A new way of looking at the Ten Commandments

Many people, whether Christian or non-Christian, are aware of the Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue), which can be found in the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 20.

Perhaps you are familiar with the sayings "Thou shalt not kill" or "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour". For some reason the Ten Commandments always seem to get quoted in the 17th Centuary English of the King James Version (KJV). Christians perhaps quote them in this way since such words seem to hold more authority than modern equivalents (e.g. "Thou shalt not kill" sounds more impressive and assertive than "You will not kill").

Antitheists also like to quote the Bible (though not just the Ten Commandments) in the KJV English as it helps to boost the image that the Bible is old fashioned and out of date. As I have mentioned on my page on the Bible, whilst language and relevant examples have changed over hundreds of years, the basic principles are timeless (e.g. being told not to covet your neighbour's ox is not really applicable to most people today, but "car" didn't mean anything to them when the OT was written!)

Besides the issue of what version the Ten Commandments are quotes in, I feel that sometimes they are rejected, along with the rest of the Christian faith, for being negative. Being given a list of no-nos is the act of a killjoy or spoil sport, surely? Well I must say I see their point, but then I think that if the moral instructions of the Bible, in particular the Ten Commandments, were quoted in a different, more positive way then perhaps people would find them harder to criticise. Let me show you what I mean.

Below are the Ten Commandments. I will quote them in four ways each. The first is the KJV which is probably the one you've heard before! Below that will be the New International Version (NIV). I like this translation as it both keeps to the original languages of the Bible well, but also speaks in easy-to-understand modern English. Below that is The Message version. I love this translation of the Bible and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading the Bible for themselves, especially if they've never done so before, as it really speaks volumes without being too challenging to understand. Finally I will put my own spin on the Ten Commandments, showing how they can be seen in a more positive light and perhaps sound more encouraging, yet lose none of their meaning.

FIRST COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

> NIV - "You shall have no other gods before me."

> Message - "No other gods, only me."

> My positive spin - "Put God first."

SECOND COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them..."

> NIV - "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them..."

> Message - "No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatsoever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them..."

> My positive spin - "There's something far more spiritually satisfying than any created idol - God will satisfy your needs entirely while idols can't help you at all."

THIRD COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain."

> NIV - "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God."

> Message - "No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter."

> My positive spin - "How would you like it if your name was a swear word? Try to show God some respect by using his name appropriately."

FOURTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

> NIV - "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."

> Message - "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

> My positive spin - "Have a day off on Sunday in honour of God."

FIFTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Honour thy father and thy mother..."

> NIV - "Honour your father and mother..."

> Message - "Honour your father and mother..."

> My positive spin - "Show respect to your parents."

SIXTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not kill."

> NIV - "You shall not murder."

> Message - "No murder."

> My positive spin - "Preserve life."

SEVENTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

> NIV - "You shall not commit adultery."

> Message - "No adultery."

> My positive spin - "Be faithful to your spouse."

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not steal."

> NIV - "You shall not steal."

> Message - "No stealing."

> My positive spin - "Respect other's possessions."

NINTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbour."

> NIV - "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour."

> Message - "No lies about your neighbour."

> My positive spin - "Be honest about other people - lies can lead to destructive gossip."

TENTH COMMANDMENT:

> KJV - "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's."

> NIV - "You shall not covet your neighbour's house. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour."

> Message - "No lusting after your neighbour's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbour's."

> My positive spin - "Be content with what you've been blessed with because you'll never feel satisfied if you are forever trying to keep up with the Joneses."