Comparison of Moses' 10 Commandments with Other Religions/Worldviews

[BigJoeNobody]

Long title, But I like the title to be clear as to what is expressed within.

The point of this thread will be an analysis of DIRECT parallels between the "10 Commandments" recorded in the OT/Torah and various other religions. Please attempt to stay on topic, honest, and kind to others, thank you.

I will begin by Posting the NIV version of what we commonly refer to as the "10 Commandments" to establish the basis of comparison.

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before (or besides) me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 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 parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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.

5. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20:1-17&version=NIV

I'm sure this looks familiar to most.

From the Quran we draw these parallels (this is in no way a full list of evidences of parallelism, just an example of each):
1.

But if they turn away, [O Muhammad], say, "Sufficient for me is Allah ; there is no deity except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne."
- 9:129

This is in addition to the Shahada (Muslim Declaration of Faith)

There is no God but Allah, and Mouhammed is his Messenger

2.

And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham said to his father Azar, "Do you take idols as deities? Indeed, I see you and your people to be in manifest error."
- 6:74

3.

And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing.
-7:180

4.

The sabbath was only appointed for those who differed over it. And indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.
- 16:124

5.

And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.
- 17:23

6.

And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly - We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of] taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law].
- 17:33

7.

And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way
- 17:32.

8.

[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah . And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
- 5:38

9.

And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].
- 2:42

10.

Do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [certain] categories of the disbelievers, and do not grieve over them. And lower your wing to the believers
- 15:88

This is the most general of the verses that covers it well. An extended list of non-covetous statements is generally used to cover all aspects.

I am linking a site which has done a decent Job of summarizing these overall with many more references. I am going to say I am not a big fan of their (site operators) operation in general, but they do some very thorough work on several topics.

http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran_ten_commandments.htm

Feel free to comment on any of these, or post parallels from your respective books. Hopefully this comparison gives all of us better understanding and perhaps some common ground to discuss things.

Salaam Allahikum

 

[juantoo3]

Very good! I will need to dig out some of my old comparison material later.

 

[Senthil]

In Hinduism we have the 10 classical restraints, (yamas) and 10 classical observances (nyamas). There is some overlap with the other faiths, (more with Christianity then with Islam) but it's certainly not a perfect match. Patanjali, the father of modern yoga, is credited with codifying our ethical behaviour. He wrote about 8 stages (some call them limbs) of classical yoga. These are the first two stages, where everyone has to start. (Unfortunately, some modern yoga teachers have jumped over these two, omitting then entirely, with some dire consequences at times.) Rather than describing them here, I'll provide a link.

http://veda.wikidot.com/yama-niyama

 

[Devils' Advocate]

Modern yoga, at least as one usually finds here in the States, has become nothing more than physical training aligned with breath techniques and some meditation. The mystical aspects have been almost entirely omitted.

 

[BigJoeNobody]

In Hinduism we have the 10 classical restraints, (yamas) and 10 classical observances (nyamas). There is some overlap with the other faiths, (more with Christianity then with Islam) but it's certainly not a perfect match. Patanjali, the father of modern yoga, is credited with codifying our ethical behaviour. He wrote about 8 stages (some call them limbs) of classical yoga. These are the first two stages, where everyone has to start. (Unfortunately, some modern yoga teachers have jumped over these two, omitting then entirely, with some dire consequences at times.) Rather than describing them here, I'll provide a link.

http://veda.wikidot.com/yama-niyama

Thanks for your link, I would prefer if you go into where those come from (if scripturally where they can be found in the Vedas).

I think maybe there is much to learn for you in terms of Islam. In the 2 stages you mentioned, there is only 1 that does not correlate to Islam as a rule or law, and that is vegetarianism. Although we preach absolute respect in that which we slaughter. Zakir Naik talks about the parallels of text a lot between Vedas and Quran. Not that I would use him as an example of great scholar, but he appears to have the comparative literature down (with knowing his flaws in christian analysis, I would venture to say he doesn't get it all correct with Vedics either).

Modern yoga, at least as one usually finds here in the States, has become nothing more than physical training aligned with breath techniques and some meditation. The mystical aspects have been almost entirely omitted.

Hence the reason the first time I heard someone speaking of Yoga as a religious view I wondered "what does stretching, breathing, basic meditation, and women wearing clothing to enhance the look of their rear have to do with religion.

 

[Senthil]

Modern yoga, at least as one usually finds here in the States, has become nothing more than physical training aligned with breath techniques and some meditation. The mystical aspects have been almost entirely omitted.

Hatha yoga is the third stage, coming after yamas and niyamas. Yes, the term 'yoga' has been hugely distorted. You're right it is stretching exercises with some breathing thrown in for good measure.

 

[Senthil]

Thanks for your link, I would prefer if you go into where those come from (if scripturally where they can be found in the Vedas).

It is all from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. He was a mystic from around 300BC, a contemporary of Tirumular. Hindu scripture is much more than the Vedas, although undoubtedly the Vedas will contain much similar stuff, but earlier than Patanjali.

We don't have rules of law. They are considered guidelines.

 

[Senthil]

So I looked at the items in the first post to see if we have comparable concepts. Here's the brief summary. Because Hinduism is so vast, I'm trying to generalise. If someone looks hard enough, they can find similarities somewhere, I suppose.

Christianity
1) We have no such concept.
2) no such concept
3) no such concept
4) holy days vary from sect to sect, and all days are holy
5-10) yes we have similar, but nuances may vary

Islam
1)no such concept
2) no such concept
3) we use many names for all Gods, some rituals involve saying 1008 names
4) no such concept
5) Yes we have something similar
6) no such concept
7) not considered evil, just ignorant, uneducated
8) definitely not, would be against ahimsa
9) no idea, the definition of truth varies
10) not sure

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

Thought I still had World Scriptures a Comparative Anthology, but could not find it. But here is a chapter covering this very topic:

http://www.unification.net/ws/theme014.htm