Hi, @LightotwMichael, thank you for answering my question. You are incorrect, and I will show you what I mean. Thread.
#atheist #exChristian #bible #TenCommandments /1 https://twitter.com/LightotwMichael/status/1388240696310652931

Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 contain the Ten Commandments most of us are familiar with: honor father & mother, don't lie / adulterate / steal.

Exodus 34 contains a different set of Ten Commandments. Scholars call it the "Ritual Decalogue." /2

It occurs after Moses smashes the original tablets in anger when he sees the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. God calls Moses back up the mountain and says, "let's have a do-over."

But instead of a facsimile of the first Ten, we get a surprise. /3

There are similarities, but "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk?!" What is this??

But the text says quite clearly: "The Ten Commandments."

What are we to make of this? /4

From the Wikipedia article "Ritual Decalogue":
"The commandments in the Ritual Decalogue are expanded upon in the Covenant Code, which occurs prior to it in the Torah, and thus have the impression of being a summary of the important points in the Code."
[continued...] /5

"The Covenant Code is believed by most scholars of biblical criticism as having originally been a separate text to the Torah, and thus there is much debate as to the relationship between the Ritual Decalogue and Covenant Code." /6

The idea of multiple ancient traditions being incorporated by a redactor into what we now have as the Pentateuch is not new. It in itself should not damage anyone's faith.

But it becomes a problem if you insist that the Bible is "inerrant" and wholly inspired by God. /7

The same process of a redactor assembling multiple stories or traditions into one narrative is the reason we have a rather awkward-reading Noah story. There are actually two Noah stories, interwoven.

Again, not a big deal if you accept biblical scholarship, but... /8

...if you insist that the Bible must be literally-factually true whenever it speaks on issues that touch on (or appear to touch on) history, geology, biology, astronomy, etc, this will fail. The Bible does not "come from God" like a magic book that is correct... /9

...over against modern ways of knowing, like cosmology and developmental biology.

These are but a few pieces of evidence in a larger puzzle that, when put together, bring us a picture of a man-made holy book. The Bible is as human as we are. /10

I've spent more of my time assembling this thread for our conversation, Michael. Please do not waste it.

In all sincerity, I do wish you a good life, one with loving friends and family around you. But YEC is something ugly, and so are the means by which people defend it. /end