Debate Magazine
Bachmann, in Her Farewell Address, Preaches About Moses to the House of Non-Representatives
Posted on the 16 December 2014 by LowellHaven't we had enough in this country of Ms. Bachmann, the mythical Moses and the Ten Commands?
For some reason, Christians fundies get their undies all knotted up about the mythical Moses and the Ten Commands. You'd think they'd get more excited about the legendary Jesus, whom they claim to worship and adore. But nooooooo.
Michele Bachmann, who refuses to fade quietly away into a Minnesota snow drift, felt called upon to give a farewell rant in the House of Non-Representatives, during which she proclaimed that they were "lawgivers," they "make the laws." That's not been the case lately. They're supposed to make the laws but they've tended to neglect that obligation because for the last six years they've been too busy trying to beat up Obama and kill the laws they already made!
For Bachmann, though, the most important lawgiver in all of American history is not to be found in the annals of the U.S. Congress, but in the Hebrew Bible. The lawgiver was the mythical Moses. The House of Non-Representatives, said Ms. Bachmann, is under the authority of Moses, "because he was chosen by God" and was "entrusted with the basis of all law" which, of course was the Ten Commands, according to this font of dumbness from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Many, if not most of the critical Biblical scholars today, agree that the figure of Moses in the Hebrew Bible is not an historical figure. He's a myth or legend. The story of the Exodus, the wandering in the desert for 40 years, the giving of the Ten Commands, are all mythical and have no basis in fact. That doesn't necessarily mean there is nothing in the Hebrew Bible of value, but it does knock some of the piss and vinegar out of things like the Ten Commands.
As I've said before, I don't understand why fundy Christians get so worked up about the Ten Commands in the first place. There are at least three versions in the Hebrew Bible and they all vary and even the version that fundys most cherish seems quite irrelevant to the political life of our country.
Consider the first command to honor the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before you, it says, [which means, of course, so far as the writer was concerned, there were many godly options but the Israelites were to chose Yahweh!]. What in the world does this have to do with the government of the U.S.A.?
I also like the one dissing graven images, i.e., pictures, sculptures, drawings, etc. Somehow, this is never discssed; it's ignored totally - because it is totally irrelevant to anything! But it remains one of the 10 commands to not make any graven images!
And should the government really concern itself with people who covet their neighbor's possessions? That would be a pretty big job.
So, what the hell is this dingbat from the northland talking about? How do these "laws" form the "basis of all law"?
They don't, of course, except in La-la-land which is another way of describing the mind of Ms. Bachmann - may she rest in peace. When she gets back to Minnesota, she better hope that she doesn't fall in love with and worship a golden calf, 'cause God slew a bunch of the Israelites who made that mistake! Over 3,000 of them.