I'm Catholic, so I subscribe to the idea that constructing and venerating images and statues is permissible and encouraged as a matter of Church dogma. However I must admit that I find it hard to square this position with the explicit command NOT to construct and venerate statues found in scripture. > 4 “**You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them or serve them;** for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. I understand that Christ "fulfilled the law" and as such there are large portions of the law which no longer apply (for example the dietary laws, sacrifice laws, ritual cleanliness laws) while other parts of the law still apply (ie, the moral component of the law). Does the prohibition against constructing and venerating images fall under the "abrogated" category of the law, or the still in force "moral" component of the law? I've heard many arguments in defence of venerating images and statues, and I reckon they are all great arguments with much merit and insight, nevertheless I still get the feeling that they can all be easily shot down in one go with a quick quote of the proof text above. It's causing me some annoying cognitive dissonance which I would love to resolve... Stuff which is great but doesn't really answer my question: 1. Constructing images of angels, saints and Christ is permissible due to the incarnation. Christ is the perfect image of God/Christ is a "living icon" of God. Therefore by becoming man God demonstrated that it is ok to make images of Divine things. That's all well and good, but it just results in a contradiction with the above scripture quote, unless Christ abrogated that particular commandment. 2. When we pray to statues, we are not worshipping the statue, we are merely venerating what the statue represents: in other words "veneration given to an image travels to the prototype". Again, I follow the logic, but it still doesn't explain why we are allowed to construct these images in the first place, in light of the explicit prohibition in the 10 commandments. 3. Elsewhere in scripture God explicitly commands us to construct religious statues. Eg the bronze serpent, the Cherubim on the Ark of the covenant. Therefore the prohibition against statues can't be absolute. That's great, but these things seem to be very specific exceptions to a general rule, and the general rule forbids us from constructing and venerating images. 4. "Statues of Jesus and Mary are just like having a photograph of your spouse and Children in your wallet. They help you to remember them and keep them in mind". Again I follow the argument and agree in principle, however I still don't understand how we can construct these images in the first place considering we have been explicitly forbidden from doing so, even if the reason for constructing them is as benevolent as desiring a visual reminder of our Lord and Lady. The only way I can find to square this scripture quote with the Catholic/Orthodox use of images and statues is to assume that this particular commandment was abrogated by Christ after he fulfilled the law. Is that right?

At Luke 18:18-20 we see: >A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ We see that Jesus is not quoting the commandments in the order of sequence they were given to Israel through Moses. My question is: Are the Ten Commandments in OT arranged in the order of their importance to the believer, that is, if a person takes God's name in vain and then commits adultery, will his former sin be considered more serious than the latter one? What do the teachings of Catholic Church tell us on the subject?

Exodus 20:2-3 tells us: >*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.* How do you reconcile this, the very first commandment given to Moses by God, with the idea that Jesus is God in human form? How is such a belief not a violation of the first commandment?

I have been thinking lately how odd it is for God to give a Commandment to not kill, but then demand his followers to slay both animals and people, innocents even. It did not have any exceptions like "Thou shall not kill unless commanded to by me to.", just "Thou shall not kill". So I feel this is contradiction. Is this correct?

Revelation 14:12 (KJV) > 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they **that keep the commandments of God**, and the faith of Jesus. I've seen [Sabbatarians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatarianism) bring up this verse of Revelation as evidence that true Christians should keep the commandments of God, including the Sabbath commandment ([Exodus 20:8-11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus+20%3A8-11&version=KJV)) . In fact, in a [related question](https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/40100/38524) posted on Hermeneutics.SE, the most upvoted answers tend to agree that Revelation 14:12 **at least** includes the 10 commandments (but possibly more). If that's true, then the Sabbatarian has a solid point here. How do non-Sabbatarians interpret Revelation 14:12?

> **[Exodus 20:9–11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A9%E2%80%9311&version=ESV)** (ESV)
> Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is > a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, > or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female > servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. > For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that > is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed > the Sabbath day and made it holy. What is an **overview of Protestant views on the Sabbath**? (Caveat: I'm not interested in the Seventh Day Adventist position.)

The Old Testament speaks of the עשרת הדברים in Deuteronomy 4:13, a phrase which is translated almost without exception to be the "Ten Commandments" (see here ). However, the word הדברים is never else translated as "commandments", and usually translated as "words" (see, for example, Deuteronomy 1:1 ). To the best of my knowledge, nowhere in the OT do words that would be accurately translated as "Ten Commandments" appear. Historically, when was the wording "Ten Commandments" first used? Does a phrase similar to this (obviously not in English) appear in the New Testament anywhere, or is it of later origin (and if so, when was it coined)? Thank you!

Latter-day Saints, like many Christians, are encouraged to not use phrases like "Oh my God!" because they are seen as violations of the commandment to not take the name of God "in vain." However, in some languages (e.g. Arabic), God's name appears frequently in common phrases and is not considered offensive by most. Has an LDS leader ever commented on the application of this commandment in other cultural contexts? Has an exception ever been made for cultures, like Arab culture, where it is so common? (I am asking this in an LDS context specifically, although I understand this issue is applicable more broadly as well.)

The *Ten Commandments* is often shown as a nice list with ten short statements, whereas in the Bible it exists as a long block of text in Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. For reference: > *Exodus 20:2-17 (HCSB)* > > 2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. > > 3 Do not have other gods besides Me. > > 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers' sin, to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand [generations] of those who love Me and keep My commands. > > 7 Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will punish anyone who misuses His name. > > 8 Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. > > 12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. > > 13 Do not murder. > > 14 Do not commit adultery. > > 15 Do not steal. > > 16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. > > 17 Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. If I were given the above text **without paragraphs nor verse markers** (which are a later addition), I'd have trouble spotting how it should be divided to exactly ten commandments. This might be a reason that there are multiple "competing" divisions. The different divisions that I know of are (adapted from a better table on Wikipedia ): | | A | B | C | |-|:-:|:-:|:-:| | I am the Lord your God | pre | 1 | 1 | | You shall have no other gods before me | 1 | 1 | 1 | | You shall not make for yourself an idol | 2 | 2 | 1 | | Do not take the name of the Lord in vain | 3 | 3 | 2 | | Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy | 4 | 4 | 3 | | Honor your father and mother | 5 | 5 | 4 | | You shall not murder | 6 | 6 | 5 | | You shall not commit adultery | 7 | 7 | 6 | | You shall not steal | 8 | 8 | 7 | | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor | 9 | 9 | 8 | | You shall not covet your neighbor's wife | 10 | 10 | 9 | | You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor | 10 | 10 | 10 | For fun, see if you know which is used by whom! The answer is below, mouse-over to see it: >! **A**: Anglican, Reformed *(pre = preface)*
>! **B**: Orthodox; Jewish (Talmudic)
>! **C**: Catholic, Lutheran
>! As far as I know, almost all other denominations use A or B. What are the reasonings for these different divisions? Especially since the first division didn't stick, I'm quite sure the differences can't be arbitrary.

Which denominations would teach, either directly or indirectly, that the ten commandments are a reflection of God's character? And how would such a claim be asserted?

Why is intellectual work not considered servile work prohibited by the 3rd Commandment on Sundays and feast days? Doesn't the soul need rest just as much as the body those days? St. Thomas, defending the necessity of recreation , said "weariness of the soul must needs be remedied by resting the soul"; intellectual work can be physically exhausting ; and the *Primitive Constitutions of the Order of Friars Preachers* (c. 1228) prohibits writing manuscripts on Sundays and feast days. Why has servile work come to mean solely heavy manual (bodily) labor?

We have in Exodus 20:8-11, the Third Commandment in which the Lord instructs Israel to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. The Commandment is elaborated to explain that just as God had rested after six days of Creation of the world, Israel would also need to rest on the 7th Day. Jesus gave a new definition to rest on the Sabbath by doing the work of compassion. As such, Christians would be obliged to do the work of charity and love towards the neighbor on a Sunday. But in practice, the observance of the Sabbath as a Holy Day is limited to attending the Mass, in so far as many Catholics are concerned. What does the Catholic Church teach about the observance of Sunday as a Holy Day?

Is saying "Jeez(e)!" (also: Geez(e), Jese, Jez, and with lower-case initial) using God's name in vain? According to the *OED*, the U.S. slang interjections Jeez(e and gee (from which comes gee whiz(z , a corruption geewhillikins , itself a corruption of "Jerusalem!") are corruptions of "Jesus!" These are called minced oaths .
🎩-tip Cairnarvon

In light of the current media trend of reporting and resorting to fake news and gossiping, and some netizens are somehow careless in becoming an instruments to spread it. Some social media users already have a habit of not making a diligent effort to verify the truthfulness of the news, and a lot of people who post on comments even link the fake news and worst posted it on their channels, clearly either unaware or intentionally to malign the character of a person. The subject of fake news usually is a recipient of character assassination and maligning one's dignity. The common habits in social media is sharing or posting "Fake News" and gossiping "Fake News" both action will end up damaging the subject's/person's character. **Has the Catholic Church particularly cited or considered sharing "Fake News" and gossiping "Fake News" as a griveous/mortal offense to God commandments especially if this common thing/actions in the mainstream & social media becomes habitual?**

Is there a difference between: 1. God's Will and the Commands of Jesus 2. God's Will and the 10 Commandments 3. The Commands of Jesus and the 10 Commandments

We read in Deut 5:9-10 : > ..for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. We see the Lord restricting the punishment for disobeying His Commandments to the third and the fourth generation of the defaulter, but expanding the scope of reward for obeying them to a thousand generations ! We do not see any cross-reference to the above verses, in the New Testament. Of course, Jesus reminds his people of the generosity of God the father when he says: > Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Lk 6:37) And Jesus goes beyond the Ten Commandments when he says: > A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (Jn 13:34) . My question therefore, is: Why is there no cross-reference to Deut 5:9-10 on the loving nature of God the Father , in the New Testament ?

I know it's maybe not the most important thing in Christianity but I still got curious. We know that Moses got from God two tablets with the Ten Commandments. So how many Commandments were on each tablet? I searched the internet and most answers are that there were 5 Commandments on the first tablet and 5 on the second one. I didn't find any good proof for it, however. And on some old art, there are actually 3 Commandments on the first tablet and 7 on the second one, for example: - [Moses holding the Ten Commandments](https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-moses-holding-ten-commandments-painting-church-altar-image90219428) - [Why Is Counting the Ten Commandments So Difficult?](https://blog.lexhampress.com/2020/02/06/why-is-counting-the-ten-commandments-so-difficult/) What is the tradition and reason for depicting the tablets this way?

I am having a discussion with my friend about what church doctrine is applied to the 6th Commandment, "Thou shall not commit adultery." I believe it falls under the doctrine of faith/salvation, he believes it falls under the doctrine of marriage. I argue that the last five commandments of "...shall nots" really falls under the umbrella of soteriology and that to single #6 out for marriage would not fit the context of these 5 commandments. Does the Catholic Church have a preference or position on this?

Did the Catholic Bible change 1 of 10 commandments?

I was reading a *Tampa Bay Times* article published on 5 March 2005, [Jewish, Catholic, Protestant commandments differ](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2005/03/05/jewish-catholic-protestant-commandments-differ/) , which prompted my question: **Why is Judaism's ten commandments different from Catholicism's**?