Why are the Ten Commandments considered an influential list of rules?

Answer 1

A:The Ten Commandments contain the basic laws of The Bible, but do not form a good basis for civil or criminal law.

• The first three commandments are essentially different ways of saying to worship no other god, rules which are outside the scope of modern law.
• The next commandment says to do no work on the Sabbath, nor to require or request others to do so or even allow an animal to do so, and is almost never honoured. In any case, there is no good reason for the law to mandate how we should spend Saturdays or Sundays.
• The fifth commandment is to honour your father and your mother, a useful social rule usually observed out of filial love rather than by bringing to mind a commandment. In any case, whether we honour our parents is not something that can usefully be enforced by law.
• The sixth commandment, do not kill, is too general to be the foundation for criminal law, and not relevant to civil law.
• The seventh commandment,do not commit adultery, is too ill-defined to be useful for civil law, and not relevant to criminal law. For example, in Old Testament times it was adultery for a man to have sex with the wife of another Jew, but not with a single woman, widow or prostitute even if he himself was married. The commandment was not intended to protect the property rights of non-Jews.
• The eighth commandment, do not steal, is too general to be the foundation for criminal law, and not relevant to civil law.
• The ninth commandment, do not bear false witness against your neighbour, would have originally been intended for some situations now seen as perjury, but has not formed the basis of our criminal law in respect to perjury. It is also commonly seen as a commandment against telling lies, but this has never been incorporated in our civil law.
• The tenth commandment, do not covet that which belongs to your neighbour, including his wife and slaves, would be difficult to enforce in law. How do you pass laws against thinking enviously. In any case, wives are no longer thought of as property in Western society, and slaves are no longer permitted.

Another Answer:

All societies have basic rules/laws that are established to maintain order. Historically, Christianity was the dominant religion of the West and therefore played a dominant role in establishing said laws. A similar explanation can be given for Judaism, Islamic, Hindu, Buddist, American Indian tribes, Communist, etc. parts of the world.

Over time each society goes through changes and these basic laws 'evolve' or fade away completely - even the society through conquests which will inveritably have new and different laws. The 'Reign of Man.'

Answer 2

A:The sixth, eighth and ninth commandments have loose parallels in contemporary Western Law, but are not the basis of those laws. The tenth commandment, in part, protects the rights of slave-owners and these are contrary to contemporary Western Law. Apart from this, the Ten Commandments have no real significance for contemporary Western Law:

• The first three commandments are essentially different ways of saying to worship no other god, rules which are outside the scope of contemporary Western Law.
• The next commandment says to do no work on the Sabbath, nor to require or request others to do so or even allow an animal to do so, and is almost never honoured. In any case, there is no good reason for our laws to mandate how we should spend Saturdays or Sundays.
• The fifth commandment is to honour your father and your mother, a useful social rule usually observed out of filial love rather than by bringing to mind a commandment. In any case, whether we honour our parents is not something that can usefully be enforced by law.
• The seventh commandment, do not commit adultery, is not part of contemporary Western Law. In Old Testament times it was adultery for a man to have sex with the wife of another man but, even if married, not with a single woman, widow or prostitute. Whatever our views now on adultery, they are not based on these values.

Answer 3

The Ten Commandments are a pillar of Western civilization. They have improved the conduct of billions of people. God specifically honored the Israelites with being the nation which would be the ones to receive and treasure the Ten Commandments (Exodus ch.19-20) until they had been absorbed by humanity in general. These Commandments are so important that God revealed His presence to the entire Israelite nation when He spoke these Commands. And He inscribed them in stone (Deuteronomy ch.9); unlike the rest of the Torah, which He had Moses write (Deuteronomy 31:24).

Answer 4

The Ten Commandments are a pillar of Western civilization. They have improved the conduct of billions of people; but because of His covenant with them (Exodus ch.24), God specifically honored the Israelites with being the nation which would be the ones to receive and treasure the Ten Commandments (Exodus ch.19-20) until they had been absorbed by humanity in general. These Commandments are so important that God revealed His presence to the entire Israelite nation when He spoke these Commands. And He inscribed them in stone (Deuteronomy ch.9); unlike the rest of the Torah, which He had Moses write (Deuteronomy 31:24).

• Link: Where are the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments?

What would Western society look like without these Commandments?

1) "I am the Lord your God..." has shaped the Western beliefs about God. Pantheism and polytheism, which were excuses for immorality, are out.
2) The 7-day week, including a day of rest for everyone, is thanks to the Fourth Commandment.
3) Without the Fifth Commandment, society might still permit abandoning our aged parents to die.

4) Without the Sixth Commandment, we might still be killing our own children, as was done in Classical European nations until Judaism and its daughter-religions put a stop to it. The above are just a few examples.

And how do Jews live by the Commandments in our daily lives?
1) "I am the Lord your God" is our reminder to be aware of God constantly. The very first paragraph in the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Arukh) reiterates this command.
2) "You shall not have other gods" means not to make anything other than God too important. Example: not to "worship the almighty dollar" or anything other than God.
3) "You shall not use God's name needlessly" teaches us to deal with God's names with the utmost reverence. Other than in prayer and reading the Tanakh, we don't pronounce any of God's names at all.
4) "Remember the Sabbath day": to learn the halakhot (laws) of Shabbat (Sabbath) and to prepare for the holy day properly (nice clothes, food ready, etc.). The Sabbath is a testimony to the Exodus and to the Creation of the world (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14).
5) "Honor your father and mother": to do our best to honor and assist them; and to avoid being cheeky to them. No "generation gap" should be allowed to spoil family ties.
6) Do not kill: also hints at avoiding character assassination or endangering someone. Slander is forbidden in Judaism even when it's not untrue.
7) Do not commit adultery: flirting is playing with fire.
8) Do not steal: even a paperclip should not be filched.
9) Do not bear false witness.
10) Do not covet: to avoid jealousy and gazing longingly at what is not ours. To realize that the other fellow's possessions have been allotted to him by God.

See also the Related links.

Link: The Ten Commandments

Link: How has the Hebrew Bible influenced Western society?

Link: What is the history of the Hebrew Bible?