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>> ^heathen:

>> ^robbersdog49:
This video just isn't playing for me, neither here nor on youtube.

Same for me, have tried Firefox and IE. Progress bar fills but doesn't play.
"waiting for video-stats.video.google.com"


V That.

>> ^robbersdog49:

This video just isn't playing for me, neither here nor on youtube.


Same for me, have tried Firefox and IE. Progress bar fills but doesn't play.
"waiting for video-stats.video.google.com"

I thank you dear sir!

In reply to this comment by radx:
*promote cultural diversity

Tags for this video have been changed from 'george carlin, ten commandments, complaints and grievances' to 'george carlin, ten commandments, 10 commandments, complaints and grievances' - edited by kronosposeidon

They're totally right about the Bill of Rights being based on the Ten Commandments. It's so obvious. Just look at the first ones.

The Ten Commandments:
1. I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me.

The Bill of Rights:
1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'bible, religion, ten commandments' to 'bible, religion, ten commandments, MEANWHILE' - edited by ponceleon

These authentic ten commandments should be made into a 4chan-style motivational poster!

I'd start by revising the ten commandments to:

Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not kill
This commandment has been left intentionally blank

Maybe people might take the hint this time. The last commandment is there to reflect the possible need for future revision and the open source nature of the commandments.

I know given the number of atheists here on the Sift maybe writing this is a moot point--and I will preface all of this by saying I am NOT a Christian--but I think people here who are hating on the 10 commandments need to put things into a little perspective.

The 10 commandments were written at a time when the Jewish people were on the verge of extinction. They had just fled slavery in Egypt and were moving through difficult and wild countryside on their search for a new (or old depending how you look at it) homeland. If they were to survive at all, everyone would have to work together.

Maybe some people here think not stealing or killing should be self-evident but just look at what is happening in Haiti right now--the hospitals are getting flooded with as many gunshot and machete wounds as they are quake injuries as people fight for survival. The Jewish people were in a far worse situation than the Haitians--they didn't have anybody coming to bail them out. They had only each other to rely on. I think Moses and the other Jewish leaders realized that a totalitarian regime was the ONLY way for them to survive that journey. You had to punish stealing with death because the survival of the group depended on people trusting each other and working together. If someone wasn't willing to work for the survival of the group, they were a threat to the group's survival. If Moses and the others didn't want things to devolve into chaos, they probably figured they needed to keep a firm grip.

I think if you regard the 10 commandments in this light, they make a lot of sense. If the Jews lost their collective sense of identity and some people in the group started worshiping other gods, then that would be a threat to the group's security. It might cause internal friction or an outright split. Furthermore, the only thing people are more afraid of losing than their lives is their souls. If the 10 commandments are God's word, then maybe you think twice about stealing something. Notice that we have lots of laws against stealing in civilized countries and yet we also have jails full of thieves. Apparently the word of man is not enough to deter people, but for the Jews at this time, the word God may have been enough.

Now, obviously the world has changed a lot since Moses' time. But I don't think that totally negates a need for the ten commandments. As I mentioned above, despite having laws, despite whatever "innate" sense of morals we might have (I have large doubts about the idea that any morals are innate, but for the sake of this post let's just say it is true), there are still people out there willing to kill, rob, or screw their neighbor's wife if given the opportunity. But would they be willing to do those things if they believed in a deity that would punish them for these things even if they were not caught while alive in this world? I don't have the answer. For some, such as the criminally insane, it obviously wouldn't make any difference. But for others...? If it does keep them from doing something that we all agree is immoral (I'm leaving aside the worshiping idol stuff at the moment) is that really such a terrible thing? If it reinforces our own "innate" sense of morals, is that so bad? Regardless of what religious view you take, can you really argue that rules against killing or stealing are a bad thing?

My 2 cents. Thanks for reading.

On the surface the Ten Commandments seem reasonable and “good.” However, just as Stephen Fry said the Ten Commandments COMMAND under punishment of death. So as a result there is no room for an individual to use their brain to think and reason; to develop optimal moral decisions for any given situation for themselves (want to emphasize individual reasoning). Take Thou shalt not kill for example. I can think of an example that it would seem perfectly logical to kill an individual.

There is a suicide bomber about to blow himself/herself up in a busy market, you have the ability to kill this person and save many innocent lives and this is the only way you can save innocent lives. It would seem ok to kill this person since he is going to kill himself anyways.

My point is WE as a people regardless of who we are have the ability to develop our own “moral barometer”, and make decisions on our own. So the Ten Commandments have NO bearing on human life in reality.

>> ^Chaucer:
Neither one of them answered the damned question. They did a nice job skirting around it.


They tried, but the premise of the question is deeply flawed, she gives a flawed, cherrypicked and highly airbrushed version of the ten commandments and asks "whats so wrong about that?". Its like saying "Hitler was a vegetarian, so whats so wrong about him then?" Where could you start against such an idiotic question?

The fact is that these commandments were all given under threat of capital punishment, for things like "having other gods before me", swearing and being disobedient as children. And as Fry rightly points out, they seem to forget a whole lot, including slavery etc. In addition they do nothing in terms of providing rights for people, in fact they strip anyone who follows them of any rights at all, including free speech and free thought, and freedom of religion.

I'd say religion is selected for evolutionarily, but not in the genetic sense - in the memetic sense. It's popular because it works, and tends to propagate itself as a result. (Yes, there are plenty of other reasons major religions propagate, but I do believe their success at raising an individual's perceived quality of life is the most important.)

I've argued this point before, but I think there are aspects of most major religions that are incredibly beneficial to personal and community well-being, regardless of whether there is truth to the "deity" behind it. I like to use prayer as an example.

If the deity exists, then prayer is a no-brainer and "works" as advertised.
However, let's look at prayer from a rational perspective.
Praying allows an individual a moment of quiet introspection, and facilitates setting priorities and gaining perspective, like setting aside time for quiet meditation.
When deciding what to pray for, we evaluate what's important to us. I do believe that acknowledging your priorities on a regular basis does help in working toward them. (Essentially, answering your own prayers.) In some cases, when thinking "do I really want to ask God for that?" we may recognize misplaced or trivial desires - realizing that perhaps we should focus our attentions elsewhere.
Most religious that incorporate prayer place a significant emphasis on giving thanks, and this portion of prayer can help someone recognize their blessings, or more objectively evaluate the positive aspects of their life, which can help encourage us when things seem bleak, and uplift us when things are going well.

Other aspects - things like gathering together regularly, codified rules like the Ten Commandments, et cetera - work to foster healthy communities.

Personally, I think the worst thing that happened to religion was the invention of written language, because the message is set, and is much more difficult to evolve along with us as it could in the age of a purely oral tradition. Obviously, we've all seen individuals take from the texts only those portions that suit their purposes, so Religion can still evolve, but much of it is unbending.

The world's religions did not spring fully-formed into the populace. Religion was (and I believe to a degree is still) an observational science - people observed the world around them and formulated theories as to its operation, in both the physical and social sense. As our knowledge of the world around us changed, so did those theories, tinted through the lense of the individual who spread the word. Even if people treated these theories as absolutes, people change and people die, and new generations were free to reinterpret. Unfortunately, once it was written down, the various religions were no longer free to adapt to advances in social and physical sciences, and I think that's dangerous.

>> ^Drax:
Fusionaut, they actually address your arguments in one of their videos. They claim to take the ten commandments literally, and say all the new texts that offer easy repentance are bogus. That you're only repenting to a fellow man, not the Big-G himself.
Kirk continues to be a growing pain.


You are so right, he is a pain that is grow... HEY WAIT I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!!!


These guys have their heads so far up each others asses it makes me queasy. Why can't only people like Ray and Kirk die every day? I know that sounds messed up, but they'll go to heaven and get blown by angels for infinity so who cares.

Let's spend all our time on earth trying to make sure the time after is perfect. What a selfish outlook.

I really wish I knew what causes people to think this way. Is it really skewed logic + vivid imagination = fundamentalism, or is it something deeper?

>> ^Fusionaut:
In addition to being complete morons these fools are also bad christians. The "are you a good person test" asks if you are a good enough person to get into heaven. But if they actually read a bible once in a while they might come across this. Whoever that criminal on the cross was probably didn't follow very many of the ten commandments yet he was allowed to enter paradise. All he had to do was ask.

If you looked up the "Way of the Master" you would see that they use the Ten Commandments to show that NO one is perfect and can uphold God's standard, and that "asking" or believing in God is the only way to Heaven.