There is this Project Pink thing going on for lady bloggers, to submit their opinions on men, love, lives and sex. I am so tempted to submit a piece, except I do not have enough saucy material to write about. Come to think of it, my life is pretty mundane compared to a lot of people.
There are people who lead more colourful lives. Sometimes when you hear accounts, you can never imagine that other people's lives can be a mini soap opera all on their own. Times like this I wish I can do something more exciting with my life, then when I am old and grey, I can look back and remember that I did something outrageous, instead of living just to survive.
I find it amazing how God really hears your doubts and questions. I was reflecting on the issue of premarital sex when last night, during bible class, the priest was teaching us about the Ten Commandments of Christian living, which covers all aspects.
I first came across the Ten Commandments when my first ex, after returning from an enriching church camp, he brought out the bible and started talking to me about the Ten Commandments. I told him I have heard of them, so he could save his breath, which only triggered a scolding that I was not taking the bible seriously.
But then the Ten Commandments are pretty normal, ie they are the essence of morality and virtue of living. Whether one is a Christian or Buddhist or Muslim or atheist, these "rules" should apply to all.
The Commandments are :
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.
I guess this applies to people of faith that they should choose what they believe in, instead of going everywhere, ie church, temple, mosque, etc. Rather common sensical if you ask me. After all, if one chooses a religion, one should just focus on the one he / she chose.
2. You shall not take the name of God in vain.
No swearing or cursing using God's name. Alright, just about everybody is doing this, but then one should not curse or swear any old how in the first place.
3. You shall not make for yourself a graven image.
In other words, no idolatry. This is a little more sensitive issue, because there are other religions who pray to images of Gods and Goddesses, but in a Christian context, there should not be any form of worshipping of any images.
So if Christian kids start looking up to pop stars, is that a form of idolatry as well, and does it mean they are breaking this commandment then?
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
This is the commandment that is most easily broken. After all, some people do need to work shifts and weekends too. We have to work to survive, so is it still applicable in this time and age to keep the Sabbath Day (Sunday) free?
5. Honour your Father and your Mother.
Now this is obvious. One does not need a religion to know this has to be done.
6. You shall not murder.
This, too, is obvious. The controversial issue is the degree of murder. Of course, deliberately planning to kill someone and killing someone is wrong, even under any laws of any country.
But apparently, under the Catholic faith (not sure if the other Christians are taught the same way), things like capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion is wrong too. There are many Catholic doctors who still refuse to perform abortion and euthanasia. The reasoning is that all these are taking away people's lives. No one has the right to take away anyone's life, no matter for what reason.
I do not approve of murder, as it is true no one has the right to take away another person's life, let alone in cold blood. In my opinion, capital punishment is justifiable for a first-degree murderer who committed premeditated murder and is still unremorseful about his act. In the past, people had been executed for lesser reasons, just because the ruling monarch said so.
Then the question of euthanasia. Is it right or wrong? Is it wrong to take away a person's life if he / she no longer has the will to live? If the person is already brain dead and surviving only on life support? Will it be kinder to put him / her "to sleep" instead of leaving him / her a vegetable for life?
What about abortion? I do not approve of abortion because once life is conceived, it is a life. So if girls get themselves pregnant accidentally be it by fooling around or not, I feel it is their responsibility to bear with the mistake.
I know I sound harsh, but abortion is murder, and murder of your own kin before it even has the chance to live and see the world. I do not think anyone, no matter how strong-willed, can ever live with the guilt of killing your own child.
But what if there is something wrong with the foetus? If the baby is going to be deformed or abnormal? The priest said that children is a gift from God, so no matter how the baby turns out, the parents have to live with it.
Having not been a parent, I cannot really comment on this issue. But on the other hand, will it be more cruel to give birth to the child, knowing the child can never lead a normal life, and will often be at the end of jaunts and taunts by other normal kids? Will it be more cruel to give birth to a child which society will already deem as outcast the moment the child is born?
7. You shall not commit adultery.
This is also common sense. One does not need any religion to know it is wrong.
8. You shall not steal.
Again, one does not need any religion to know stealing is wrong. Stealing is punishable under the law too. But what if you found a $10 note in the streets and pocket it? Is that considered stealing since it will be impossible to trace who dropped that note?
9. You shall not bear false witness.
In other words, no lying, spreading untruth rumours, or malicious gossip. But this is also part of morality, is it not? Even non-religious people will know it is wrong.
10. You shall not covet.
Related to the eighth commandment of not stealing. One should not take or yearn for anything that does not belong to you, like somebody's wife or husband, or money or property. I always wonder what is the difference between these two - stealing and coveting? Essentially it seems the same.
So these are the Ten Commandments of Christian Living. Although even for a normal person, most of these are applicable, not just for a religious person. Certain things are just morally wrong.
The priest also said that it is a married couple's duty to procreate and raise children to serve God. This is the Christian point of view. So it is actually a sin if a couple marries and not want to have any children. It is also a sin to use contraceptives as children are gifts from God, so using contraceptives are not being responsible as parents as they are preventing lives to be conceived.
Somehow I wonder how applicable and practical all these are in modern times. What if I get married but do not wish to have any kids for, say, a couple of years as I want to get used to living with someone first? Does it mean stay off intercourse altogether since no contraceptives are allowed?
Somehow the priest also went to the part about keeping one's body holy. Hmmm.... wonder if that is just a mere coincidence. The part is on how the body is given by God, not your own, so one is not supposed to use the body in anyway one likes. In other words, having sex before marriage is abusing the body, even things like tattoos, piercings, etc, are also abuse to the body.
He did not exactly clear my doubts though. I still wonder if making love with someone you love even before marriage is considered an "abuse" of your body?
These are all rather religious in context, and I guess most people will scoff and say that it is not applicable or practical anymore in modern society. But I believe as long as one leads a good life and not do anything to hurt anyone, then I guess that is all that matters.
There are people who lead more colourful lives. Sometimes when you hear accounts, you can never imagine that other people's lives can be a mini soap opera all on their own. Times like this I wish I can do something more exciting with my life, then when I am old and grey, I can look back and remember that I did something outrageous, instead of living just to survive.
I find it amazing how God really hears your doubts and questions. I was reflecting on the issue of premarital sex when last night, during bible class, the priest was teaching us about the Ten Commandments of Christian living, which covers all aspects.
I first came across the Ten Commandments when my first ex, after returning from an enriching church camp, he brought out the bible and started talking to me about the Ten Commandments. I told him I have heard of them, so he could save his breath, which only triggered a scolding that I was not taking the bible seriously.
But then the Ten Commandments are pretty normal, ie they are the essence of morality and virtue of living. Whether one is a Christian or Buddhist or Muslim or atheist, these "rules" should apply to all.
The Commandments are :
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.
I guess this applies to people of faith that they should choose what they believe in, instead of going everywhere, ie church, temple, mosque, etc. Rather common sensical if you ask me. After all, if one chooses a religion, one should just focus on the one he / she chose.
2. You shall not take the name of God in vain.
No swearing or cursing using God's name. Alright, just about everybody is doing this, but then one should not curse or swear any old how in the first place.
3. You shall not make for yourself a graven image.
In other words, no idolatry. This is a little more sensitive issue, because there are other religions who pray to images of Gods and Goddesses, but in a Christian context, there should not be any form of worshipping of any images.
So if Christian kids start looking up to pop stars, is that a form of idolatry as well, and does it mean they are breaking this commandment then?
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
This is the commandment that is most easily broken. After all, some people do need to work shifts and weekends too. We have to work to survive, so is it still applicable in this time and age to keep the Sabbath Day (Sunday) free?
5. Honour your Father and your Mother.
Now this is obvious. One does not need a religion to know this has to be done.
6. You shall not murder.
This, too, is obvious. The controversial issue is the degree of murder. Of course, deliberately planning to kill someone and killing someone is wrong, even under any laws of any country.
But apparently, under the Catholic faith (not sure if the other Christians are taught the same way), things like capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion is wrong too. There are many Catholic doctors who still refuse to perform abortion and euthanasia. The reasoning is that all these are taking away people's lives. No one has the right to take away anyone's life, no matter for what reason.
I do not approve of murder, as it is true no one has the right to take away another person's life, let alone in cold blood. In my opinion, capital punishment is justifiable for a first-degree murderer who committed premeditated murder and is still unremorseful about his act. In the past, people had been executed for lesser reasons, just because the ruling monarch said so.
Then the question of euthanasia. Is it right or wrong? Is it wrong to take away a person's life if he / she no longer has the will to live? If the person is already brain dead and surviving only on life support? Will it be kinder to put him / her "to sleep" instead of leaving him / her a vegetable for life?
What about abortion? I do not approve of abortion because once life is conceived, it is a life. So if girls get themselves pregnant accidentally be it by fooling around or not, I feel it is their responsibility to bear with the mistake.
I know I sound harsh, but abortion is murder, and murder of your own kin before it even has the chance to live and see the world. I do not think anyone, no matter how strong-willed, can ever live with the guilt of killing your own child.
But what if there is something wrong with the foetus? If the baby is going to be deformed or abnormal? The priest said that children is a gift from God, so no matter how the baby turns out, the parents have to live with it.
Having not been a parent, I cannot really comment on this issue. But on the other hand, will it be more cruel to give birth to the child, knowing the child can never lead a normal life, and will often be at the end of jaunts and taunts by other normal kids? Will it be more cruel to give birth to a child which society will already deem as outcast the moment the child is born?
7. You shall not commit adultery.
This is also common sense. One does not need any religion to know it is wrong.
8. You shall not steal.
Again, one does not need any religion to know stealing is wrong. Stealing is punishable under the law too. But what if you found a $10 note in the streets and pocket it? Is that considered stealing since it will be impossible to trace who dropped that note?
9. You shall not bear false witness.
In other words, no lying, spreading untruth rumours, or malicious gossip. But this is also part of morality, is it not? Even non-religious people will know it is wrong.
10. You shall not covet.
Related to the eighth commandment of not stealing. One should not take or yearn for anything that does not belong to you, like somebody's wife or husband, or money or property. I always wonder what is the difference between these two - stealing and coveting? Essentially it seems the same.
So these are the Ten Commandments of Christian Living. Although even for a normal person, most of these are applicable, not just for a religious person. Certain things are just morally wrong.
The priest also said that it is a married couple's duty to procreate and raise children to serve God. This is the Christian point of view. So it is actually a sin if a couple marries and not want to have any children. It is also a sin to use contraceptives as children are gifts from God, so using contraceptives are not being responsible as parents as they are preventing lives to be conceived.
Somehow I wonder how applicable and practical all these are in modern times. What if I get married but do not wish to have any kids for, say, a couple of years as I want to get used to living with someone first? Does it mean stay off intercourse altogether since no contraceptives are allowed?
Somehow the priest also went to the part about keeping one's body holy. Hmmm.... wonder if that is just a mere coincidence. The part is on how the body is given by God, not your own, so one is not supposed to use the body in anyway one likes. In other words, having sex before marriage is abusing the body, even things like tattoos, piercings, etc, are also abuse to the body.
He did not exactly clear my doubts though. I still wonder if making love with someone you love even before marriage is considered an "abuse" of your body?
These are all rather religious in context, and I guess most people will scoff and say that it is not applicable or practical anymore in modern society. But I believe as long as one leads a good life and not do anything to hurt anyone, then I guess that is all that matters.
3 comments:
The 10 commandments of the Old Testament are commandments given to the children of Israel and not meant for gentiles. Under the old laws, all children of Adam and Eve are condemned to hell and salvations are meant only for Israelites.
In order to provide salvation for gentiles, a new law needs to be written to overwrite the old and provide salvation for all others. Jesus is that salvation. His death as a sinless man allows God to provide redemption to all and to provide a new set of commandments and law to override the old and make it applicable to all. Read the book of Esther and you will understand the parallels between the two ;)
The books of the Old Testaments are chosen not for it relevance but for the references to God’s plan in the New Testaments.
Oh.... thanks for the info.
leecooper is incorrect in saying that the old testament is not relevant to Christians.
Christianity builds on the foundations of Judaism.
Interpretation in the Christian sense may occaisionally differ from Jewish interpretation.
As Christ himslef said, He did not come to destroy or replace the Law, but to fulfill it.
He summarized the commandents into two: love God and love your neighbour.
There was early debate saints Peter and Paul whether circumcision applied to gentile converts to Christianity. Peter believed it did, Paul did not. Circumcision was seen as a mark that we belonged to God. In the end it was accepted that as Christians we have a circumcision of the soul, not of the genitals.
On an interesting aside, Muslims believe the Bible has been distorted and corrupted over the centuries and this is why God revealed the Koran to the prophet Mohammed.
Take care.
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