has ever worked out exactly how to obey this law, for example is it taking the lords name in vain when you blow yourself up saying 'God is great' and killing innocent people.

4 - Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The christians who want this inscribed in court rooms and in school classrooms would end up taking saturday off rather than sunday because this programme of commandments is actually a programme for the establishment of a fundamentalist tuition state.

5 - Honour thy father and thy mother.

This one, however, seems reasonable enough. But the addition to this commandment is

,that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee', which is basically saying you will get more land if you do so.

6 - Thou shalt not kill.

After Moses has spoken this commandment he almost instantly askes his congregation to go and kill their neighbours if they have sinned....

7 - Thou shalt not commit adultery.

It is strange to associate this with murder theft etc... when the punishment is pretty much self inflicted.

8 -  Thou shalt not steal.

There is no society saying that it is okay to steal or a social custom that allows it.

9 - Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

This is one of the finest commandments. Convicting someone who is innocent is already shocking to the human conscience.

10 - Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

This commandment is right in some sense, however there are some objections: it consideres the female to be equivalent to the ox or ass. It forbids you to think about doing something... thought police. The attempt to suppress an instinct that must have been placed by God in the first place?