The Biblical Foundations of America, Such As They Are

I get tired of hearing that the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution are rooted in Judeo-Christian law, and Betty’s post on Erick al-Amriki convinced me to finally publish my Quick-Scan Bible-America Concordance:

1 And God spoke all these words:

2 ~~“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.~~

3 ~~“You shall have no other gods before [a] me.~~

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 ~~“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.~~

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 ~~“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.~~

13 “You shall not murder.

14 ~~“You shall not commit adultery.~~

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 ~~“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”~~

Yep, that’s it—America and God share prohibitions against Murder, Theft and Perjury, and all the rest is a) safety tips for stress-free nomadic living and b) God demanding Evian water, BLUE-ONLY M&Ms and 10% of T-shirt sales.

Suck it, Sarah. America isn’t based on Biblical Law; Biblical Law is based on cave paintings. Anyway, Hammurabi did it better—and way ahead of the Jews.

Thanks, Babylon. America is ever in your debt.

Posted by StrangeAppar8us on 08/24/10 at 12:20 PM • Permalink

Categories: Politics • Nutters • Sarah Palin • Teabaggery • War In Error •

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I was never very clear on the definition of “neighbor” - what if she lives a few blocks away? Catholic school was no help in this regard.

Comment by Tom65 on 08/24/10 at 12:31 PM

I’ve always found this to be useful when countering the “christian nation” wharrgarbble.

Comment by justlen on 08/24/10 at 12:34 PM

Tom, what threw me off was that you can’t covet your neighbor’s wife or your neighbor’s ass, but your neighbor’s wife’s ass seems to be fair game…although a Conservative SCOTUS might challenge that under the Adultery Clause.

Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 08/24/10 at 12:37 PM

I’m guessing Sarah’s God would demand more than 10% of t-shirt sales. He made the cotton, after all! Bendy straws. Also.

Comment by Betty Cracker on 08/24/10 at 12:50 PM

Good post—unfortunately, the people who most need to heed its message are the same ones who never will, because putting their fingers in their ears and shouting, “THE FOUNDING FATHERS WANTED AMERICA TO BE A CHRISTIAN NATION LA LA LA LA” is easier and more comforting than engaging in a little critical thinking.

Comment by Frank Stone on 08/24/10 at 02:46 PM

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

That’s the one I continually remind these serial slanderers is gonna make them the Devil’s Cumrag for eternity.

Comment by Allan on 08/24/10 at 02:51 PM

That’s easy for you to say about Hammurabi doing a better job, but his laws were so hard to decipher because he wrote in code.

Comment by kre8tr810 on 08/24/10 at 04:06 PM

The Supreme Court Building has a frieze containing a number of historical lawgivers. It’s got Moses and Solomon on it, which should please the Christian Right, but it also has Muhammed, which pleases no-one.