Debunking Christianity: Christopher Hitchens On the Ten Commandments With Better Ones

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Christopher Hitchens shares his views on why the Ten Commandments doesn't makes sense. Watch his pontification below with my comments following.





Okay, Let's take his points one-by-one. You can read the ten commandments at Exodus 20:1-22.

1 & 2. The first and second commandment does not mean that no images should be made...just none with the purpose of bowing down and worshiping them. This is what "graven image" means. Hitchens is trying to say that the commandment is against art, but we know it can't mean that because God commanded sculptures and art in the Tabernacle and in the Temple.
3. The third commandment is about reverencing God. It about not cursing with God's name. Alleging that we don't know what the command means is silly because you know why you have God's name on your lips.
4. Keeping the Sabbath is described as worshiping only on Saturday, but many Christians worship on Sunday because of the fact that Jesus rose on the 1st days of the week and the sabbath was meant to mean something symbolic and it was never applied to Gentile believers outside of theocratic Israel. I will be making a fuller post on this later.
5. Hitchens seem to be okay honoring father and mother. Finally we agree on something.
6. Hitchens points out that after being told not to kill, Levites were commanded to kill apostates. The problem is that the commandment is not to murder. Not all killing is murder. When the Levites killed those who were not loyal to God it wasn't murder it was justice.
7. The seventh commandment against adultery, Hitchens tries to mitigate it in saying that it's not as bad as murder (shows he knows that the 6th command was against murder not killing), theft, and perjury). He clearly doesn't think adulterers should die for cheating on their spouse. Thing is God Hitxcdisagrees.
8. Hitchens has no problem with number 8. He even goes as far saying that stealing if frowned upon nearly all societies. The "elephant" in the room of course is why? Why is it wrong to steal? Is it wrong because we all think it's wrong or is it objectively wrong? It's objectively wrong because it's a sin against God to steal because everything belongs to God and it is he that gives you everything you have. If someone takes it from you, they take it from God.
9. Hitchen actually seems to like this one. The 9th commandment is about how we should not lie on anyone. Hitchens seems to think it's talking about in a court of law. It is, but it's also broader than that. God is saying to not lie on anyone at anytime.
10. Hitchens offers three objections to the 10th commandment against coveting another person's possessions.
a. He says the commandments equivocates wives with cattle. I disagree because to say that would mean that you think its okay for a woman to covet another woman's husband. No way. On top of the New Testament explicitly states that a husband belongs to his wife and a wife to her husband.
b. He objects because God is punishing us for a thought crime. This is nothing new. Jesus said that if you lust after a woman in your mind you have committed adultery. It's fair.
c. God did not put covetousness in us because God neither tempts us with evil, nor is he tempted by evil.

Hitchens claims that these commands are inconsistent but he provides no evidence then he rewrites the ten commandments for the 21st Century.
1. "Do not condemn people on the basis of their ethnicity of color." The Bible agrees!
2. "Do not even think of using people for personal property." The Bible agrees. Slave holders in Ancient Israel were not to think they owned slaves as property. Neither were Christians in the New Testament.
3."Despise those who use violence or the threat of violence in sexual relationships." The Bible agrees. Considering that sexual relationships are just supposed to be within marriage, and the Bible specifically describes how husbands and wives should relate to one another, there would not be violence.
4. "Hide your face and weep if you dare to harm a child." Of course the Bible agrees.
5. "Do not condemn people for their inborn nature." Sorry doesn't work. Some people steal...that is their inborn nature. Some people lie incessantly...that is their inborn nature. So should we not prosecute thieves? Or people who lie in court? Sin is sin. Just like you can be delivered from your inborn nature of stealing or lying, you can be delivered from Homosexuality. No sin is worse than another.
6. "Be aware that you too are an animal and subject to the whim of nature." So? How does this help us be more moral?
7. "Do not imagine that you can escape judgment if you rob people with a false prospectus." The Bible agrees you don't wanna be a false prophet or teacher.
8. Most definitely a joke.
9. "Denounce all jihadists and crusaders for what they are: psychopathic criminals with ugly delusions and terrible sexual repression." The Bible agrees that extremists are bad and warns us against being that way.
10. Be willing to renounce any God or any religion if any holy commandment contradicts any of the above. Hitchens failed to show how the 10 commandments contradict any of his 10 commandments.

Debunking Christianity: Christopher Hitchens On the Ten Commandments With Better Ones

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