The Ten Commandments mean that there is more to life than merely being an irrational animal of instinct.
The Ten Commandments clearly outline that we are not only social creatures but also rational creatures. Consequently, they inform us that we have an obligation to ourselves as human beings to work out the reason why we exist.
The Ten Commandments were given to the people who came out of Egypt, but because of the typology that is contained in them, the discerning reader realizes that they are applicable to every individual who has been born.
Abraham is accredited with having kept God's commandments, statutes and laws (Genesis 26:5). To suggest that this does not include the Ten Commandments appears to be a form of arrogance, as the implication is that they are included within the "commandments" or "laws" that he kept--if not within the statutes.
Moreover, the First of the Ten Comments begins with "And God spoke these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land...." It just so happens that Abraham was "brought out of the land". He also responded to God's voice in doing so.
Hence, we read in the Old Testament: Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). And in the New Testament: "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance...." (Hebrews 11:8).
Is this not Abraham's calling by God to leave his place of abode and venture elsewhere similar to the Hebrews coming out of the Land and responding to God's voice?
Considering that Abraham is "the father of all who believe" (Romans 4:11) the significance of the similarity cannot be understated.
Considering that Abraham is "the father of all who believe" (Romans 4:11) the significance of the similarity cannot be understated.
Genesis 26:5 refers to Abraham obeying God's voice, along with keeping God's commandments; as well as keeping God's charge, statutes and laws.
Essentially, the Ten Commandments mean that there is more to life than being born to die, there is actually a purpose for our existence that is based upon a relationship with the Creator.
The atheist has to resolve how significance can be validated and vindicated in what is ultimately a meaningless existence, if humans are mere creations of some evolutionary principle that governs the Universe. Individually, while atheists may believe that they are free agents, they are merely robots controlled by a force that dispenses with them at will. Ultimately, they have no choice that is of eternal significance; therefore, in accordance with their philosophy, the atheist's life is futile.
Even the Buddhist concept of being some nondescript energy within a finite form that seeks to alleviate suffering only to eventually dissipate into non-existence does not resolve the atheist's predicament: How do I find ultimate meaning for having existed?
The reality is that without a purpose there is no need for morality, for everything is futile. The Ten Commandments provide us with morality, and thereby indicate that there is a purpose for existence; that purpose is to be found by seeking to understand the will of the Creator, who brings everything into being in accordance to the counsel of His will (Ephesian 1:11).
The wise seek to learn from the Omniscient and not from the ignorant ones who have not yet lived 120 years.
The wise seek to learn from the Omniscient and not from the ignorant ones who have not yet lived 120 years.
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