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10 Commandments and 613 detailed rules were not flexible enough even for a bunch of desert marauders. And certainly not for the religious groups that followed, using those Commandments and rules as Scriptural truth.
Any moral system will be local to a defined group, extremely complex and detailed, and interpreted intuitively by the members of the group. Some moral systems will include Paul's vague stupidity, others will be based on radical humanistic standards. There will be a lot of workable moral systems in between.
But even something as intuitively correct and simple as don't steal. Gets mired down in situational ethics, and definitions of what is not to be stolen. Is a song property that should not be stolen? At what point from the composer trying it out on a group of friends to a viral iTune does it become wrong to steal it? And that is an easy one. What about that baguette thrown into the restaurant dumpster?
It doesn't matter whence, that is a different issue. For the purpose of this thread throw away all the commandments, all of the rules, all of the laws and follow your conscience. At the least it will keep you out of trouble with your family, friends, and neighbors. In its highest form it will keep you out of trouble anywhere.
10 Commandments and 613 detailed rules were not flexible enough even for a bunch of desert marauders. And certainly not for the religious groups that followed, using those Commandments and rules as Scriptural truth.
Any moral system will be local to a defined group, extremely complex and detailed, and interpreted intuitively by the members of the group. Some moral systems will include Paul's vague stupidity, others will be based on radical humanistic standards. There will be a lot of workable moral systems in between.
But even something as intuitively correct and simple as don't steal. Gets mired down in situational ethics, and definitions of what is not to be stolen. Is a song property that should not be stolen? At what point from the composer trying it out on a group of friends to a viral iTune does it become wrong to steal it? And that is an easy one. What about that baguette thrown into the restaurant dumpster?
It doesn't matter whence, that is a different issue. For the purpose of this thread throw away all the commandments, all of the rules, all of the laws and follow your conscience. At the least it will keep you out of trouble with your family, friends, and neighbors. In its highest form it will keep you out of trouble anywhere.
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