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Will wrote:

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burnettfollower wrote:

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^I should have stated in my original post that I am a Jew and that I follow the Jewish interpretations of the commandments. And yes, as a woman I do find some of them male centred. Many of these commandments are not archaic or outdated. For instance incest is still considered a sin, and abortion is still allowed for three reasons: if the fetus is endangering the life of the mother, if incest was involved, and if the woman was raped. And yes for those reasons Jews did abortion. It is still considered a man's duty to reproduce; this has never been a commandment for women, it has always been solely the commandment for men.

Believing in something does not make me or other people wrong. But what I hate about the use of religion is the ability to create hatred from it. I sympathize with the Homosexual community. If they choose to be gay, despite what any commnadments say that is their prerogative, and it has never harmed me. But I do feel that there must be a reason why these commandments were created, which was what I was trying to get at before. But I would like to attempt in making something logical out of my opinions as opposed to reducing myself to saying something stupid or hurtful towards others, when I know exactly how that feels.

Wait what?

*looks up the Jewish version*

1. "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me..."

   This commandment is to believe in the existence of God and His influence on events in the world ^[25], and that the goal of the redemption from Egypt was to become His servants (Rashi). It prohibits belief in or worship of any additional deities

2. "Do not make an image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above..."

   This prohibits the construction or fashioning of "idols" in the likeness of created things (beasts, fish, birds, people) and worshipping them.

3. "Do not swear falsely by the name of the LORD..."

   This commandment is to never take the name of God in a vain, pointless or insincere oath.^[26]

4. "Remember [zachor] the Sabbath day and keep it holy" (the version in Deuteronomy reads shamor, "observe")

   The seventh day of the week is termed Shabbat and is holy, just as God ceased creative activity during Creation. The aspect of zachor is performed by declaring the greatness of the day (kiddush), by having three festive meals, and by engaging in Torah study and pleasurable activities. The aspect of shamor is performed by abstaining from productive activity (39 melachot) on the Shabbat.

5. "Honor your father and your mother..."

   The obligation to honor one's parents is an obligation that one owes to God and fulfills this obligation through one's actions towards one's parents.

6. "Do not murder"

   Murdering a human being is a capital sin.^[27]

7. "Do not commit adultery."

   Adultery is defined as sexual intercourse between a man and a married woman who is not his wife.^[26]

8. "Do not steal."

   According to Rashi, this is not understood as stealing in the conventional sense, since theft of property is forbidden elsewhere and is not a capital offense. In this context it is to be taken as "do not kidnap."^[26]

9. "Do not bear false witness against your neighbor"

   One must not bear false witness in a court of law or other proceeding.

10. "Do not covet your neighbor's wife"

    One is forbidden to desire and plan how one may obtain that which God has given to another. Maimonides makes a distinction in codifying the laws between the instruction given here in Exodus (You shall not covet) and that given in Deuteronomy (You shall not desire), according to which one does not violate the Exodus commandment unless there is a physical action associated with the desire, even if this is legally purchasing an envied object.

Where does it mention gays?

Well, since you asked, I did mention that in Deuteronomy, this being the book coming right after Exodus, sandwiched between do not commit Incest (with an explanation of what consists of incest) and beastiality, it says "Thou shall not lie down with mankind as thou lie down with womankind. Is that clear enough for you. And FYI there are 613 commandments not just ten. And look at what I put in bold. wow did you see that! It clearly states father and mother!

^Look, I know that when I write this stuff for everyone to read, I run the risk of being critisized. I get it. But I do know that much of what's being said is held valid today, despite the change in society and culture. Do not sit there and tell me "Oh, we don't need to honour our parents. They really don't deserve it. And G-D! what G-D? And murder! Well we have every right to commit murder because times have changed and so did our society." Yeah, give me a break. And whenever some one writes that some of the commandments are contradictory they have yet to show me whivh ones are contradictory.

I understand laws concerning slavery are no longer valid. In fact, I endorse the fact that they should not under any circumstances be allowed to continue. As far as gays are concern, I'm not one of those morons who think they will go to hell for being gay. I know many gay people who should go to heaven, and in fact I will go to bat for them. But I will state this again, there are reasons for many of these commandments, and I will stand by them, despite being ridiculed for it.