Are our laws based on religious teachings?
I hear this one regurgitated by proponents of the argument from morality, as well as those defending the validity of holy scriptures, far too frequently.
I'm talking specifically about the bible, and the main ten commandments. The other 603 are mostly irrelevant or ridiculous.
Yes
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No
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Why wouldn't one concede that they were? I think they are. Legislation was around before the Judeo-Christian Bible, but not before "religious teachings". If you can explain in simple terms what the difference between "religious" and ordinary teachings are, that would be a good starting point for discussing the relationship between religion and legislation. 333 days ago | Side: Yes
I mean, when apologists say "look, our laws are based on christian values!" There was once a time when we did follow biblical law, back when we'd execute gay people and not work on the sabbath, but now laws are based on a rational consideration of how one's actions affect others. (Or how one's actions affects the wages of MPs and judges, nowadays.) 333 days ago | Side: No
Christian Values? Which Christian sect defines what those are? Are Christian values different from human values? and if so, how? Our laws are based on our concepts of rights and justice, and are no less subject to corruption under any "secular" value system one might propose. Laws are based on value systems...this we can agree on I think. 333 days ago | Side: Yes
I'd have to sort of agree with atypican. going back to ancient civilization, legislation was greatly influenced by the religion of the tribes or cultures. Religion is part of our hegemony, and while I wouldn't say that many of our modern laws are DIRECTLY based on religious teachings, they do have a historical influence. this is not to say that religion is good in anyway. It is just to say how our hegemony comes to be. If anything, it is a representation of how terrible religion and legislation really is for all of us. It indoctrinates our mindsets into following a pattern based on rules by leaders with guns. 333 days ago | Side: Yes
What we believe affects our opinions. No matter what you believe, and even if you don't believe anything, it affects your opinion. And there is no way we can stop it. So either our country will be ruled by the Christians or the atheists or any other religion or no religion. The majority wins, and if the majority is nonbelievers or believers.. we'll just have to deal with that :) 331 days ago | Side: Yes
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As mention before, less than half of the commandments are legislated. Laws basically come about due to perceived necessity. Certain types of laws, such as laws about murder, theft, lying, etc are found in virtually every nation AND virtually every religion. Why? They are just plain good laws to have, the failure to follow them being disruptive to society, particularly for anyone who wants to impose order. Just because you see similarity between our laws and the laws of the Bible, does not mean that the laws cannot be secular, especially since things like working on the Sabbath are not included on the list of crimes. 333 days ago | Side: No
I see what OP is getting at. And I agree. A lot of Christians seem to think we got our morality (and based all consequent laws) on that little fax from heaven we know as the Ten Commandments. But morality, law, and a general sense of right and wrong existed before the Ten, the commandments just made things a little more concise and directly tied them to religion (i.e. you follow the law of you burn in hell). And historically religion was very important when it came to placating the peasants and getting everyone to follow the law. But I feel out society would more or less have the same laws it does now even if the Ten Commandments had never existed, simply because many of the laws we have are necessary for having a functioning civilization in this day and age. I feel religion and religious people often try to claim this as their doing, their moral brainchild, and I feel they are wrong for doing to. Our laws are based on what makes sense. Past religious laws follow the same pattern, but with some celestial psychodrama thrown in. 332 days ago | Side: No
Only two of the ten are actually laws, and not in all cases. Killing is not illegal if you are a soldier, and stealing is only illegal in the broad sense. Lying is only illegal in the context of the legal system. These three are all pretty obviously wrong, and I didn't need to read the bible to know that. 333 days ago | Side: No
OP: I'm talking specifically about the bible, and the main ten commandments. We can logically conclude many of those commandments are ethical and needed to guide a society. Usually decided by productivity. Based on that alone I highly doubt the Ten Commandments are the source for our laws. There is much evidence of governing societies with similar laws or ethical expectations both before and after Judeo-Christian theology came into play, and in societies where the dominant religious doctrine is not an Abrahamic theology. Therefore even furthering my doubt. Note to OP: Though you may be aware, "religious" is not synonymous with "Christian" or "Abrahamic". Your proposed question asks something different than what you clarified in your description as your question. Yet in either case, my answer is "not likely/no". 333 days ago | Side: No
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