The Path Take on the Ten Commandments

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 Topic: The Path Take on the 10 Commandments

The Christian Ten Commandments, in order:

You shall have no other Gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.

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

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy.

Honor your father and mother.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Let’s take these apart and examine them one at a time for any value they may have, shall we?

The first commandment is mostly an expression of god’s insecurities. He knows there are other, better gods out there, but he insists that his worshippers ignore them and focus all their adulation on him. When your spouse does this, it’s considered emotional abuse. I do not know why Christians put up with this kind of treatment.

The second commandment is confusing. What kind of graven images? My grandmother was a wood carver and created several pieces of art that could be considered “graven” because it just means “carved” or “engraved.” Was my grandmother condemned to hell for carving some ducks?

Number three is just dumb. Some Christian sub-sects take this one to mean they cannot swear at all, no matter what word they are avoiding using, but you need to blaspheme sometimes; studies have shown that cursing actually alleviates pain. Just like the first commandment, this one seems to be more of a reflection of god’s neediness.

It is obvious that we, as a whole, have failed to remember the Sabbath day, since we cannot even collectively agree on which day that really is. And everyone has their own idea of how to make that day “holy:” Jews do no work of any kind on Saturday, Christians all get together in one big, expensive building where they compare clothing every Sunday, et cetera. Path doctrine teaches that every day that you wake up among the living is holy, and we treat it as such by practicing the Virtues and by keeping a grateful heart.

My own father and mother are actually honored by being recognized patron saints of the Path, but how you relate to your parents is very personal and should not be dictated by your religion. Official Path doctrine is that you should be maintaining positive relationships with anyone you can, including your family members, and showing appreciation for those who raised you and taught you to be a person.

I am a big fan of “Thout shalt not kill.” I wish with all my heart that self-avowed Christians took this one more seriously. More people have been killed by people who considered themselves Christian than by any other demographic. I have heard actual Christians state that this commandment just means you cannot kill anyone who is of your tribe but it is okay to kill foreigners, and that is one of the most terrifying interpretations of this commandment that I have ever heard. You can tell that even the god character in the bible ignores this one; he kills a few cities, and then pretty much the entire world. I do not trust a hypocritical god who violates his own word.

The Christian god character is way too invested in what people do with their junk. The Path does not give a shit who you have sex with, as long as you are not hurting anyone. If your spouse is okay with you mashing genitals with somebody else, who cares what your god thinks? He can keep his abstinence-demanding ass out of my business. I find it hilarious that Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy and then turn around and molest altar boys. If the church just let them be fully-realized humans and have healthy, adult sexual relationships, the priesthood would not attract such maladaptive characters.

The Path doctrine on stealing is thus: It is morally wrong, unless your alternative is death. If you would otherwise starve, go ahead and steal that apple. You should also try to find a job or other income so you do not have to steal to survive, but that may not be realistic for some people, and the Path recognizes this.

The Path has the Eight Core Tenets instead of commandments, but they are not intended to  be treated as absolutes; if you disagree with any of them, you can still observe the rest to the best of your ability. (The only exception to this is doing no harm. You should always strive to do no harm.)

Path teachings are intended to be practical and realistic. Do you find the Core Tenets easier to follow than the 10 Commandments?

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