Commandment #5

Commandment #5 - Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God gives thee.

I believe bad parents (those that abuse, hide/support their children’s crimes, do not live by and teach their children the Commandments) should not be supported. My problem is that our society and government are not supporting good parents. I’m not saying our children should be abused. But, I do believe our children must be held accountable for their actions as they grow. Children and/or their friends are killing, maiming and embarrassing parents. With our current thinking it’s not a surprise that crimes are committed by younger and younger children and crime rates have increased. Unless proven otherwise, graffiti, skipping school and all actions committed by a child should be answerable by the child, not the parent, in order to instill the knowledge of right from wrong (morality which I believe stems from living by the Commandments).

We give too much to the younger generation and not enough to the elders that made this country. Many parents are not properly taken care of when they can no longer take care of themselves. It’s being said that the cost of caring for an elderly parent costs $303,880 in a lifetime. People doing so should be rewarded by the government and have all such expenses considered a deduction on their taxes. Additionally, the government keeps manipulating the Social Security money and medical assistance they need.  

Commandment #4

Commandment #4 - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

I hear that only 17% of the US population says it does not have a religion yet many stores and restaurants are open 7 days a week. As long as the same individual is not working 7 days a week and their working does not conflict with his/her Sabbath, this commandment is not violated. However, truckers will drive long hauls 7 days a week and others do not work at all. To take this further, there’s 24 hours in a day, minus the 8 for sleeping this means a person could work 16 hours a day. For the average adult, there is the family (includes playing/talking with them), household upkeep, education and/or exercise that can occupy the time after work. For children, there is school, homework and chores that should be done. A person working 6 days at a job should not feel that he/she is entitled to let the family and/or household go unless the job (includes getting ready and travelling to it) occupies the full 16 hour days. God does not excuse us from doing all that needs to be done. He is saying to take a day off and remember him. Unfortunately, I believe that most Americans are too occupied with sports, electronics and other pleasures to fulfill this commandment.  

A recent study shows that Americans work 5 weeks more than the people in other developed countries and 35% are working on week-ends. We’re not very good at supporting this commandment. 

Commandment #3

Commandment #3 - Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.

This sounds so simple but we should know that it does not just apply to calling God’s name out loud when something goes wrong. The Bible speaks of false prophets. Through the years Popes, Prophets, and others have preached words that are supposedly God’s. Many of these preachers invoke prejudices, turmoil and judgments that may or may not be what God intended. They also do not beckon peace or the maintaining of God’s creations - our environment and/or each other. A true believer would preach the Commandments and heed the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 9^th. People need to stop having more faith in their religious preachers than they do in a higher being.

I believe that the Supreme Court has violated this commandment by allowing Pastor Fred Phelps, SR. and the Topeka, Kansas Westboro Baptist Church to desecrate military or other funerals under the guise of freedom of speech. The Court should not condone behavior that supports anyone thinking he/she and not God has the right to judge others and subsequently bear false witness.  

Commandment #2

Commandment #2 - Thou shall not make unto thee any 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; thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Here, I believe that God admits being jealous and that many hate him/her. If God is good then the hateful are not. God says that mercy will be shown to those that keep the Commandments. This leads me to believe that the Commandments, not the full text of any bible, are the most important to follow in order to be given mercy. This commandment also implies that God does not give the power of mercy to any priest or other being purportedly acting on God’s behalf. So, penitence – weekly confessionals, apologies, regrets or last rights does not forego God’s decision for mercy.

We should not confuse this commandment with art. I don’t believe Michelangelo or others committed a violation of this commandment. Works of art not used for idolization should be viewed as renditions or depictions of situations or things. However, the image of a cross with Jesus on it especially when used to conduct ceremonies may be a violation of this commandment. 

This commandment in my opinion also indicates that we have a right to choose which direction to follow. Justice may be blind but I don’t believe God is. We must stop making a mockery of the Commandments and should be tired of people murdering (see commandment #6), maiming, and harassing for the love of God, partners, family, friends and plain old power.

In my opinion, the flag and statue of liberty do not fall into this as they are not of heaven or earth. And, it’s obvious by our behavior (we allow flag burning) that we do not bow down or serve them in place of God. Additionally, I believe showing loyalty to the USA, a country that defends against suppression, merely is support for its principles and people (1 Samuel, the battle between Israel and the Philistines, Psalm 18 and others) and shows that you are willing to defend against evil; such an action is not for power or a replacement for God.  

Commandment #1

Before getting into how our overall US beliefs coincide with the Commandments, I’d like to say that no decision to take action should be considered solely because it upsets an Atheist. The steel beams in the shape of a cross that survived the 9/11/01 attack at ground zero I hope were left alone. Yes, it appears as a religious symbol and all that died have a right to representation. No religious leader was objecting to the beams and other religious symbols may or may not be placed on the site. If you feel your Atheism is not represented just consider the part of the grounds with nothing on it to be yours.

I believe that religions without the Commandments are not good but evil as they give refuge to hatred or control over people without real faith in Good (God) or the American belief that all people are created equal. Even with the Commandments we humans find ways to dislike each other. I guess this is why that in a world where the majority of the people say they have religion we have wars and nuclear bombs. The US seems to have bombs to defend our country from others who do not think as we do, as a means of protection. As these other countries have bombs I assume that it is either for power/control or they too are protecting themselves from us and others. I just don’t understand so I’ll get on with my analysis of the Commandments.   

Commandment #1 - Thou shall have no other gods before me.

If we as a people believe in a higher power then we must assume that the over 1,000 names for God, Allah, Jehovah, Krishna, Nirankar, Baha, Yahweh, Shangdi, Shen, Zhu, Zoroaster, and others are all one and the same. If we do not believe in such, then the alternative would be that there is nothing more than ourselves to believe in. I choose to believe in something bigger and better because I do not think that we are the best the universe has to offer. There’s always the alien beings theory that could be considered but I’m not going there because it would beg the same question as to where they came from.

The biggest argument my mother and I got into was when the school taught Darwin’s Theory. I now realize that even if we believe in Darwin’s theory, it doesn’t mean that God didn’t start us out as amoebas and then when we were sufficiently developed lead us out of Egypt or any other place. We know that there are 17 penguin species and the differences in the 5 Flamingo species are partly due to what they eat. This information in conjunction with Darwin’s theory, lends support to what is now being said - that we all come from 7 mothers. This implies that like all other creatures, our differences are due mainly to our environment. Since Darwin’s theory doesn’t give way to the unexplained abilities of people like Brazil’s John of God, psychics, mediums, and near death experiences my thought is that our amoebas wouldn’t have spirits or souls without some intervention. After my argument with my mother, I didn’t believe in a higher ‘good’ power until I saw the Exorcist movie.  My logic was - if there is such evil then the opposite must also exist.

I believe this commandment suggests that we are not to put ourselves above God or his/her creations. I also think that we have totally lost sight of this commandment. We over populate, over use earth’s resources, over look the beauty of our surroundings and use religion as a means for detesting one another. 

We treat the President (Black or White) with as much disrespect as we do others so it appears we’re in compliance with this Commandment. I do think we should reconsider our celebrity envy (singers, actors, sports people, etc.) as this may be a violation. It’s okay to like, respect and follow celebrities but when the paparazzi is out of hand because you want the gossip and the purchasing of movie or concert tickets and memorabilia are more important than making ends meet and paying your bills, you are treating these people better than God and I believe that your behavior violates the Commandments.

The Ten Commandments

Some Republican supporters say we need a Christian President. Let’s talk about the age old question of whether or not there is a God as I hear that a majority of the population says it has a religion. First, I must say that the small percentage of the population without a religion is not all Atheists. Many are just non believers of organized religion who are tired of seeing wrongdoers (thieves, liars, rapists, murderers, adulterers, and others) in their religious domicile.

In reading the Family Devotional Bible printed in 1954 which includes both the Old and New Testaments, I see that throughout history God has created various tests to determine if people are truly faithful. What I get from Genesis: Chapter 1, verse 27, on the 6^th day - God created man both male and female in his own image. In verse 28 – God blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. Chapter 2 talks about the creation of the Garden of Eden as well as Adam and Eve. Now they would have had it pretty good had they not eaten from the tree of knowledge on good and evil but they did. They were removed from Eden and had to toil like the others created before them. In Chapter 6, verses 5 & 6 – God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth. It repented and grieved the Lord that he had made man. God’s anger led to Noah and his family being the only survivors of the floods and again in Chapter 9, verse 1 he says to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. In Chapter 11 God decides to confound our language and scatters us abroad the face of all the earth. Life went on and God’s plan of redemption for all mankind is in Exodus with Moses and the Ten Commandments. There were no written instructions before this time and throughout the bible there are passages that further support the Commandments. 

I’m assuming that every religion we know today began with the Ten Commandments or something like them. I chose to use the Commandments as a guide toward the greater good and consider God to mean ‘Good’. An Atheist by definition is a non believer in a God. For those that are Atheists and do not believe in a higher being, I ask that you consider the concept that the Commandments are a handbook for living a good life.  

Beginning with tomorrow’s message I’ll talk about the Commandments and how I think the US is in compliance. 

Arsenic in Juice

In September 2011, Dr. Oz reported on the arsenic in apple juice. The report caused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), juice manufacturers and ABC News’ Dr. Besser to blow a fuse. Other doctors said we should be more concerned about the sugar in juice than the toxins. If this is how they feel then I don’t understand why they’re sitting by and not doing something about it.  

On ABC News, Dr. Besser asked questions and did not let Dr. Oz answer. Here’s what I got out of the bantering. Dr. Besser says there are two kinds of arsenic – organic and inorganic. I just learned that arsenic is all around us, in the air, trees and ground and I’m assuming this is the organic type that ends up in our water and food (including candy, cookies and cereal). Other than this, there was no explanation (even from Dr. Christopher Holstege, Chief of Toxicology at the University of Virginia) as to what is actually different between the two types to make me think that one is less dangerous than the other. I remember Elisabeth on the View saying that the FDA said that the organic arsenic is essentially safe – not actually safe. If there actually is a difference I don’t understand why they don’t do like they do with other things and call them Arsenic A and Arsenic B or Arsenic 1 and Arsenic 2. In any case, Dr. Besser pointed out that the FDA warned Dr. Oz not to show his episode regarding arsenic in apples. During the conversation with Dr. Besser, Dr. Oz tried to tell him that in the last 3 years others have also had concerns. A study out of the University of Arizona in 2009 showed the levels were mostly non organic arsenic. Dr. Oz said his show looked at the total arsenic because that’s what the FDA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) use and that organic arsenic has been looked at primarily in fish and for those species it is apparently safe. Dr. Oz explained that our bodies can convert arsenic into a toxin and there has been a lot of debate as to whether or not organic arsenic is safe. Dr. Oz said his concern is the long term use as the FDA and EPA have been continually lowering the amount of arsenic that is safe for us. Dr. Oz also said that when his show reached out to the juice companies and the FDA no one would participate in the discussion and now (since the show) they want to talk. Dr. Oz said they used the same lab that deals with commercial testing and sends data to the FDA; it’s not a run of the mill lab and there were 3 other groups independent of theirs that had the same type results. Dr. Oz said on his show he went out of his way to tell people not to panic (he’s not taking apple juice away from his kids), no one is dying but he’s been trying to have a conversation regarding this issue and would argue that we should have the same level of arsenic in our juice as we do in drinking water. Dr. Besser reported that the FDA allows 10 parts per billion in our water while allowing 23 parts per billion in the juice. They say it’s because people consume more water than juice and water is used in processing food. I agree with Dr. Oz and also argue that there should be no double standard. Dr. Besser says the same standards are applied to other countries selling to us. However, both doctors agree that there are not enough inspections to guarantee the same level of safety. I would think the combined use of arsenic in our water or any other product could be unhealthy in the long term. Bottom line, we shouldn’t have it both ways; complain because the government does nothing and complain because someone is acting in the best interest of the people.

On November 30, ABC News reported that due to the anger stirred by Dr. Oz’s arsenic results, Consumer Reports did their own test. They tested 88 samples of apple and grape juice and found that 10% had arsenic levels and 25% had lead levels greater than the FDA approved level for drinking water. The juice organization of course said the comparison to drinking water was inappropriate as the FDA allows a greater percentage – does this make sense, I don’t think so. Dr. Besser said when the issue came up back in September the FDA assured him there was an FDA standard and now he finds out there is not. The FDA also told him that the type of arsenic that’s in apple juice is the safe kind and it turns out it’s not. Dr. Besser was irritated that the FDA published the results of their study and withheld the 8 results that were high, thus falsifying their report.

I agree with both doctors that we don’t want a public panic but there needs to be a change. Dr. Besser says babies under 6 months shouldn’t have any juice and children under age 7 should have no more than 4-6 ounces while older kids should have 8 – 12 ounces of juice per day. Personally, I appreciate that Dr. Oz cares enough to be looking into these things. Maybe the next time he or his staff member wants to talk to the FDA they will respond so nothing like this happens again.