Which Commandments?

As I reflect on this class, I am faced with the hypothetical question: Will people ever get tired of reinventing the Bible? Is there a limit to be reached? Looking at all the topics we have covered this semester, it seems that there is no limit to how the Bible can be reinterpreted and reworked. The Bible undoubtedly will continue to be influential in one way or another, whether it be content, themes, style, or something else. Until this week we have covered topics that have mostly stayed within the realm of Christianity and Judaism. I had not really considered how New Religious Movements (NRMs) also use the Bible, though it seems somewhat obvious after reading about them. Eugene V. Gallagher’s book Reading and Writing Scripture in New Religious Movements provided me with some insight into how NRMs draw from the Bible in many different ways. One way that stuck out to me was how the ten commandments found in the Bible inspired NRMs to adopt similar commandment style lists.

Gallagher goes into details about two different texts that utilize the style of the ten commandments: The Holy Piby and The White Man’s Bible. The Holy Piby was produced in 1924 and aimed to “reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their true heritage and their own God” (113). The White Man’s Bible was created in 1984 and also speaks to a specific racial group. Both saw merit in a biblical ten commandments style list for telling their community members what was required of them based on their ideology. Rogers, the author of The Holy Piby, even claims the same God as the Bible and is meant to be seen as a prophet like Moses. Interestingly, Klassen, the author of The White Man’s Bible, rejects the Bible and its God, though still borrows the style of authoritative commandments. This borrowing of the ten commandments does not seem to be uncommon. This Wikipedia article gives us a glance at other lists of commandments that people have come up with on their own.

Looking at these various lists of commandments from the wikipedia article, it is clear that the biblical ten commandments have an incredible cultural impact. People see them and desire to define their own personal codes of conduct and belief. Even Richard Dawkins lays out his ten commandments in his book The God Delusion. Ten commandment style lists are not just unique to religion, but are also utilized by individuals. As long as the Bible remains culturally relevant, it is clear that people will continue to reinvent.