Yeah, what Perc said! 
Originally posted by Sephiroth Katana
But by the time Moses came down from there with such a code, his was not the first set of broad societal rules to ever exist, either. My point is, the reason why a clear distinction has to be made between the two kinds is that the entire reason for having any laws is fundamentally different for the two systems.
I still disagree, for in that time period (if weāre assuming Moses was alive when the religious books say he was for the sake of argument), all societal rules were still being derived from what can least-clumsily be summed up as religious commandment; ditto for all other broad societal rules of that era. Iām also not entirely as sure whether there is all that much of a āfundamental differenceā for having the laws for both systems. Are not both systems trying to keep their adherents āgoodā as embodied by the law? The only difference I can see is that one law may say āif you donāt do this you go to jail,ā while the other might say āif you donāt do this Iāll rain frogs on your house,ā or something. But they seem to have the same moral goal, even if they donāt have the same overt basis.
Here is another question. What does it matter ? Are the judges of the Supream Court useing the ten commandments in their judgement ? Do they say " wellā¦ Having another God before the Lord is a SInā¦ Death sentance." ? If they arent, why canāt the 10 commandments just be another piece of art ? Should state funded Museums not be allowed to show religiously themed paintings ? Should we also take down the Statue of Liberty because sheās French ?
Originally posted by Merlin
I still disagree, for in that time period (if weāre assuming Moses was alive when the religious books say he was for the sake of argument), all societal rules were still being derived from what can least-clumsily be summed up as religious commandment; ditto for all other broad societal rules of that era.
The priests/shamans/medicine men of the era were not neccesarily the ones making up the laws. Varying religions took more or less active roles in governing their respective societies, law did not begin the moment Moses showed up with his tablets, it had been gradually developing since society first began. Early man surely learned that some forms of behavior like murder, theft, and telemarketing may have been detrimental to the tribe/town/commune as a whole or could simply have made life unpleasant. A form of policing called vigilantism sprang up and has evolved to this point, where mods lock off topic threads.