The Ten Commandments Are Outdated

1. Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me. In other words, be a Jew/Christian and worship God alone. First of all, I would like to point out that if the God of the Bible is real, then this commandment cannot be antiquated by any amount of time. Now, there is no real negative impact of being a Christian in regards to your behavior. One might argue the Crusades or the Inquisition, but this is not Christian behaviour. Nowhere in the Bible outside of the Old Testament land of Israel did the Bible say to kill anyone because of their faith. Even then: A. This was under the Old Testament Law, which is no longer valid and only applied to Ancient Israel. B. The Death Penalty applied to people in Israel who were trying to lead other Israelites astray. So anyhow, in the modern day the Bible does not command anyone to kill anyone else in the name of religion. Anyone who does so is not following their religion's teachings, as Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. http://www.biblegateway.com... So, I've negated the negative effects of being a Christian. But are there any positive aspects? Absolutely! According to a study whose results were published in the link below, more than three quarters of religious people in England have given to a charity in the past month, in contrast with two thirds of nonreligious people. http://www.christiantoday.com... religious.people.are.more.generous/37949.htm Now, in England, the majority of the British population identifies as Christian (if only by a slight margin). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that most Christians in England give to charity. This generous behavior is probably inspired by James 1:27. http://www.biblegateway.com... 2. Thou Shalt Not Take the LORD's Name in Vain. My opponent cannot win with this commandment because it's relevance depends entirely on God's existence. If God exists then this commandment will never be outdated. If God doesn't exist, then this commandment was never relevant in the first place. 3. Honor the Sabbath. Now, Jesus did, in Luke 14:5, (I cannot post a link to the verse because my computer is suddenly acting idiotic), state that the Sabbath doesn't have to be followed as rigidly as it was in the Old Testament. It is acceptable to perform necessary tasks on the Sabbath. But, overall, is it a good idea to take the Sabbath off? Well, let's take the Creation ordeal. God worked for six days and took the seventh day off. However, one does not necessarily have to make that off day on Saturday. For instance, most Christian denominations consider Sunday to be as good a Sabbath as Saturday. The Idea is that you take a day of the week off. Now, why is it generally Sunday? Well, that one agreed upon day is when the large majority have their weekly services. If you took Tuesdays off then you wouldn't be able to go to church. But no matter which day of the week you're talking about, it's still a good idea to take a day of the week off. After all, if someone had no off day, they might, after a time, experience work burnout. 4. Honor Your Father and Mother This is a no-brainer, as your father and mother (or just one) went through a LOT of trouble to raise you. Even if your biological parents abandoned you, you still owe them for giving you your life. But your parents in this usage don't have to be biological parents. It could refer to the people who raised you. Either way, the principle is the same. And even if there were exceptions, overall it's a good idea to honor your parents. 5. Thou Shalt Not Kill Do I even have to give a reason for this one? 6. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery The traditional family has worked fine for eons. Adultery disrupts this system, and it has negative effects. For instance, adultery has a negative impact on children. http://www.nytimes.com.... http://theweek.com... Also, adultery may lead to divorce, which also has a negative impact on children. http://www.psychologytoday.com... Also, though this is unlikely, one spouse may become angry and kill the other's lover. http://www.nydailynews.com... Overall, it's a good idea not to commit adultery. 7. Thou Shalt Not Steal Again, do I really need to defend this commandment? 8. Thou Shalt Not Lie Now, there are situations where lying is acceptable, such as when you or someone else will die if you tell the truth. However, overall it's not a good idea to lie. Society could not survive without trust. If you interpret this commandment strictly as pertaining to being a false witness in court, doing so would disrupt the legal system and hinder justice. 9. Don't Covet Someone's Wife This may eventually lead to adultery, which I've already shown to be a bad thing. 10. Don't Covet Someone's Stuff This may lead to stealing, which is bad. Or, it might lead you to go out and buy something which you cannot afford. Or, it could poison your relationship with that person, if you have a relationship with that person at all. Conclusion: The Ten Commandments were applicable to those who possessed the human nature of the people at the time of their writing. Human nature is, for the most part, for better or worse, the same as it was then. Therefore, the Ten Commandments are still applicable to people today. I await my opponent's response.