AS Unit 6: Religious Ethics

The Decalogue (10 Commandments)

Commandment 1: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

TD Alexander states that this first commandment stresses that “sole allegiance to the Lord lies at the
very heart of the covenant relationship.” The Israelites were commanded to be monotheistic
(believe in one God) to set them apart from other polytheistic nations (who believed in multiple
Gods). Belief in and worship of one God was intended to distinguish Israel from her neighbours, who
all boasted a host of heavenly deities.

If this commandment was not adhered to then the punishment for such disobedience was death,
according to Numbers 25:1–18 and Deuteronomy 13:1–18. The Israelites were expected to remain
faithful to Yahweh, to show appreciation for his love and his intervention which enabled them to
escape from slavery in Egypt.

Commandment 2: You shall not make for yourself an idol...You shall not bow down to them or
worship them.

Also as an expression of their monotheism it was commanded that they should not have images of
‘false’ gods. In Exodus 32, we are informed that this commandment was broken when the Israelites
worshipped the golden calf. The punishment for such a breach of the rules of this covenant was
severe: “And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron
had made” (Exodus 32:35).

Commandment 3: You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.

The name of God was treated with respect at all times. The name of God represents him and
therefore the improper use of the name Yahweh is prohibited.” The use of the name of God was to
be reserved for praising and glorifying him. Blasphemy was the sin of misusing God’s name and in
order to avoid this sin the Jews completely avoided saying God’s name. If Yahweh appeared in a text,
the reader would not say it but would replace it with the word ‘Adonai’ meaning ‘Lord’.

Commandment 4: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Genesis 2:3 reads: “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from
all the work of creating that he had done.” According to this
Commandment, the Jews were not permitted to work on this sacred day but were to use the time to
worship God. This commandment has a “humanitarian motive” in that it permits family members,
slaves, animals and the “alien within your gates” to have a day free from any work.

However, Houston argues: “the primary emphasis is on the special character of the day, determined
by Yahweh in the beginning, rather than on the need of the people to rest.”

Commandment 5: Honour your father and your mother.

In Exodus 21:15, 17 the punishment for breaking this commandment is death:

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“Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death” (v15).
“Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death” (v17).

This commandment and the punishments for not keeping it listed elsewhere highlight the
importance of respect for family, which is a value that forms the foundation of a good society,
especially a hierarchical one, which was the case in ancient Israel. TD Alexander suggests that any
attempt to undermine the authority of one’s parents was an attack on the basic authority structure
within the local community.”

Commandment 6: You shall not murder.

Genesis 1:27 states: “So God created man in his own image” and the implication of this is that
human life is sacred. Huesman argues that this commandment was intended to “protect the very
sacredness of human life by forbidding murder.” Elsewhere in the Pentateuch (the first five books of
the OT) we are informed that the punishment for murder is death.

In Genesis 9:6 we are told: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by a man shall his blood be shed.”
However, this commandment does not prohibit “judicial executions for capital offences or legitimate
deaths resulting from war.”

Commandment 7: You shall not commit adultery.

This commandment promotes the importance of marriage by prohibiting sexual intercourse

between a married woman and a man who was not her husband. The seriousness of this
commandment is stated elsewhere in the Pentateuch: “If a man commits adultery with another
man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbour – both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to
death” (Leviticus 20:10).

Commandment 8: You shall not steal.

This commandment promotes respect for the property which belongs to others and therefore
prohibits theft. The commandment can be understood as a request to be thankful for what we have
in life but it can also encourage us to share with those who have less than us. The commandment
can be interpreted as informing us of our moral responsibility to help those who are suffering from
the effects of poverty. The early Church Father, Saint John Chrysostom (347–407) commented: “not
to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life.”

Commandment 9: You shall not bear false testimony against your neighbour.

McCay suggests that this is a more general reference to any situation in which untrue words are
used to harm another individual. However, according to Houston, this commandment referred
specifically to the testimony of an individual before the Jewish courts. Take for example the law in
Deuteronomy 19:18–19 which states: “The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the
witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended
to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you.”

Commandment 10: You shall not covet your neighbour’s house, or his manservant or maidservant,
his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

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The final commands are concerned with the inner feelings or thoughts which may lead to actions
which have already been forbidden by the previous commandments, condemning adultery and
theft. As this stipulation indicates, our internal thoughts or desires to have something that is not
ours are as important as our actions in terms of morality.

Types of Laws in the Pentateuch:

Casuistic: they state the law or rule and then the equivalent punishment. Casuistic laws often follow
the pattern: “If you… then…” For example, Exodus 21:17: “Anyone who curses his father or mother
must be put to death.”

The Ten Commandments are apodictic: following the pattern: “You shall not…” They are moral
absolutes and are therefore considered to be universal laws, never to be broken under any
circumstances.

Questions for exam preparation:

(a) Give an account of the teaching of the Decalogue. (35)

Your response could make reference to the following points:

 The Decalogue is part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people which sets the
Israelites apart from other nations.

 A knowledge and understanding of the ethical implications of each of the Commandments.

 The importance of the Decalogue can be understood by the apodictic statements – breaking
the laws are not considered.

(b) Explore the view that the Decalogue forms the basis of Christian ethics. Justify your answer.
(15)
Your response could make reference to the following points:

 There are moral values contained within the Decalogue which are still relevant for Christians
today, for example “You shall not murder” promotes the sacredness of human life and can
be applied to issues such as abortion, euthanasia, etc.

 Jesus’ teaching and the moral teaching of Paul also form the basis of Christian morality –
make reference to some specific teachings to develop your response.

Other aspects of human experience:

Here you could discuss the views of Peter Singer, who claims that the Ten Commandments are no
longer relevant for society today. Singer follows a secular approach to ethics and believes that the
moral values presented in the Decalogue and in the whole of the Old Testament, are no longer
relevant for the society in which we live today.

Below is a summary of what Singer believes to be the key Biblical commandments. They are not
directly taken from the Decalogue but are five principles which Singer feels summarise the moral
values presented throughout the Old Testament. The information contained in the right column

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outlines Singer’s “new ethical approach” where he has made an attempt at “rewriting the
commandments.”

Biblical Commandments Singer’s New Commandments

Treat all life as having equal worth. Recognize the fact that the worth of
human life varies.
Never intentionally take innocent life. Take responsibility for the consequences
of your decisions.
Never take your own life and always try to Respect a person’s desire to live or to die.
prevent others from taking theirs.
Be fruitful and multiply. Bring children into the world only if they
are wanted.
Treat all human life as being more Do not discriminate on the basis of species.
precious than non-human life.

The implications of Singers views:

 Not all human life is equal. Those who are without rational faculties or self-consciousness
are not ‘persons’ and are not therefore equal to those who have such faculties.
 Moral absolutes are not binding; rather we should only be concerned with the consequences
of our actions (utilitarianism/ consequentialism).
 Euthanasia/ suicide are morally acceptable because we must respect the wishes of the
person concerned.
 Contraception, abortion and in some cases infanticide are morally acceptable if the parents
do not wish to have the child.
 While maintaining that not all human life is of equal worth, Singer claims that animals are
‘persons’ that deserve to be treated on the same level as humans. Failure to do this is
‘speciesism’ which is on a par with racism.