“摩西十诫”的文化内涵

郭连法

2013-1-9 11:11:30 来源：《中国宗教》20xx年第10 期

“摩西十诫”是圣经中的重要篇章，其着重于行为规范训导的故事，以深入浅出的形式，在世俗社会中世代传承，西方文明中的伦理道德，或多或少都受到其有形无形的教育与启示。

“摩西十诫”作为最早的宗教律法之一，体现的是上帝与人类的“约法”。这是上下约法，是单方面的约定。虽然契约讲求对等原则，但它却是西方律法之所由然，因为它包含了人类早期法律中一些最基本的东西，是后世西方契约性社会结构中最深远的文化基础之一。“摩西十诫”经历了从旧约到新约再到世俗化的演变过程，深深影响了西方文明中的社会法律、社会道德伦理。

“摩西十诫”不是通过一部分人为另一部分人立法，而是通过上帝与人订立契约的方式来体现，这就赋予法律以神圣性和相互责任上的关联性，具有不仅是“他律”，同时也是“自律”的内涵，这也成为一种世俗社会的道德戒律。这一道德戒律在《申命记》中被再次重申，并和其他申命契约书一道载于律法书中，存放在约柜里。圣经中说，为使人类不忘自己与上帝的契约，增强遵守律法的自觉性，契约书每隔7年必须从约柜中拿出，在人们面前重新宣读一次，强调了对法律的内心的虔诚和守法的自觉。

西方的律法是按基督教神学的诫命、典章和律例这三部分内容组成的。“摩西十诫”是律法的基本内容，典章和律例是根据十条诫命发展出来的。典章是为了维持人与人之间的正常关系，也可以说是社会生活的规范；律例是维持人与神的正常关系的定规，关乎人如何活在神的面前，包括如何维持自己生活在圣洁里，如何将神的性情表达出来。这三个内容组合成律法，蕴含了“遵守法律与契约，如同内心的虔诚”这样一种含义。事实上，“摩西十诫”一直是西方公民社会运行规则的基础。西方社会里许多矛盾的协调以及整个社会文明的演进，都有这个思想的烙印。基督宗教作为人的“心灵安慰和支撑”的理念始终延续下来，对促进西方社会的发展与稳定起到不可替代的作用，也得到了世俗社会的普遍认同。 “契约”是圣经文化中的重要思想，这种契约因出于至高无上者的单方面诫命而具有律法的性质，“摩西十诫”中的约法条款也被视为是一种道德规定。在

十诫中，除前3条强调对上帝的信仰外，其余7条都是有关世俗社会伦理道德方面的。如“要孝敬父母”、“不可作假见证陷害人”等。可以说，“摩西十诫”将人世间的道德、伦理与法律基于一体，并启示后世的经籍契约，它既是一种道德要求，也是一种法律规范。

“契约”蕴涵着双方基于合议而达成的权利与义务平等这一人类永恒的理念，具有确立平等、实现自由、维护权利、保障安全、平衡利害、敦化道德、规范秩序等意义。契约祈求的这种公正或正义原则，是以西方初民们的“自然状态”为依凭而提出的一种理念。这里所说的“自然状态”，是指人的趋利避害和自保自利的自然本性。这种利己和自私的本性所带来的必然是尔虞我诈、相互残害的社会现实状态。为免除人人自危、防范自保，通过“契约”结成相安稳定的社会并进而形成国家。

康德曾说，人类文明是由“恶”推动的。康德所说的“恶”，就是指追求功利和由此导致的竞争、排他等行为。如果没有这种由人与人之间的差别和对立所引发的竞争，就不会有生存的危机感，就不会迸发出求生存的冲动，就不会产生创造发明的灵感，就不会有文明的阶段性进步。但是，“恶”如果不加以限制而任其膨胀的话，必将导致人人自危，结果是整个文明的坍塌和社会的大倒退。因此对人性中“恶”的动机以及其他缺陷，需要借法制来加以防范。同时，人性中又有着向善的倾向，能够用道德来予以教化。所以，法制与道德、他律与自律同为规范人的行为的手段，在内容上有交叉和重合的方面，在形式上也可以相互转化。这就是西方社会契约论的历史嬗变过程。

（作者郭连法，工作单位为淮阴师范学院外国语学院）

 

第二篇：摩西十诫与法

2014-2015学年第一学期

The Story of Bible

课程论文

Title：

院系班级： 13级法学（1）班

学 号：

姓 名： 席缘

任课教师：_____袁丽英_____

20xx年

The Relationship Between Law And Religion

----In The Angle Of The Ten Commandments

Abstract

In modern society, we have a common point of view that we have three major rules on our behavior, they are morality, religion and law.[1] We can tell the differences among these concepts easily, but when it comes to a specific item of these rules, we can’t, because these rules share a long and interlaced history. Therefore, some rules are included in not only one of them, and some rules are incorporated separately. The Ten Commandments in the Bible is a part of Pentateuxos. Pentateuxos is regarded as the second written codex in human history, but Bible is a religious classic book. So, it will be interesting to discuss the relationship between law and religion in the angle of the Ten Commandments.

在现代社会，我们普遍认为约束人们的行为规范有三种，分别是道德、宗教和法律。对于这三个概念，我们很容易区分，但是碰到具体的某条规范的时候，我们却难以辨别。原因是这些种规范都有着悠久的且相互交织的历史，这使得它们有着一些共同的规范，有一些则是独有的。摩西十诫是《圣经》中《摩西五经》的一部分，《摩西五经》被认为是人类历史上第二部成文法典，但是《圣经》又是一部宗教经典。所以，从摩西十诫的角度来讨论道德，宗教和法律的关系是很有意思的。

1. The History Of The Ten Commandments

According to the Old Testament of Bible, the history book of Jew, about 3800 years ago, the ancestor of Jew, Hebrews, were roaming in the desert of mid-east. Because of their faith to Jehovah, the God bestowed Canaan (in today’s Palestine) to them as the Promised Land, their everlasting home. But a serious drought made them fled to Egypt and became slaves. 400 years later, with the leading of Moses and the help of Jehovah, they escaped from Egypt. On the way back to the Promised Land, under Mount Sinai, Moses and his people prayed for a way from the God. An invisible hand carved The Ten Commandments in the cliff of the mount as the covenants between god and human. Moses took them back and all the Hebrews should obey the Ten Commandments. Below are the contents of the ten commandments:

(1) Having only one god;

(2) Avoiding the use of God’s name in vain;

(3)Keeping holy the Sabbath;

(4) Honoring one’s parents;

(5) Avoiding murder;

(6) Avoiding adultery;

(7) Avoiding theft;

(8) Avoiding lust;

(9) Avoiding lies;

(10) Avoiding coveting of another’s property.[2]

2. The Ten Commandments and law

In the text of the Ten Commandments, we can see that murder, rape, theft and perjury, which are regulated in modern criminal law, are mentioned in the last 5 terms. But in fact, the influence of the Ten Commandments is not only just its short text. Its spirit influenced the western legality in the below 3 aspects:

(1). First, the Ten Commandments reflects a covenant thought that is Equality. Fichte thinks that contract can be divided into two categories, one is property contract, another is protection contract, what Moses got is the later one.[3]

Imagine the whole Ten Commandments as a contract, this contract requests Hebrews keep their faith to Jehovah and Jehovah would protect them. Therefore everyone should obey this contract, no matter God or human, each side is equal. If man violate the contract, disaster will come, and if the God violates, his people will betray him.

(2). Second, the influence on western judicial procedure. Term 9 forbids lying, so, in the future courts, witnesses and lawyers should raise his hand and promise that what he said is true, and this procedure is inevitable.

(3). Third, definite personal right and duty. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me[4]. But in fact, the specific punishment is their own mind, this made people keep their faith to obey the laws. Definitely, this would be a great influence on western history of law.

3. Conclusion

Law and religion, are two aspects of human experiences, or humanity. Human have to face the unknown future all the time, in this way, he have to believe the verity beyond himself, if not the society will decline and fade out, and never come back. Meanwhile, human faces social conflicts everywhere and everytime, in this way, he need legality, if not, the social will unravel and breakup.[5] Berman have told us his point about religion and law, religion is a beyond-value and law is an objective-value. The Ten Commandments have the both features of these two values. Therefore, the Ten Commandments is not only their religious belief, but also their law.[6]

So we can draw a conclusion that religion has great juridical features, but law and religion are opposite in many aspects. Usually, law is based on morality, and morality is based on religion. Their oppositions keep them individual from each other and develop individually, and the conflicts between them accelerate their development.

The contents of the Ten Commandments made a great influence on the history of law, such as the free principle of contract on civil laws, and some crime regulated on criminal laws, they are all stay alive today.

Bibliography

[1]. [美] E.博登海默，法理学：法律哲学与法律方法[M].北京：中国政法大学出版社，2004

[2] [4] 中国基督教协会，圣经·出埃及记[M]．南京：南京爱德印刷有限公司，1995

[3]. [德]费希特．自然法权基础[M]．北京：商务印书馆，2004．

[5]. [美]伯尔曼著，梁治平译．法律与宗教[M]．香港：三联书店出版社，1991

[6]. 余宸歆，从“摩西十诫”看法律和宗教的关系[J]，20xx年04期