... and still not teach the 10 commandments?
Are there moral relative or absolute responses to lying, cheating, stealing, killing, or committing adultery?
2007-07-07 05:34:21 · 11 answers · asked by Dr. G™ 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Jesus summed up the 10 commandments in concentrating on just two,1.To love God with all of your being 2.To love your neighbor as yourself. He did not delete the 10 commandments,but simplified them...so as not to be taken as "rules" to follow but rather for them to be a natural response of the regenerated "Heart". That being said: When the rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked him about entering in to eternal life..Jesus responded by asking him if he followed the 10 commandments...the young ruler replied,,Yes.I have kept all of them,for all of these years..Yet there was still a problem with the young man's heart and Jesus addressed it(knowing where his weakness was) He was enamored with the fortune that he had accrued and was not willing to relinquish the hold that it had on him...Following the 10 commandments is a very noble and moral objective,It however is not paramount to a change of heart(regeneration,by Grace through faith)..
One may have a strong moral code,but without regeneration,the Bible declares our idea of righteousness,as filthy rags...
There is a way that SEEMS right to a man,but it's end,is the way of death" Proberbs(somewhere).
Each individual is born with a concience and to some degree,everyone has both an inner and external(learned)moral code of ethics(even if one has never been subjected to the knowledge of the 10 commandments). It is possible to teach right from wrong from any given perspective or set of convictions...It is impossible to please God,however without knowing Him through his Son and laying down our own ideas of righteiousness by receiving a "New spiritual Heart"
2007-07-07 06:06:50 · answer #1 · answered by bonsai bobby 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
That is a multi-leveled answer. On the surface, I would say that those are absolute values. But when you think more deeply, I've found that there are always exceptions to every rule.
How can these values have exceptions?
Is it okay to lie, if telling the truth would only serve to hurt someone and the lie in itself does not create lasting damage (such as a 5 year old child whose parent dies a violent death - would you let the child know that the parent suffered).
Is it okay to kill, if it is in self-defense or to protect someone else (say a rapist comes into the house and will kill another person and the only way to protect the victim is to kill the rapist).
I could go on and one, but as you can see, there are always gray areas to each of these values.
And what values should we teach our chldren?
We all can look at the examples of the Pharisees in the New Testament. They followed the letter of the law right down to doing the law, but the Pharisees never understood the laws' intents. And they would follow the law to the point of self-righteousness, instead of realizing why those laws were put there. Jesus himself broke the law by healing on the Sabbath, but as he explained why when he used the analogy of pulling the donkey from a ditch. There are times when you have to judge the circumstances and the intentions of breaking the laws.
Instead, I want my children to know that lying, cheating, stealing,killing or commiting adultery are very very wrong. But I also want them to understand when and why you should follow the rules and when it is acceptable to do otherwise.
As Bonsai Bobby so eloquently put it, the 10 commandments can all be summed up in the final two commandments given to us by God. Those are to love one another as ourselves and to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. If we were to follow those two commandments, would we not be better individuals and our world would be a much better place. We also would not need all of the other laws or moral values if we were to follow those laws 100% of the time.
2007-07-07 06:48:11 · answer #2 · answered by Searcher 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The ten commandments were supposedly the word of God, given to the wandering Israelites as the basis of their law.
Your question suggests that before the commandments were written there were no moral values or law, something it would be hard to accept.
Moral values are individualistic, therefore there can be absolute or relative responses.
2007-07-07 05:52:53 · answer #3 · answered by Taffd 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No.
Jesus said that to fulfill the law (that would include the moral law) love God & love others & even love your enemies.
The 10 commandments are these. If you love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul & strength; Will you disobey the first of the 10 commandments? If you love others like your self, would you disobey the last of the 10 commandments?
Lawlessness is the opposite of morals.
2007-07-07 05:48:40 · answer #4 · answered by LottaLou 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Of course it is!
Every religion teaches moral values, but only Judaism and Christianity use the 10 commandments to do so.
Every nation teaches moral values...
It's called "the law of the land."
.
2007-07-07 05:47:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The question does not make sense. besides, young ones do no longer could learn morals- they only could learn how to adhere to them. mostly they seem to have a reasonably good thought of what's powerful and incorrect. Adults tend to lose that sense whilst they grow older nonetheless and start up up rationalizing issues and telling themselves memories to flee their very own ethical compass. before they are conscious of it they are able to't see which way it factors any further. Then they go with somebody to tell them what to do, voila- preists, ethical philosophers (for the lefty 'atheists') and all way of existence coaches, new age professionals and human beings leaping in to fill the hollow. the means holiday is form of a drug to those human beings. perhaps a number of them could additionally start up their very own faith.
2016-10-20 04:34:16 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why not teach the Ten Commandments? They are important rules to follow in this life to help avoid trouble with people. You don't have to call them that. It's really common sense rules, though.
2007-07-07 06:43:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. My children have good moral values and have no religious beliefs at all. And they are being taught to determine right from wrong on their own.
2007-07-07 05:39:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Only thru loving as Lord Jesus himself declares that this commandment "thou shalt love thy neighbour" means that all the law is completed in this commandment.
Also also that loving your God with all your hear,soul & mind must be the priority of any Christian.
2007-07-07 05:47:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That's what the 10 Commandments are...basic moral values...DUH!
2007-07-07 05:37:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋