Our talk today was generated as a response to the news of a judge in Alabama who is posting a copy of the commandments on his courtroom wall. His hope, evidently, is that posting them will reduce crime and improve civic morale -- and possibly also improve spiritual values in the community.

We civil libertarians are concerned.

First, of course, these commandments are identified with two sectarian religious traditions, Jewish and Christian, and especially with a more radical group within the Christian tradition. As such, they should not be promoted by an agency of civic government.

A more general concern is that the belief that mere posting of rules will solve problems and may therefore substitute for proactive actions which would really help solve problems, but at a cost of involvement, time, and money -- something to which many people are reluctant to commit. There seems to be, at least in some minds, a mystique attached to the Ten Commandments which gives them a power to actually resolve problems -- and thus substitute for real effort.

So what are these commandments, called 10 by various count? And where did they come from? Do they have relevance for us religious liberals, or -- as I suggested in a previous talk here -- are they, for us UUs, really more like the "the 10 loose guidelines" or "10 general suggestions"?

Just what are the 10 Commandments? The short answer is that they are listed in the Jewish Torah (the first five chapters of the Christian Old Testament) in two places: in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20, and in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 5. Also, the Book of Leviticus lists a rephrased version in Chapter 19. The two listings in Exodus and Deuteronomy are pretty much the same, with a couple of minor differences. Incidentally, there are not actually ten commandments: there are three different numberings used variously by the Jewish, Catholic, and Reform Protestant faiths. However, the basic content is the same, and is reinforced by repetition and elaboration throughout the Torah.

I divide the Commandments into three groups:

• First are the "do nots": Do not kill, do not steal, don't commit adultery, don't bear false witness and don't covet your neighbor's wife or house or anything else that is your neighbor's.

• Then there are the "God" commandments: I am your God who brought you out of Egypt; you shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make yourself a graven image and shall not worship it. You shall not take my name in vain.

• And lastly, there are the two "promise" commandments: Honor your parents" and "Rest every seventh day, even in the harvest season and planting season -- you, your family, your hired help and even your animals.

The longer answer as to what the 10 Commandments are -- and especially, as to where they come from -- is that they stem from a collection of laws and religious codes developed by ancient communities in the middle east, and trace their origins to the very dawn of recorded history.

From this area, probably the oldest legal code known is the Code of Hammarabi from the ancient Summarian culture. This is about 4000 years old, and is obviously based upon still older oral traditions. Many similarities exist between this collection of laws and the Biblical commandments.

The Code of Hammarabi and most of the Old Testament laws or commandments presuppose settled village agricultural life. This means that they were adopted -- and adapted -- after the Israeli people changed from a nomadic shepherdic culture to, at least in the main, a settled agricultural village-life and culture (although, interestingly, the conflict between these two ways of life does evidence itself throughout the Old Testament starting with Cain and Abel.) It means that the final compilation of the commandments date from a more recent time than when the Israelis were nomads in the desert. These laws are proscriptive, presuppose an absolute authority, and -- in theory, at least -- are a final judgement, not subject to change.

The first five Books of the Old Testament -- the Jewish Torah, and actually most of the Old Testament -- were, as must be obvious to an objective reader, written or compiled by a committee. The story is simple enough. During what has been called the "Babylonian captivity" (this about 500 B.C.) a Jewish community group which had been taken to what is now Iraq saw its young people assimilating into the local culture, including the local religion. Jewish community leaders, mainly rabbis, met in the city of Basra to deal with this challenge.

They determined to first collect the several religious and historical writings that they had between them, agree upon their correct interpretation, and then, together with the oral cultural traditions that they held, compile and write them into one book or scroll.

Then they would seek out the brighter young boys in their communities and teach them, basically requiring them to memorize and revere these writings, which came to be called the "Torah".

Which happened. And which was successful in preserving their religious and cultural heritage -- and which continues to do so to the present day.

I've had some experience with compiling resolutions out of committee (this in this labor movement). I can sympathize with the scribes doing the writing. No rabbi wants his information or his carefully preserved scroll omitted. So we see quite a bit of repetition, differing versions of the same story, even some contradictions. By one source Abraham is recorded as having told King Abimelech that his wife Sarah was his sister. Another source has it that it was actually Pharoah of Egypt who was so deceived -- so the scribe put both stories in the Book of Genesis. In the Book of Exodus we rest on the Sabbath because God rested on the seventh day; in Deuteronomy, we rest in remembrance of slavery in Egypt and in Leviticus we rest so as to convene in worship. We all "know", per Chapter 19 in Exodus, that the Commandments were issued on Mt. Sinai. However, Deuteronomy Chapter 5 says it was Mount Horeb.

Our common understanding of the story of the Ten Commandments ends when Moses goes up the mountain, presumably to get the Commandments. This is the C. B. DeMille version. Actually, per the writing, God sends Moses right back down, to tell the people not to get too close -- to back off. God then announces Commandments from the mountain, to Moses and to all the assembled people. And when the people hear all the thundering and see the lightning they back way off, and tell Moses, "you listen, and then tell us what God says."

And then God lays down three full chapters of Commandments -- Exodus 21, 22, and 23. The listing of what we call the 10 Commandments blends with, and is followed by, a large number of additional commandments, laws and regulations, covering every aspect of life, concerning livestock, sexual relationships, property rights, dietary rules, charitable obligations and precise detailed instructions concerning worship, temple building (or at least alter building) and decoration. Jewish tradition counts no less than 613 commandments or laws in the Torah -- all binding.

Continuing the story, in Chapter 24 of the Book of Exodus, Moses comes back to the people in camp and tells them what God has said. Moses then writes down "all the words of the Lord". Early the next morning, he builds an altar at the foot of the mountain and sacrifices a peace offering to the Lord. Then God invites Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel to come up the mountain -- and they go and "do lunch" with God. (As Dave Barry says, "I'm not making this up!") Actually, it says, "They went up and saw God face-to-face, and ate and drank."

Then, God says to Moses, "come up to me (again) and I'll give you tablets of stone -- with the law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction."

(Just to comment: the vestiges of older pagan polytheist and sacrificial worship are darkly visible in the writings of the Torah or Old Testament. It would not have forbidden worship of Molech or child sacrifice if that hadn't been a concern, at least at some period of history. [Leviticus 20:2, Exodus 34:19-20]. However, no tribal culture could long survive such draconian practices. Aside from the demographic negative impact, we have to believe that parents, whatever their cultural constraints, love their children. So the Mosaic law provided for ritual substitutes -- animal sacrifice and only the teensiest bit of skin from male babies. This as a token of solemn obedience to the law and all of the commandments. Forwarding in history, for example, we read in the New Testament of the Bible that Jesus, son of a Jewish family, was duly circumcised and "redeemed" by the presentation of two doves to the temple priests. Today's observing Jewish families continue this tradition. At the risk of digressing from our topic, I note that here was have the underlying origin of the Christian concept of Jesus as "the sacrifice", making unnecessary the Jewish traditions.)

Let's take a little closer look at some of the commandments. "Thou shall not kill" -- this is the way our Judeo-Christian -- dare I say Anglo-Saxon? -- heritage, based upon the wisdom of King James' translating team, circa 1600, states it. And the way most of us have come to understand it. According to more recent scholarship, the Hebrew words should be translated as "do not murder" -- a not inconsiderable shift in meaning! In context, in the Book of Exodus for example, we see in the chapter immediately following the listing of this commandment no less than 10 offenses that are determined to be subject to the death penalty.

Indeed, the Old Testament of the Bible is full of dire punishments of death and destruction, to be meted out for various offenses. Including -- which may surprise some people -- "Whoever kidnaps a man and sells him into slavery shall be put to death"! [Exodus 21:16] and, "You shall not return to his master an escaped slave -- he shall live in your city, where he pleases [Deuteronomy 23:15].

Along with the lists of dire punishments, the Old Testament of the Bible also is full of reverence for life and for mercy and love. Psalm 23 is only one example out of many. In the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 19:17 and 19:18, we read this commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "you shall not hate your brother". A continuing refrain in the Bible is the commandment to treat fairly the poor, to seek justice, and to provide for the widow and the orphans (those we now call "dependent children").

The Commandment "do not steal" is reinforced by additional Commandments to keep just balances, honest weights and measures, and to refrain from moving boundary markers. And by various regulations for compensation when livestock is injured or lost. And by provisions condemning the giving or taking of bribes.

There are a number of explicit descriptions of forbidden types of adultery -- all punishable by death. This being a family gathering, I won't go into them in detail.

The Commandment against coveting (desiring) could well be called the Buddhist commandment. The desire for things -- to keep up with the Joneses -- has fostered jealousy and hatred, and indeed can lead to the crimes of robbery and murder. And in the larger sense, as the Buddhists teach, desire for things one cannot get causes unhappiness and warps a person's life. Better to work -- and work it is -- to curb that desire and to focus on what is really meaningful. As the Good Book says -- to quote Tevye of "Fiddler on the Roof" -- "A faithful man will abound in blessings, but he who hastens to get rich will not go unpunished. [Prov. 28:20]. But -- "He who gives to the poor will not want." [v. 27]

What about the "God" Commandments?

Let's continue the story in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 24:15-18). Moses goes back up the mountain and meets with God privately, inside the cloud, for 40 days. In which time the Israelis drift back to camp and then decide to make a golden calf to worship. When Moses finally returns with two stone tablets in hand, they are dancing around this idol (why am I thinking Unitarians?). Moses smashes the stone tablets in anger and has to go back up the mountain for second copies. God is also very angry and threatens to wipe out the Israelis, but Moses talks him out of it and brings back the new tablets. He then has the people build a tent tabernacle, and God comes down (in a cloud) and continues to issue more commandments from the tent, including detailed instructions on its decoration.

Do these additional Commandments speak to us? The writers of the Torah say yes --"Every iota is binding" [Deut. 4:2 and 31:12]. so here is the concept: a monotheistic God, not circumscribed, not limited to an image of a person, or animal, or any thing, not to be mocked -- and whose name is not to be used idly.

These then are the "God" Commandments, issued to Moses and to the assembled Israelis: "I am God, who brought you out of Egypt." "You are to worship no other Gods", "You are not to make images or idols to worship", and "You are not to use my name in vain".

And finally, the two which I call the "promise" Commandments: [Exodus 20:12] "Honor your parents, that your days may be long in the land that God gives you." [Exodus 21:15] "whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death! and verse 17 -- whoever curses them! [Deuteronomy 5:16] "Honor your parents, as God commands you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you in the land that God gives you. (Almost an implied threat!)

If we remember that the people -- the men -- that were collecting and writing these commandments were obviously mature rabbis and scholars, the inclusion and reinforcement of laws requiring respect for and implying support of elders is easy to understand. The suggestion what you, too, may someday be old is the obvious implication.

This Commandment is, of course, not unique to Judaic tradition. Respect for community elders permeates cultures around the world, including the Chinese, where the sage Confucious included this concern throughout his teachings.

The one Commandment which is unique to Judeo-Christian culture, as far as I can determine, is the institution of the Sabbath Day. Here is a provision stated and reiterated in more than a dozen places in the Torah -- and which has been subject to discussion and fine-tuning throughout Jewish history to the present day, as traditionalists in Israel seek to bar traffic and all commerce and entertainment on the Sabbath.

A formal "rest" on every seventh day was not found in other cultures. The provision was adopted by, and has been ingrained into, the Christian tradition and more recently has become part of secular law throughout the world. All the other Commandments -- the sanctions against killing, stealing, adultery, false witness -- have their counterparts in societies around the world. The "God" Commandments also find their counterparts in many areas.

We can only speculate as to what combination of "market day" / "bringing sacrifice to the temple priest day" -- led to the foundation of this tradition. And we must marvel at what determination it took to keep this practice as a unique mark of a small cultural group, often in the face of a larger hostile surrounding society which did not accept it.

My belief is that this unique Commandment is the one that has impacted lives the most, all throughout the history of our Judeo-Christian culture. It gives working people -- all people, in harvest and in plowing season, their families, their hired help, and visitors -- a chance to pause, to rest, recuperate -- to get a life! It is only in recent times that people -- working people -- have looked to two days of rest each week. But the concept of a day of rest has been a life-affirming, human-enriching tenet now adopted world-wide. (Ironically, it is now also under some erosion as modern technology, supposedly liberating people from mundane work, brings us the idea of "machines too expensive to let sit idle a day each week". In a grotesque perversion of the "rest" commandment, people are being asked to work every day of the week to keep the machines running. An interesting development.)

Part II

The second part of this talk is an answer to the other rhetorical question I posed: "Do these commandments have relevance to us as religious liberals, to especially as citizens of the United States?" And I have to say that in this use of the word "liberal", our American constitutional system is liberal -- as opposed to theocratic or religious in foundation.

Forty-nine of our fifty states base their legal structure on what is called "English common law" (Louisiana traces its legal code to the revolutionary French civic code). Taking an historical look: when the Anglo and Saxon tribes invaded and took over what we now call England (450-550 AD), they brought with them from what is now northern Germany rough pagan tribal law, usually based upon "whoever is toughest, wins". However, after settling in to agricultural life and eventually learning to read and write, they began the custom of arguing disputes before a group of neighbors -- a jury -- which would make a judgment, often using previous judgements --precedent -- as a guide. As long ago as 1215 A.D. this concept of trial by jury was listed in the famous Magna Carta as something King John was not to mess with.

Here I omit a semester's worth of pre-law and cultural anthropology; let me just say that what we Americans today call the "common law" is the direct descendant of the rough justice system our of old England and is not derived from theocratic commandments carved in stone.

Common law provides that arguments be made before a judge and a jury of peers, that precedent (previous judgments in similar circumstances) is referred to, and that the jury decides each case on its merits, as the jury see them. The judge then rules in accordance with established law, which law having been established by representations of the people of the community involved, based again on their best judgement.

Our American Federal Constitution begins with "We the People… do order and establish this Constitution." Our Federal Constitution (and its included amendments) does not list crimes such as murder, stealing, false witness, or adultery; it simply sets up the framework under which proscriptions and punishments will be worked out.

There is not a reference to any God or any stone tablets in our Constitution. The Declaration of Independence makes a side reference to "nature's God", but it too is adopted in the name of, and by authority of, the people of the colonies.

The Bill of Rights, Article 1, says simply "Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of Religion". What part of NO don't people understand? And more to the point of this talk, Article 7 says "the right to trial by jury shall be preserved". (Note: "preserved", not "established".) And also: no fact tried by a jury shall be re-examined other than according to common laws.

As noted, with the exception of Louisiana, all our states base their legal code upon this foundation of English common law. Which means that the people involved are to work out the concepts and search for justice on a day-by-day basis, going with guidance from previous judgements and circumscribed only by the specific Constitutional provisions (including the Bill of Rights) which have also been adopted by representatives of the people, and by subsequent law adopted, again, by representatives of the people under the framework of the Constitution.

These concepts of law and justice -- our American heritage -- should have been part of the education of anyone who exercises judicial authority in America. It is an indictment of our educational system more than anything else that this judge so recently in the news, presumably a law school graduate now in a position of judicial authority, can so casually dismiss the basic civic foundation of our society for what is evidently personal political advantage.

There has never been a "golden age" of American history when we were all devout members of one religion, whether of the Judeo-Christian tradition or otherwise. Rather, it is only in recent times that a political faction has sought to impose its narrow constraints upon us.

This remarkable America of ours, with its legal and judicial system not frozen in stone, continues to be a work in progress. We here, together with our fellow citizens all over our country, have the responsibility "to keep our republic", in John Adams' words, and to "be eternally vigilant", as advised by Thomas Jefferson.

Together we can continue to work toward keeping and improving a free, democratic, just -- dare I say "liberal"?-- society.

Let's do it.