And then there's all this stuff about "coveting" in the last two commandments. As in coveting your neighbor's wife or his ass. These have been interpreted (by serious scholars, mind you) as the "psychological" commandments. This is where we are told it is just as bad to have bad thoughts as it is to do bad things. (Though apparently it's okay to think about killing someone, just don't lust after them or their property.) As ridiculous as these coveting commandments are, is it not surprising to find support on the far right for the demonization of greed, which is how the anti-property-coveting commandment should be interpreted? Hello. Is the USA not now in the iron grip of the Greed Party? A party put in place by millions of People of Faith, who would like to replace the American Constitution with the Ten Commandments? Good thing there's no commandment against strange bedfellows!
And finally, there is the commandment against adultery. This is actually the big kahuna, IMHO. It is from this commandment that stems the entire demonization-of-sex mindset that so characterizes Christianity, Judaism, and Isalm too. According to the true believers, sex should only be put in the service of procreation. Period. The more liberal-minded of the true believers might allow some recreational sex between those married folk who are lucky enough to have a "flame that won't go out." As for the rest of us: burn, baby, burn. The Ten Commandments are not only loony tune morality (as seen by one of my patron saints, Mark Twain), but they are mean-spirited to the core. They make it a crime to be human. What is a proud human being to do in the face of this kind of anti-human tyranny? Burn, baby, burn. But it's up to YOU whether you want to burn in hell, or burn with righteous contempt for the bible tyrants.
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Article comments
1 - Lisa R
I suggest you do a bit of research. The "demonization" of sex does not occure in Judaism. In fact, the exact opposite is the case. Judaism teaches that sex is a natural part of life. In fact, there is a positive commandment that it's the duty of the husband to please his wife, especially during Shabbat.
2 - Dorian Grayson
I'll grant you that Jews don't demonize sex "today" the way Christians do. But most of the scriptural fuel that Christians use to do so is taken from the old testament, home of Sodom & Gamorrah and of Moses's Ten Commandments, which tell us not to even think about it. The Jews have tempered their scriptures with reality; too many Christians have not.
3 - Lisa R
Well, again, you really need to do your research because you are approaching Judaism from Christianity. You might be surprised to find out that modern Jewish attitude toward sex has become more strict.
Although the Christian Old Testament is taken from the Tanach (Jewish Bible) it is not the same thing as it has been greatly altered to support the tenets of Christianity. From grammar and word changes to the addition of a whole book.
Contrary to Christian teachings there are not "Ten Commandments" there are 613 and they are not Moshe's, they came from HaShem (G-d). What you are referring to are more accurately called the Ten Utterances or Statements which are essentially the categories the 613 Commandments fit under. Within the 613 Commandments there ARE laws dealing with sexual morality but as I stated, there are positive commandments through which we learn that sex is a natural and good part of life in addition to the negative commandments dealing with such issues as adultery, incest, etc.
As for the story of Sodom and Gemorrah, contrary to what is taught in Christianity, that story is NOT about sex. In fact, sex is barely a minor point in that story. That story is about the failure of a society to choose to do good over bad and the repercussion of such choices.