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7. No adultery
I embarked on a project to write about each of the ten commandments in the summer of 2016. When I got to this one, however, I found I could not continue. My thinking about it was so fraught with conflicting ideas about women’s rights, patriarchy, and the biblical teaching of my youth that I felt…
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What Is Sin?
Sin is a religious concept, and it is impossible to understand it it without invoking a religious context. Atheists tend not to believe in it because they recognize that sin is an offense against God, but they don’t believe there is a god (See, for example, this speech by Dan Barker). For those who do…
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8. No Stealing
You shall not steal. —Exodus 20:15 It is hard to imagine a society with no sanctions on taking for your own use what does not belong to you. Some have tried, but even the wildest flights of fancy cannot come up with a sustainable culture that has absolutely no regard for personal property. I think…
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David and Bathsheba
I had intended to move on to the ninth commandment, but since writing about the tenth, I’ve been thinking a lot about the story of David and Bathsheba. It’s a perfect story for illustrating the prohibition on coveting your neighbor’s wife. If you haven’t read the story or need a refresher, you can find it…