Ten Commandments by God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ten Commandments by God - Essay Example Many religious convictions believe the Ten Commandments form the foundation of morality and ideal behaviour. It becomes not only vital for religious purposes, but also for guiding proper and legal values of the people (Hamilton, 2003). After critical analysis of the Ten Commandments, am still not sure about God’s existence and if given a choice will not follow the ten commands. My opinions may differ from those of Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, inventor, writer and most notably a Christian philosopher. In his arguments, known as ‘Pascal’s wager’, he explains that as finite creatures we will never be able to recognize if God exists. This leads to a situation whereby we must make a wager and come to a decision whether to believe or not to believe in God, more so since the choice is unavoidable (Hamilton, 2003). According to Pascal, if we bet on the existence of God and it turns out to be right, considering that we also decided to follow his commands a nd laws, then the reward will be an eternity of happiness. If it turns out to be a lie, then we will not have lost much, maybe just the indulgence in immoral behaviour. The other argument is that, if we wager against the existence of God, the consequence however positive, would be limited and extremely small compared to what would happen if in fact God existed and one gets condemned into infinite pain (Hamilton, 2003). Therefore, an individual has everything to gain and nothing or little to lose through belief in God. If one does not believe in God’s existence; he or she has nothing or little to gain but all to lose through not believing in him. Pascal deduces that it would be unwise not to wager for God’s existence. Though there is logic in Pascal’s reasoning and opinion, I belong to a different school of thought. Regarding the commandments, I believe there is much to be argued about them. Following some of these commands from beginning to end is objectionable and I will base my case on three commandments. To begin with, the fourth commandment states that ‘we should remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy’, and is mostly founded on the Jewish culture and history. Just to mention, a look at the number of people who currently refrain from all kinds of chores on Saturday, one may get discouraged, because there is practically none. Since this commandment does not provide room for interpretation, it translates to a situation that demands pardon from any work, especially the Sabbath day (Hamilton, 2003). Imagine of a situation whereby everyone refrained from their normal activities and duties, the consequences could be catastrophic at least. Say all the emergency services, police and the doctors downed their tools for the sake of obeying this commandment. What would happen? There would be massive damage and so many lives would be at risk. Therefore, observing this commandment would lead to serious consequences for everyone. The f ifth commandment states that â€Å"we should honour our father and mother†. This commandment ought to bring out the good aspects in children if used in a positive way. It is ought to strengthen family ties and also contribute in forming a society that is responsible and well structured in terms of morals. The main dilemma though comes about when trying to determine what honour means, and its application to certain aspects. Sometimes the children can have opinions that conflict with their parent’s due to what their parents impose on them. Sometimes obeying parents would mean prohibiting children from having freedom and emotional health, especially if the parents are insisting their children to follow certain relationships or activities that have negative results.