Let’s share some facts not everyone knows about the Ten Commandments, aka the Decalogue. The Ten Commandments, as we think of them, come from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. In neither biblical pericope are they called the Ten Commandments.
Also, based on the exact same wording of the same passages, they are numbered in a couple of different ways. Protestants see “have no other gods” and “make no idols” as two different commandments, but see “do not covet” as a single commandment.
Roman Catholics, by contrast, understand “have on other gods” and “make no idols” to be the same commandment and number it as one, that is, “Have no other gods.” But they consider the commandment against coveting to be 2 rather than one. The verse prohibits coveting a neighbor’s property, and it also prohibits coveting a neighbor’s spouse. Catholics tend to see that as two prohibitions…don’t want your neighbor’s stuff and don’t want your neighbor’s life-partner.
There is a third list of commandments in Exodus 34 that can be numbered 10, but it’s a different group of rules, including dietary restrictions, tithing practices, animal sacrifice, and festivals that are meant to be observed.
So, when we demand the 10 commandments, which aren’t called the 10 commandments in the Bible, be displayed, which grouping do we mean? The one where gods and their idols are forbidden as one commandment, or the one where they are two.
The one where warning against coveting is a single commandment, or the one where the prohibition of coveting people and coveting things are two different commands.
OR the one that includes festivals, cooking, animal slaughter, and tithing?
It might be worth noting that this list (whichever list) doesn’t condemn LGBTQ+ people in any way. It might also be useful to note that Jesus said all the commandments can be boiled down to just being loving.
Finally, while people say the 10 commandments are about universal morals that are non-sectarian, that isn’t true at all. The first three of four (depending on which numbering system you prefer) are about the worship of the ancient Hebrew deity, to have no other god’s, to not use the Hebrew deity’s name in vain, and to honor that deity by observing a particular sabbath (which most Christians do not do). So, 30 to 40 percent of the Decalogue is about observing a particular religion. And that, surely, is something that bothers everyone who cherishes the freedom of and from religion.
