The Ten Commandments and Political Identity
Usually we only hear about the Ten Commandments as they relate to whether or not they may be displayed in such-and-such a courthouse, or recited in a state-funded school, and the like, which is why I always enjoy encountering more charitable assessments. (Chris Hedges’ memoir based on the commandments, for example, is excellent.)
I enjoyed the following piece by David Bodanis, in which he examines the ten commandments as the socio-political statement of formerly-enslaved refugees (with a few digs at Christopher Hitchens as a bonus). Some of the historical details are a little murky, and his conclusions about texts aren’t exactly conclusive, but the rest is pretty good.
From Prospect:
…The point should be clear: the fire and brimstone can be avoided simply by sticking to the commandments themselves. Their consistent message is not one of repression, but of freedom: freedom from fear of your possessions being taken; freedom from relentless work; freedom from chaos. Refugees today would seek little more.
Einstein once said that he felt the truths of the universe were like a series of thick, closed volumes waiting in a dimly-lit library. Very occasionally one of us is allowed to step forward, lift one of the age-old books, and get a glimpse of what was written on just a single page. Very little has crossed the dust of 30 centuries to shape us today. The ten commandments have.
