[size=55:2f981ge9]BNR

The Ten Commandments

We live in amazingly dynamic times. Everybody seems in a dreadful hurry to meet tight schedules and there is this floating anxiety of missing one of thousands of luring opportunities. Big companies race to offer the latest generation of cell phones, or a portable computer in the vogue. TV commercials after the news will let you know about the latest model of the most smashing car with countless extras. The worldwide web comes up with great bargains for trips to a dozen most exotic destinations. Is it possible to resist the temptations? All the more so that present-day icons – Hollywood actors and musicians – maintain lifestyles bathing in glamour and glory.

In the meantime, while watching the news we tend to be little impressed by reports that innocent people died somewhere on the planet. As Easter approaches we ought to take a deeper and closer look at ourselves and think about intransigent values such as love, compassion and friendship. To what extent is the message laid out in the Ten Commandments relevant today? To what extent do Bulgarians follow them? More from father Vasil Vasilev from the Three Saints Church in the town of Shumen, North eastern Bulgaria, and in interviews with residents of the city of Sofia.

“Our century is a time of high technologies”, the young priest says. “We live dynamic lives and amid the sea of information, problems and various emotions, man is lost for the right direction – he loses his identity as he wrestles with daily hardships and in the battle for survival. What are the moral values and foundations today? Unfortunately, for a man to prosper he should become a hypocrite, swindler, villain or whatnot revealing the dark aspects of his personality. The Ten Commandments were given by God Jehovah to prophet Moses and they will remain relevant for human beings till the end of this world. The commandments are religious and moral imperatives;
they draw up a comprehensive credo that man has been called to carry out so as to become part of a better society. They have been incorporated in the Holy Bible. In the New Testament Jesus Christ unites all Ten Commandments into two. He says: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”, and also, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. This is the quintessence of the Decalogue – there is love for God in it – God as Creator of everything visible and invisible, and whom we should respect and fear. Secondly, we should love our fellows. This explains why there are no inferior commandments, and we cannot say that any of them is more relevant or less relevant. They are all equally important and equally necessary.”

Do Bulgarians know the Ten Commandments, and to what extent do they tend to abide by them?

“Unfortunately, religious instruction is not taught in Bulgarian schools, so Bulgarians do not know their faith well, and the Ten Commandments are not the moral basis of present-day families”, Father Vasil admits. “For this reason our society is not fully democratic. We can see lawlessness everywhere and impunity, meaning our society is not democratic;
it is rather demonocratic – run by demons ruling human emotions and vices. Let us hope that the voice of our church will be heard so that the young people can know their faith better – by being taught Orthodox Christianity in Bulgarian schools. It is Faith that saves humans;
the Faith from the Holy Gospel;
given by Jesus Christ. Young people are eager to learn but they are confused;
very intelligent, very bright but unfortunately soulless.”

“You shall not murder”, “You shall not lie”, “You shall not steal”, “You shall not commit adultery” are the most popular of the Commandments among Bulgarians. Alexandra, 22, says however, that these spiritual values have to a great extent lost their power and importance. “Of course, I try – and maybe I succeed in being good with my family and friends and with the people who deserve good”, she added. More from some residents of Sofia.

“I think they are eternal. It is a different matter that times have changed – and people too, so it has become quite a challenge to abide by the Ten Commandments that are in fact the moral code of every human being”, Mariana Angelova, who is retired, said. “Well, there are many people who practice forgiveness, love and compassion. The Ten Commandments tell us: ‘You shall not kill’, ‘You shall not steal’, ‘You shall not covet’. What I try to observe is good will and good intentions. I am not one of those who can forgive easily though it is now the period of the Great Lent.”

“I think that Bulgarians are not very faithful Christians”, Mrs. Djorova says. “Yes, some go to church to light candles. I am always ready to help others. I do not like stealing or lying. However I cannot claim I am a believer, because faith is something I cannot understand. Still, I think I behave with dignity as I communicate with people.”

Tanya Bencheva who studies to become a social worker believes that people who try hard to live pure and noble lives in fact honour the Ten Commandments.

“It is very important not to lie. I think it is also important to love your fellow as you love yourself. The commandment ‘You shall have no other Gods before me’ means that we should be Christians. I have heard some say that faith in God is a good excuse for the weakness of an individual but this is wrong. I think superstition is an excuse for the lack of faith. If you believe that something bad could happen to you, you do not have faith in God, in that He does protect you.”

“The so-called Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments, is valid today. Still very few people make efforts to stick to this code”, explains Georgi who is retired. “Neither of the Ten Commandments is of smaller value, because the whole Christian moral code is laid out in their totality. Whoever chooses to observe it, he is a moral person. These are fundamental values that should be observed by every human being.”

Its quite an interesting read, I didn't realise some of this I always thought that Bulgarian were fully aware of the 10 commandments but it seems not? I wonder if this is why in their natural culture they seem to think a lot of things or indeed ok when they are morally not? I'm also surprised to learn that they are not taught any of this in school! I would have thought they they had some sort of obligation to teach religion of all kinds?

I would guess that religious instruction in schools was outlawed during communist times and moral instruction would have come from the party doctrine. I personally don't approve of religion because I consider it to be devisive but can see the need for something like the 10 commandments, as we do require a code of morals. I don't think that many people covet their neighbours oxes etc these days so perhaps they need to be revamped a bit.

I think your right fido religion is a bit outdated now and needs to be bought into the 21st century where we can all understand it and use it as a guide in our lives, I know the oxon bit is really only a way of saying other things but still the younger generation won't have a clue what it means.

I have found that the village Bulgarians are very religious but they are mainly old people. When the younger generations visit there is a marked difference in the way they act and behave.
Religion is about having a faith in a life after death so that death is not feared and is the reason to behave in a good way throughout life. Until someone can explain what the 'soul' is I will always have a faith in a great soul above who watches everything I do. Some would call it 'Karma' or 'sprituality'- but call it what you will, there is something which guides us all.
The bible to me is a book of stories (parables) written to guide us through life in a good way. I was given a beautiful Bulgarian Bible quite recently by a Papa and all who received this gift kissed the Papa's hand which signified (to me) that some Bulgarians at least, do still follow the teachings.
All over the world the young generation is not being taught the Bible messages (unless interpreted for extremism) and the chaos everywhere bears testament to this. The wheel will eventually come full circle but not before some kind of holocaust.
This is only my belief and I admit that it is age that mellows and gives time for reflection. I have and always will be a kind of rebel but I do try and fully believe that 'God does love sinners' with provisos!!!

I'm catholic to the bone and believe in the ten commandments with no excuses. However as a huge fan of religion in general i have spent lots of time in different denominations churchs while i've travelled round the world. The bulgarian orthodox religion is interesting and i attend the local church whenever i am in bulgaria. unfortunately bulgaria appear to have gone the same way as the uk in that it is not taught in general to much detail in schools so unless other family members are religiously inclined then many children appear to grow up with very little knowledge. Which i think is really sad as i think everyone should make their own mind up about where they stand, but to do that you need the knowledge in the first place.

I do not follow a religion, as such. But the 10 commandments are "
rules"
that we should live by. Whether they be as quoted by the Bile or a more modern day interpretation of them.

I was shocked, over Christmas, that my son knew nothing about baby Jesus, God, the angels and the wise men. I told him the story, bit hard for a just turned 5 year old to understand fully, also no mention of Jesus before the Easter holidays at kindergarten.

I think children need to know these stories - to understand the world fully. They also need to learn about and respect all religions, it is such a big part of every day life.

When I was younger I was given "
The Childrens Bible"
by an aunt. I remember the pictures and the stories. I phoned my mum up in the UK and asked if she still has it - Luckily she managed to find it and is bringing it out when she comes on Monday. So I will start to teach my son myself.

I think its dreadful that children are not taught Scripture or Religious Studies or whatever it used to be called. My 3 children, now all in their 40s, were taught religion in school and had assembly. I think that is the last generation to be lucky enough to have an understanding of the bible which is such a shame. I know assemby was stopped because of upsetting religions other than Protestant and Catholic. My son was taught about all the other religions which was great. All this PC and trying not to upset anyone and their beliefs is part of the problem and in the end, no child learns anything about God. All 3 of mine were also confirmed into the Church and I bet many do not know what this is all about either.

By rhe way, someone posted that religion is outdated. What??? Having a faith and being taught the Bible stories can never be outdated and can easily be taught in a modern way. In Bulgaria it was probably outlawed due to Communism but there is no reason it could not be taught in schools nowadays just as the English language is now taught.
Anyway, this is a very emotive subject and there is good reason that 'Religion and Politics' should never be discussed in a pub!

Very well put oldun its good to see someone stand up for religion and beliefs

Well thank you for that comment Cheekychops. I probably sound like a right old 'Bible Basher' which is very far from the truth as anyone who knows me would realise. Its just that now I have time to reflect, I have come to believe that there is definitely some higher being,for want of a better explanation, that seems to have guided me through some very troubled times. I would say I have always been very independent or even eccentric, and have taken risks that I would never recommend others take and survived. However, I was taught the bible and went to church in my youth (although mostly to enjoy the youth clubs churches had in those days) so I guess I did have a religious education plus the school studies and assemblies.
People say that religion causes wars. It might seem that way, but I believe its fanatics who use religion to their own ends. If there was more religious education, starting in schools, maybe poeple would understand that the propoganda spilled from the lips of fanatics is not what the bible and God is really all about.

oldun wrote:

I think its dreadful that children are not taught Scripture or Religious Studies or whatever it used to be called. My 3 children, now all in their 40s, were taught religion in school and had assembly. I think that is the last generation to be lucky enough to have an understanding of the bible which is such a shame. I know assemby was stopped because of upsetting religions other than Protestant and Catholic. My son was taught about all the other religions which was great. All this PC and trying not to upset anyone and their beliefs is part of the problem and in the end, no child learns anything about God. All 3 of mine were also confirmed into the Church and I bet many do not know what this is all about either.

I totally agree oldun It is generally acceptable that time marches on and that things had to change from my generation to the present day. However, it is quite clear that the British government have changed the Religious teaching in schools very much and completely overstepped the mark by stopping British children from Religious education. Many religious leaders have expressed their opinion that Britain has ended up being anti Christian and who can blame them for saying so. We bend over backwards to extend the hand of friendship towards foreigners who come to the UK to live, but at the same time ignore the wishes of our own followers of the Christian faith.

This is a fascinating topic, thankyou for starting it!
The writer of 'Conversations with God' tells us that the Ten Commandments were not in fact given as Laws, or rules that we had to observe. Rather, Moses asked, how would he know when he was on the right - or the God - path? And God's reply was, "
When you no longer wish to lie, or to steal, or to murder, or to commit adultery"
etc etc, "
Then you will know that you are on my path"
(Ie the path to enlightenment, paradise, or whatever you like to call the state of being in perfect haromony with life) Since we were created Free beings, God gives us no laws or rules, only guidance when we ask for it.

My take on this is that God didn't start any religions, or found any churches. We did that. Some of the greedy and/or power-hungry among us use religion as a vehicle to achieve Earthly wealth or status, which doesn't make any theological sense actually.

The Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner said that 'Religion' is a belief in what you can't see, therefore requiring faith. He said that back in the long ago days when Human Beings could still see the non-physical realms, it was our material world that was not clearly visible and therefore a mystery to us, and the 'religion' of those days was the Natural Science that we all take for granted now! This makes sense when you realise the Earth was then all covered in mist, so you could not have physically seen anything. Not until the mists began to clear, giving sight of the first rainbow (as from the Ark) and physical sight was born.

If you regard the 'Flood' stories (the Earth all covered in water) as signifying this combination of air and water that once surrounded all our Earth as mist, then the dawning of the first rainbow is also the dawning of physical sight, and therefore a change in consciousness. But I digress, sorry! So the Ten Commandments are not rules, because that signifies something you are 'supposed to' comply with, whether you really feel like it or not. Or to put it another way, un-freedom. You may refrain from doing something even if you are tempted to, because it's against the Commandments;
this merely signifies that you are striving to become what you are not yet. You have achieved the state of Grace when you are no longer tempted! Christ's temptation is the way this is described to us in the Bible, in story form.

Does this make sense to anyone else the way it does to me? I like it when everything fits together and explains what was formerly hard to understand! I don't usually go to any Church, but I try to live a Christian life as far as I recognise how to , which is probably not very far yet!

After reading all this the question I would ask is "
Is The Bible Relevant Today? "
In this day and age of many churches "
redefining, who, and what"
they are, this question is very important. It seems that with all the changes being made in many churches, that the Bible seems to be "
pushed to the wayside"
. That is, labeled "
irrelevant"
. Yes, the Bible was relevant once upon a time, in that long-ago era of shepherds and scribes. That story of how the Hebrew people emerged from their centuries of slavery in Egypt is a gripping account, but does it have any connection to my world of lightning fast e-mails and jet travel? The problems of a fish swallowing a disobedient prophet named Jonah and how to get Daniel out of a den of lions seem pretty far removed from fixing my transmission or resurrecting my crashed hard drive. For a mom racing to get her kids to the dentist, is there any relevance to the story of how Elijah saw to the killing of 400 prophets of the god Baal? Can we relate at all to such strange and mystifying events today?

Some things never change... such as how to live (and love) your life, and not to be your own final authority. And what our purpose in life is. The stories of trials and difficulties in life aren't much different than what we experience in relationships today.