New Ten Commandments - Ten Mindfullnesses - for the Time of and after Covid-19 E-Book

Erhard Zauner

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 57

Beschreibung

In the course of his studies of the Bible, the author of course also analyzed the Ten Commandments and came across a number of inconsistencies. On closer inspection it became clear that the classic Ten Commandments of the Bible do not meet the requirements that are made of universal ethics. They are absolutely sexist, xenophobic, unbalanced, and not shaped by the all-encompassing "divine love" that is always emphasized by the church. Based on this realization that the biblical Ten Commandments were inadequate, the idea arose to design a new, comprehensive and balanced version of the Ten Commandments for all people of all faiths, but also for non-denominational and so-called unbelievers. He did not formulate his commandments either as an exclusive invitation "You should ..." or as a prohibition "You should not ...", because people living together in society are much more differentiated than being divided into "good and evil" deeds, nor regulate them with "do's and don'ts". His commandments are calls for each individual to be aware of the effects of what he is doing. That is why he prefers to call them "mindfulnesses". He deliberately formulated the new commandments very briefly and concisely so that they are easy to remember and can be applied as far as possible.

Leseprobe

First published in German; title of the original:

Neue Zehn Gebote – Zehn Achtsamkeiten – für die Zeit von und nach Corona

I thank all people who have contributed that this book could appear.

I dedicate this book to all people who do not want to be dictated what to believe.

Contents

Introduction

New Ten Commandments – Ten Mindfulnesses

Preliminary Remarks

Mind Yourself

Mind your Thoughts

Mind your Emotions

Mind your Words

Mind your Deeds

Mind the Property

Mind the Comunity

Mind the Life

Mind the Environment

Mind the Universe

Outlook

Introduction

For fifty years I have been dealing with questions of the history of religion and the philosophy of religion, especially in the Judeo-Christian area. Since I grew up without religious beliefs and dogmatic influences from birth, it is much easier for me to approach completely neutral and open questions that lie in the border area of religion, philosophy and history. In the course of my studies of the Bible, of course, I also analyzed the Ten Commandments and came across a number of inconsistencies. On closer inspection it became clear that the classic Ten Commandments of the Bible do not meet the requirements that are made of universal ethics. They are absolutely sexist, xenophobic, unbalanced, and not shaped by the all-encompassing "divine love" that is always emphasized by the church. On the other hand, the biblical commandment to love one's neighbor has found no place among the ten (most important) commandments, neither in the first nor in the second version. In addition, charity is not an invention of Jesus or Christianity, because this is already anchored in the Old Testament (OT).

(Lev 19:18) ... but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself

This commandment to love one's neighbor is, however, quoted several times in the New Testament (NT) in different contexts. Particularly noticeable, however, is the passage where Jesus extends charity to love one's enemies. He depicts charity as something actually very banal, since, in his opinion, it is not worthwhile to love those who love you too. In my opinion, an impermissible restriction or shortening is made. In the original statement “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”, no distinction is made between whether the neighbor also loves you or not, whether he is a friend or an enemy. In my opinion, the commandment to love one's neighbor in the OT already includes love of one's enemies, while Jesus unnecessarily only reduces it to “dear neighbors”.

(Mat 5:43) Ye have heard that it hath been said; Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. (44) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (45) That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (46) For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?

The very first commandment mentioned in the Bible is: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion (...) over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Gen 1:28) is also not part of the Ten Commandments. However, the second part, subjugating and ruling, was sometimes very excessively practiced, which on the one hand led to the exploitation of the earth and on the other hand to inhumane industrial animal production, since animals are simply seen as a "thing" over which one rules.

Based on this knowledge that the biblical Ten Commandments were inadequate, the idea arose to design a new, comprehensive and balanced version of the Ten Commandments for all people of all faiths but also for non-denominational and so-called "unbelievers".

Therefore, it seemed to me sensible and important to find a contemporary and universally valid version of the Ten Commandments that can be accepted by people of different religions as well as by agnostics. So that no wrong impression arises, I do not want to measure myself against God, if there is one at all, especially not with the vengeful Yahweh, the God of the Bible, who considers himself responsible only for the descendants of Jacob. These are human commandments for "free disposal"; there are no penalties for non-compliance, neither threatened nor executed. Nobody has to leave his faith, nor does one have to join a “new religious community”, because with my Ten Commandments – Ten Mindfulnesses – there is no creed, no religion, no church contribution and no dogmas.

I originally planned to use the title of this book as "The New Ten Commandments – Ten Mindfulnesses – for the 21st Century." The occurrence of the covid pandemic – about the medical necessity or economic and political motivation of which I do not want to comment further – represents a dramatic impact in many people's lives. This leads to many questioning a lot or looking for a new orientation. Therefore, I have now added the addition "for the time of and after Covid-19" to the book.

I have not formulated my commandments either as an exclusive request “You should” or as a prohibition “You should not”, because the coexistence of people in society is much more differentiated than being divided into “good and bad” deeds separate, nor regulate with "commandments and prohibitions". My commandments are calls for everyone to be aware of the effects of what one does. That's why I prefer to call them “mindfulnesses”. Nevertheless, I have referred to them in the book title as “Ten Commandments” so that this book can be classified and assigned to the corresponding topic at first glance.

I have deliberately formulated the new commandments very briefly and concisely so that they are easy to remember and can