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	<title>humanism &#8211; Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
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		<title><![CDATA["What next? Will our courts overrule the Ten Commandments?"]]></title>
		<link>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/03/what-next-will-our-courts-overrule-the-ten-commandments/</link>
					<comments>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2012/03/what-next-will-our-courts-overrule-the-ten-commandments/#respond</comments>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:37:58 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humanism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secular]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=5396</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The Telegraph&#039;s headline screams &#34;Christians have no right to wear cross at work, says Government&#34;!  Personally, I think it&#039;s good that the Government is standing up for secular values.  I also like the cognitive dissonance which this case must be causing the right-wing as it seems to be about the religious right using the much derided &#34;Human Rights!&#34; Act.  Whoever wins, they lose.  What struck…]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Telegraph's headline screams "<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9136191/Christians-have-no-right-to-wear-cross-at-work-says-Government.html">Christians have no right to wear cross at work, says Government</a>"!</p>

<p>Personally, I think it's good that the Government is standing up for secular values.  I also like the cognitive dissonance which this case must be causing the right-wing as it seems to be about the religious right using the much derided "Human Rights!" Act.  Whoever wins, they lose.</p>

<p>What struck me was this statement from Andrea Williams, the director of the bullies at the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110606054759/http://www.secularism.org.uk/christian-legal-centre-goes-into.html">Christian Legal Centre</a>.</p>

<blockquote><p>"What next? Will our courts overrule the Ten Commandments?”</p></blockquote>

<p>I struggle to sink down to the depths of the mind which uttered those words.  Does she <em>really</em> think that the Ten Commandments are enacted in civil law in this country?  What does she think would happen if they were "overruled"?</p>

<p><img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/365px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_079.jpg" alt="A painting of Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law (1659) by Rembrandt" width="365" height="480" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23780">
Well, let's take a look!  The Ten Commandments are (depending on who you believe) as follows:</p>

<ol>
    <li>Thou shalt have no other gods<br>Well, Andrea, in this country we are free to worship whichever gods we want. Or none at all.</li>
    <li>No graven images or likenesses<br>Given all the paintings of the Chirstians' god &amp; messiah I see in the UK's churches, this seems redundant.</li>
    <li>Not take the LORD's name in vain<br>Andrea thinks that it's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_hlMK7tCks">illegal to say the word Jehovah</a>. I hate to break it to her, but it isn't.</li>
    <li>Remember the sabbath day<br>Since the introduction of Sunday trading laws, this commandment has also fallen by the wayside.</li>
    <li>Honour thy father and thy mother<br>I'm not entirely sure how one legislates either for or against this. It's nice to be good to your parents - but it hardly seems necessary to compel people to do so.  Five down, five to go!</li>
    <li>Thou shalt not kill<br>I can agree with this commandment. I think all civilised societies can. As much as I dislike the current coalition - I can't see them repealing the murder laws.</li>
    <li>Thou shalt not commit adultery<br>This has been legal for a very long time. True, it's grounds for divorce - but I don't think anyone needs to be stoned to death for it.</li>
    <li>Thou shalt not steal<br>A pretty good commandment! Let's hope the government keep this one too!</li>
    <li>Thou shalt not bear false witness<br>Perjury is a crime - and is likely to remain so if we want our legal system to keep functioning.</li>
    <li>Thou shalt not covet<br>Does Andrea seriously think it's against the law for me to look jealously on my neighbour's iPhone?</li>
</ol>

<p>So, of the 10 commandments, there are currently only 3 which are legally enforceable in the UK. No killing, stealing, or perjuring. Let's be generous and add a half of a commandment for people opening their shops too early on a Sunday.</p>

<p>Is this really the best the minds who work at the Christian Legal Centre can do?</p>

<p>Interesting to note, the Ten Commandments don't say anything about rape or child abuse - even though these are illegal and rightly so.
I also don't see a commandment preventing gay people marrying - yet the current crop of religious bigots are expending an awful lot of energy on the issue.</p>

<p>Finally, the Ten Commandments (and the Bible as a whole) is curiously silent about whether adherents should wear a cross around their neck.  Unless, of course, you consider the crucifix to be a graven image or likeness, and its frantic worship the very model of idolatry.  Much like the second commandment prohibits.</p>

<p>Wait... so the second commandment agrees with the Human Rights Act? And the Government are fighting <em>for</em> Christians by preventing them from breaking their own god's laws...?</p>

<p>It's a funny old world.</p>
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