The Judeo-Christian tradition hold that the Ten Commandments are the oldest written laws, drafted by the finger of God. While this claim is almost certainly untrue – the earliest known codified laws predate the bible by at least a thousand years – this particular set of laws is regarded by fundamentalists as the ultimate law.
It is difficult to dispute God’s law. Debate, we are told, is reserved for after we die, or Judgement Day when He will assess everything and we are to be audited by the divine IRS. The beauty of this argument is that it is impossible to dispute – it is God’s word and anyone spoking against it is immediately considered a heretic. Established religion relies on dogma and immutability.
The International Church of Solipsology, on the other hand, embraces progress as the natural flow and maintains that to resist, or attempt to return to the past, is futile. This isn’t, however, to say, as Hegel put it, that the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. In fact, quite the opposite. We cannot learn without history; all our knowledge, by the nature of time, is based on past experience. Furthermore, while the wise learn from their mistakes, the truly wise learn from the mistakes of others.
There are many valuable rules of thumb in the Ten Commandments and, when seen in the context of the time, the rationale becomes clear. Let’s look at them (these are the shortened versions; the actual text is more detailed and can be found in Exodus 20:2-17 in any hotel room).
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
It sounds like utter ego run amok but in an age when gods were like household decorations, a single, unifying force for a scattered people made sense. That maxim, of course, was bastardized in the hands of greedy men (and women, but mostly men) ultimately culminating in the threat of damnation to bearers of other faiths that we have, today. The Church of Solipsology, oddly enough, concurs with this law, however, rather than the god being the vengeful Old Testament god, the god in question here is the God of the Soul; our one soul. The sentiment being that one must be true to one’s self and hold one’s dignity and the dignity of fellow instances above all else.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Not for the purpose of worship, no. There is no harm in owning and adorning one’s living environment or one’s self with such items, however, to believe that an object possesses godly powers is a belief in the supernatural and, while the Church does not dismiss the possibility of supernatural ability, it does recognize that the real world evidence is scant.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
To take anyone’s name in vain is deplorable, however, at the end of the day, words are words. Much great literature would suffer if this rule were enforced in a draconian manner; everyday expression would be stilted. We, at the Church, don’t take this one terribly seriously. After all, as the Bard himself once said, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy
Work / life balance is important. We must remember that we work to live, we do not live to work. For some, work is recreation; a person can consider themselves very lucky if they can be a professional at that which they enjoy doing. Somewhere between half and four-fifths of us (depending on the survey), however, do not like our jobs and are, indeed, “working for the weekend” as the Canadian rock band Loverboy phrased it. Sadly, while the goal should be to ideally match worker and position in our society, some jobs are simply unpalatable and some people are simply not ambitious. To such people, and, in fact, probably for everyone, it is a good idea to take one day off a week and do something that is nothing like your normal routine.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother
Generally speaking this is a good rule to follow. It doesn’t always apply, of course. For example, if a parent is deliberately encouraging a child to commit a crime. Most civilized societies frown on this sort of behaviour and yet, contributing to the delinquency of a minor still happens. On the other hand, this is the exception rather than the rule. On the whole, one’s parents have more experience and should be heeded. Ultimately, one’s own conscience must be one’s guide. Be aware, however, that one’s conscience is largely shaped by one’s parents.
6. Thou shalt not kill
This seems obvious, however, in an ancient society that wasn’t much past the dawn of the agricultural revolution, this needed to be pointed out. In fact, even today people have problems with this. How many hunters attend fundamentalist Christian churches on a regular basis? The assumption is that it only applies to human life, especially as it is written elsewhere which animals may be consumed, necessitating the slaughter of said animal. Given that The International Church of Solipsology has, as its most fundamental tenet, that civilization is defined by the absence of violence, for members of the civilized society (i.e. humans) this law must be adhered to. In fact, so fundamental is this law that most developed nations have a prohibition against murder.
But, while human civilization is one reason, perhaps a more critical one has to do with empathy; what right does any individual have to deprive another, otherwise equal individual, of their right to live? The answer is simple: none. Never. Ever. Each of us has the same right to live.
7.Thou shalt not commit adultery
This is a form of deception. It isn’t so much that one individual is having sexual relations with a person who is not their avowed partner, it is because this person is doing it clandestinely and that constitutes deception, which is the true evil. There is nothing intrinsically evil in sexuality provided that it is consentual and even so-called “adultery” is permissible provided that the spouse is aware and agreeable. However, when one person is doing so behind the other person’s back, then the sin has been committed.
8. Thou shalt not steal
Again, due to being ingrained in most civilized societies, the prohibition against theft appears obvious and yet, it is horrifying how often it is violated. Everything from petty larceny to armed hold up dominates police stations and courtrooms. As anyone who has studied crime and criminal organizations is aware, mobsters have no compunction about taking from other people and yet, should anyone steal from them, they would soon find themselves in their next instance.
What is the reasoning behind this obvious double-standard? Some people do not recognize others as equals and, as such, believe that they are entitled to certain privileges. In the case of some criminals, this self-perceived superiority exerts itself as, and is justified by, violence; the mistaken belief that might makes right. Such actions, however, demonstrate the ultimate evil: hypocrisy, a subject slated for a later sermon.
9. Thou shall not bear false witness
Of all of the ten Ten Commandments, this is perhaps the one that is most relevant today, particularly in the suspicious political climates of the United States and Russia. Bearing false witness is a very special type of lying which, again, has been slated for a more detailed discussion in a later sermon. For the moment, however, suffice it to say, deception has a myriad of consequences often unseen. Furthermore, as attributed to American author Mark Twain, if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. We have seen for ourselves how Mr Trump and Mr Putin have had to pile on lie after lie as each is challenged, their credibility fragmenting at each turn.
10. Thou shalt not covet.
To covet is to be jealous over; to want. We, at the Church of Solipsology, disagree with this. As we stated a couple of weeks ago, greed is good, provided that greed does not interfere with another person fulfilling their goals; provided one recognizes that one is merely an instance, smaller than a grain of sand. To covet, to say, I want a car like that or a house like that or a spouse like that, is not a sin. It is, after all, necessary in order to achieve anything – before achievement comes the want.
One interpretation is a prohibition against progress and, while this is a valid point of view, it does not easily coalesce with reality. We seek an easier lifestyle; it drives us and it would be more of a sin to deny that basic desire as it has taken us from cave dwelling hunters, at the whim of nature, with an extremely high mortality rate and an average lifespan of thirty to forty years, to the advanced civilizations that we enjoy, today.
Perhaps the most important lesson is to remember context. When the law was laid down that heretics should be burned or adulterers stoned, it was a different time. Fundamentalism made sense then. In the light of all we know today, to adhere to such practices is nothing short of barbaric. The International Church of Solipsology recognizes that there are fundamentalist states and condemns the practice. Becoming stilted is not the answer. On the other hand, there are lessons to be learned from history. We just need to be careful to make sure we pick the ones that are right for our time.
