1 00:00:00,973 --> 00:00:03,343 - [Narrator] The Bible, a book whose origins 2 00:00:03,343 --> 00:00:06,143 lie thousands of years ago in the Middle East 3 00:00:06,143 --> 00:00:08,213 and still inspires billions today. 4 00:00:08,213 --> 00:00:12,083 - Creations roots us in the wonder of our own drama. 5 00:00:12,083 --> 00:00:13,310 What a beginning. 6 00:00:14,173 --> 00:00:16,933 - [Narrator] Its teachings provoke controversy. 7 00:00:16,933 --> 00:00:19,753 - The Ten Commandments are the hysterical believings 8 00:00:19,753 --> 00:00:22,093 of a group of desert tribes. 9 00:00:22,093 --> 00:00:24,973 - We know the Bible is completely accurate. 10 00:00:24,973 --> 00:00:28,460 - It shows me how dangerous Revelation can be. 11 00:00:28,460 --> 00:00:31,573 - "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." 12 00:00:31,573 --> 00:00:33,703 - [Narrator] Seven figures from different walks of life 13 00:00:33,703 --> 00:00:36,253 offer their personal perspective on the best-selling book 14 00:00:36,253 --> 00:00:39,090 of all time and what it means to them. 15 00:00:39,090 --> 00:00:42,986 - The women of the Bible still speak to us today. 16 00:00:43,933 --> 00:00:45,686 - Who was this Jesus Christ, 17 00:00:45,686 --> 00:00:48,162 and who was it that murdered him? 18 00:00:48,162 --> 00:00:50,213 (dramatic music) 19 00:00:50,213 --> 00:00:52,433 - Even if you've never read a word of the Bible, 20 00:00:52,433 --> 00:00:55,066 your life will have been shaped by it. 21 00:00:57,783 --> 00:00:59,053 - [Narrator] In this program, 22 00:00:59,053 --> 00:01:01,896 Ann Widdecombe explores the Law of Moses. 23 00:01:11,173 --> 00:01:15,106 - Exodus, the second book of the Bible, is an epic tale. 24 00:01:15,963 --> 00:01:19,443 It tells how the children of Israel escaped from the slavery 25 00:01:19,443 --> 00:01:24,256 of Egypt, of the often-reluctant leadership of Moses, 26 00:01:25,313 --> 00:01:29,393 of how the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert 27 00:01:29,393 --> 00:01:32,823 until they found the land God had promised them. 28 00:01:32,823 --> 00:01:37,113 But above all, it's the story of how God gave his laws 29 00:01:37,113 --> 00:01:41,440 to his people and commanded them to live by them. 30 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,153 (dramatic music) 31 00:01:43,153 --> 00:01:46,723 - The Jewish people had in their hands the commandments, 32 00:01:46,723 --> 00:01:50,826 which were the beacon of social justice for all eternity. 33 00:01:52,103 --> 00:01:54,973 - [Ann] The Ten Commandments God gave to Moses 34 00:01:54,973 --> 00:01:58,993 also became the cornerstone of Christianity. 35 00:01:58,993 --> 00:02:01,853 - The law shows us how to live in the image of God, 36 00:02:01,853 --> 00:02:04,306 be generous in the way that God is generous. 37 00:02:05,363 --> 00:02:09,083 - [Ann] These laws shaped our society and our lives, 38 00:02:09,083 --> 00:02:11,643 and I think they're hugely important. 39 00:02:11,643 --> 00:02:13,496 But not everyone agrees. 40 00:02:14,393 --> 00:02:15,813 - These damn commandments of yours. 41 00:02:15,813 --> 00:02:17,273 You say they've made life better. 42 00:02:17,273 --> 00:02:19,843 I say they've suppressed and tyrannized and bullied. 43 00:02:19,843 --> 00:02:21,753 - Dump the Old Testament, start afresh. 44 00:02:21,753 --> 00:02:24,281 You're saddled with this savage Judaism, 45 00:02:24,281 --> 00:02:25,703 I submit that there's actually evil. 46 00:02:25,703 --> 00:02:28,643 - I don't mind being saddled with the Ten Commandments. 47 00:02:28,643 --> 00:02:30,553 I've never made a secret of the fact 48 00:02:30,553 --> 00:02:33,943 that I believe in the Ten Commandments, and in this film, 49 00:02:33,943 --> 00:02:35,813 I'm going in search of them. 50 00:02:35,813 --> 00:02:39,673 I want to find out more about where these laws came from, 51 00:02:39,673 --> 00:02:42,493 trace them through our history, and discover 52 00:02:42,493 --> 00:02:46,813 how they've shaped our society for over two millennia. 53 00:02:46,813 --> 00:02:48,126 Why are they so important, 54 00:02:49,703 --> 00:02:51,863 and would our nation be better off 55 00:02:51,863 --> 00:02:54,786 if we lived by them today? 56 00:02:56,854 --> 00:03:00,437 (tense instrumental music) 57 00:03:04,272 --> 00:03:07,689 (upbeat dramatic music) 58 00:03:13,748 --> 00:03:15,453 The Ten Commandments. 59 00:03:15,453 --> 00:03:16,713 I learnt them as a child, 60 00:03:16,713 --> 00:03:19,373 and they've been the moral compass of my life, 61 00:03:19,373 --> 00:03:22,333 telling me what was right and what was wrong. 62 00:03:22,333 --> 00:03:24,493 And for hundreds of years, 63 00:03:24,493 --> 00:03:28,013 the same was true of British society. 64 00:03:28,013 --> 00:03:32,385 But in the space of my lifetime, all that has changed. 65 00:03:32,385 --> 00:03:35,533 (upbeat dramatic music continues) 66 00:03:35,533 --> 00:03:40,533 When I looked at Britain today, many of us seem better off. 67 00:03:40,833 --> 00:03:44,043 We wear designer clothes, go on exotic holidays, 68 00:03:44,043 --> 00:03:47,176 and spend our time and money acquiring material things. 69 00:03:49,223 --> 00:03:53,953 But scratch the surface, and you find a society in turmoil. 70 00:03:53,953 --> 00:03:57,383 Marital breakdown, alcohol and drug abuse, 71 00:03:57,383 --> 00:04:01,202 sexual promiscuity, teenage pregnancies, 72 00:04:01,202 --> 00:04:02,906 and violent crime. 73 00:04:03,933 --> 00:04:07,073 It seems to me that our moral core, 74 00:04:07,073 --> 00:04:11,858 our very sense of what is right and wrong, is disappearing. 75 00:04:11,858 --> 00:04:14,775 (jet engine roars) 76 00:04:17,083 --> 00:04:20,103 We've departed from the Law of Moses. 77 00:04:20,103 --> 00:04:23,846 But who precisely was he, and where did his laws come from? 78 00:04:24,729 --> 00:04:27,312 (gentle music) 79 00:04:29,570 --> 00:04:32,543 (engine hums) 80 00:04:32,543 --> 00:04:35,813 My search for Moses begins here at Egypt 81 00:04:35,813 --> 00:04:37,723 where, according to one theory, 82 00:04:37,723 --> 00:04:40,183 he was born in a town called Avaris 83 00:04:40,183 --> 00:04:43,006 more than 1,000 years before Christ. 84 00:04:45,673 --> 00:04:48,463 Three millennia later, the story of his life 85 00:04:48,463 --> 00:04:51,126 is still celebrated in popular culture. 86 00:04:52,603 --> 00:04:55,403 His people, the Israelites, were slaves, 87 00:04:55,403 --> 00:04:58,913 and the ruler of Egypt decided to cull their population 88 00:04:58,913 --> 00:05:02,306 by drowning all firstborn male babies in the Nile. 89 00:05:03,143 --> 00:05:05,543 But Moses was rescued from his fate 90 00:05:05,543 --> 00:05:08,653 by the pharaoh's daughter who adopted him, 91 00:05:08,653 --> 00:05:10,776 and he grew up in the royal court, 92 00:05:11,673 --> 00:05:15,863 until one day, he saw a slave master mistreating 93 00:05:15,863 --> 00:05:17,682 some fellow Israelites. 94 00:05:17,682 --> 00:05:20,830 Enraged, Moses killed the Egyptian. 95 00:05:20,830 --> 00:05:24,113 (gentle music continues) 96 00:05:24,113 --> 00:05:26,453 I've always been struck by the idea 97 00:05:26,453 --> 00:05:28,833 that the Bible's greatest lawgiver 98 00:05:28,833 --> 00:05:31,416 began his journey by committing murder. 99 00:05:33,083 --> 00:05:35,733 So how does the church explain this episode 100 00:05:35,733 --> 00:05:37,066 in Moses' story? 101 00:05:39,303 --> 00:05:43,133 - He did it to achieve a kind of justice. 102 00:05:43,133 --> 00:05:46,723 He preferred to identify with his own community 103 00:05:46,723 --> 00:05:51,036 who were humiliated, enslaved, and treated unjustly 104 00:05:51,036 --> 00:05:56,036 than the palace of the pharaoh and all the easy life 105 00:05:56,253 --> 00:06:00,403 and nice life as a son of the princess. 106 00:06:00,403 --> 00:06:04,786 This led him to escape into the desert. 107 00:06:04,786 --> 00:06:07,033 (dramatic music) 108 00:06:07,033 --> 00:06:10,063 - [Ann] Moses was now a fugitive from the Egyptians. 109 00:06:10,063 --> 00:06:11,303 For the next 20 years, 110 00:06:11,303 --> 00:06:13,353 he lived as a shepherd in the wilderness. 111 00:06:14,423 --> 00:06:17,976 Then he had an experience which would change his life. 112 00:06:19,393 --> 00:06:23,393 God, appearing to Moses in the flames of a burning bush, 113 00:06:23,393 --> 00:06:25,593 told him to return to Egypt 114 00:06:25,593 --> 00:06:28,006 and free his people from slavery. 115 00:06:29,353 --> 00:06:31,663 The idea of confronting the pharaoh, 116 00:06:31,663 --> 00:06:36,173 the leader of a world superpower, daunted Moses, 117 00:06:36,173 --> 00:06:38,453 and I can't say I blame him. 118 00:06:38,453 --> 00:06:41,533 He was a bit of a reluctant leader, wasn't he? 119 00:06:41,533 --> 00:06:43,773 - Yes, because he felt very much 120 00:06:43,773 --> 00:06:46,833 of his limitation as a person. 121 00:06:46,833 --> 00:06:50,473 He stuttered when he spoke, and also he felt 122 00:06:50,473 --> 00:06:55,153 that this goal is big responsibility for him. 123 00:06:55,153 --> 00:07:00,153 But he has something which made his own people respect him, 124 00:07:00,373 --> 00:07:02,515 which is a trust in God. 125 00:07:02,515 --> 00:07:05,182 (hopeful music) 126 00:07:06,303 --> 00:07:08,823 - Moses returned to Egypt, 127 00:07:08,823 --> 00:07:12,623 and after God had sent 10 devastating plagues 128 00:07:12,623 --> 00:07:15,703 and destroyed the Egyptian Army in the Red Sea, 129 00:07:15,703 --> 00:07:18,993 the Israelites were freed from slavery. 130 00:07:18,993 --> 00:07:20,373 With Moses at their head, 131 00:07:20,373 --> 00:07:23,773 they set off for the Promised Land. 132 00:07:23,773 --> 00:07:26,143 But first he led them to the place 133 00:07:26,143 --> 00:07:29,780 where God had appeared to him, Mount Sinai. 134 00:07:29,780 --> 00:07:32,603 (hopeful music continues) 135 00:07:32,603 --> 00:07:36,343 But it wasn't long before the Israelites began complaining. 136 00:07:36,343 --> 00:07:38,026 (engine roars) 137 00:07:38,026 --> 00:07:38,859 (birds chirping) 138 00:07:38,859 --> 00:07:41,653 You know, I can't help feeling sorry for Moses. 139 00:07:41,653 --> 00:07:42,803 Like all leaders, 140 00:07:42,803 --> 00:07:46,143 he found that whatever he did wasn't right. 141 00:07:46,143 --> 00:07:47,403 There were the Israelites, 142 00:07:47,403 --> 00:07:51,483 begging him to get them freed from slavery, out of Egypt. 143 00:07:51,483 --> 00:07:54,023 Then when he got them out of Egypt, they wanted to go back. 144 00:07:54,023 --> 00:07:56,023 They missed their home comforts, 145 00:07:56,023 --> 00:07:59,043 and they missed the certainty that they'd had. 146 00:07:59,043 --> 00:08:02,563 They turned on Moses to such an extent 147 00:08:02,563 --> 00:08:05,453 that they even threatened to stone him to death, 148 00:08:05,453 --> 00:08:09,923 but then Moses came here to Sinai 149 00:08:09,923 --> 00:08:13,093 and to a meeting with God that was to change 150 00:08:13,093 --> 00:08:15,513 the course of religious history, 151 00:08:15,513 --> 00:08:19,789 and I would say, the course of history itself. 152 00:08:19,789 --> 00:08:21,315 (engine roars) 153 00:08:21,315 --> 00:08:24,003 (triumphant music) 154 00:08:24,003 --> 00:08:27,203 Just a few months into their epic journey, 155 00:08:27,203 --> 00:08:31,463 the Bible tells us that Moses led his people here 156 00:08:31,463 --> 00:08:34,593 to Mount Sinai in modern Egypt. 157 00:08:34,593 --> 00:08:37,463 The Israelites were a nation of refugees 158 00:08:37,463 --> 00:08:40,583 without land, without homes, 159 00:08:40,583 --> 00:08:43,963 and they were on the verge of rebellion. 160 00:08:43,963 --> 00:08:47,653 And then God summoned Moses for a revelation 161 00:08:47,653 --> 00:08:50,963 that would shape Jewish and Christian societies 162 00:08:50,963 --> 00:08:53,576 for the next 3,000 years. 163 00:08:55,473 --> 00:08:56,323 Well, here we are. 164 00:08:56,323 --> 00:08:58,983 I'm beginning my trek up to Sinai. 165 00:08:58,983 --> 00:09:00,263 Feels okay now. 166 00:09:00,263 --> 00:09:02,313 What it will feel like in a few hours' time, 167 00:09:02,313 --> 00:09:03,528 I'm not sure, 168 00:09:03,528 --> 00:09:05,978 but I shall remember that Moses did it before me. 169 00:09:06,858 --> 00:09:09,608 (soothing music) 170 00:09:10,705 --> 00:09:14,146 (people chattering) (shoes thumping) 171 00:09:14,146 --> 00:09:18,479 (man speaking in foreign language) 172 00:09:26,946 --> 00:09:29,696 (wind whooshing) 173 00:09:35,841 --> 00:09:39,424 (dramatic soothing music) 174 00:09:43,333 --> 00:09:44,833 - Of course, it's very easy standing here 175 00:09:44,833 --> 00:09:48,113 just to be captured by the beauty of it all. 176 00:09:48,113 --> 00:09:51,513 But this was also the place where God gave us his law, 177 00:09:51,513 --> 00:09:56,357 he gave us the precepts by which he commanded us to live. 178 00:09:56,357 --> 00:09:59,993 And that's a very awe-inspiring thought out here 179 00:09:59,993 --> 00:10:01,241 in the desert. 180 00:10:01,241 --> 00:10:06,241 (gentle music) (birds chirping) 181 00:10:06,763 --> 00:10:10,683 The Bible tells us that as part of his revelation, 182 00:10:10,683 --> 00:10:14,523 God wrote down his laws on two tablets of stone 183 00:10:14,523 --> 00:10:17,776 using his finger to carve these words. 184 00:10:20,652 --> 00:10:23,485 (dramatic music) 185 00:10:24,890 --> 00:10:27,173 - [Narrator] "I am the Lord thy God 186 00:10:27,173 --> 00:10:29,516 who has brought thee out of slavery in Egypt. 187 00:10:31,243 --> 00:10:33,616 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 188 00:10:36,323 --> 00:10:38,803 Thou shalt not make unto me an graven image 189 00:10:38,803 --> 00:10:40,203 or any likeness of anything 190 00:10:40,203 --> 00:10:42,153 that is in heaven above or earth below. 191 00:10:44,993 --> 00:10:48,403 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 192 00:10:50,563 --> 00:10:53,156 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 193 00:10:54,713 --> 00:10:56,366 Honor thy father and thy mother. 194 00:10:57,933 --> 00:10:59,106 Thou shalt not kill. 195 00:11:00,513 --> 00:11:02,076 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 196 00:11:03,813 --> 00:11:04,956 Thou shalt not steal. 197 00:11:06,643 --> 00:11:09,393 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 198 00:11:10,873 --> 00:11:13,036 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. 199 00:11:14,163 --> 00:11:16,520 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." 200 00:11:18,913 --> 00:11:21,563 - [Ann] The Ten Commandments were just the beginning. 201 00:11:23,243 --> 00:11:27,563 According to the Bible, Moses spent a further 40 days 202 00:11:27,563 --> 00:11:30,823 on the top of this mountain while God instructed him 203 00:11:30,823 --> 00:11:34,543 with a total of 613 laws, 204 00:11:34,543 --> 00:11:38,003 or in Hebrew, mitzvot, that for Jews 205 00:11:38,003 --> 00:11:42,333 cover every aspect of their lives, from not eating pork 206 00:11:42,333 --> 00:11:44,221 to how to celebrate the Sabbath. 207 00:11:44,221 --> 00:11:47,073 (man speaks in foreign language) 208 00:11:47,073 --> 00:11:48,823 - [Ann] For Christians, however, 209 00:11:48,823 --> 00:11:53,253 the Ten Commandments are the key part of the epic encounter 210 00:11:53,253 --> 00:11:56,536 between Moses and God on Mount Sinai. 211 00:11:57,383 --> 00:12:00,723 At the foot of the mountain is Saint Catherine's Monastery, 212 00:12:00,723 --> 00:12:02,413 founded in the 6th century AD 213 00:12:03,323 --> 00:12:05,388 to venerate that revelation. 214 00:12:05,388 --> 00:12:09,805 (monks chanting in foreign language) 215 00:12:11,613 --> 00:12:15,873 - It's a beautiful scenic place in this harsh desert way, 216 00:12:15,873 --> 00:12:18,283 but above all, it is a sacred place. 217 00:12:18,283 --> 00:12:21,793 And when you stand in the church that was built in 550, 218 00:12:21,793 --> 00:12:24,183 you're overwhelmed by the sense 219 00:12:24,183 --> 00:12:27,166 of continuity and the presence of God. 220 00:12:28,543 --> 00:12:31,263 - Saint Catherine's is the place where scholars 221 00:12:31,263 --> 00:12:36,213 rediscover the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century Bible 222 00:12:36,213 --> 00:12:39,953 and the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. 223 00:12:39,953 --> 00:12:42,603 The monastery also has an extraordinary collection 224 00:12:42,603 --> 00:12:47,090 of ancient scriptures, including a 10th-century Bible. 225 00:12:47,090 --> 00:12:49,757 (gentle music) 226 00:12:55,463 --> 00:12:59,470 Just think of them writing it on these very bits of paper. 227 00:13:01,352 --> 00:13:05,102 You can just see them sitting there doing it. 228 00:13:06,272 --> 00:13:10,153 - I think there's something special about any book. 229 00:13:10,153 --> 00:13:13,013 When you see the paper or the parchment, the ink, 230 00:13:13,013 --> 00:13:14,953 this is a way of preserving 231 00:13:14,953 --> 00:13:18,333 and conveying the thoughts of another person. 232 00:13:18,333 --> 00:13:21,283 But there's something of special significance 233 00:13:21,283 --> 00:13:23,063 of manuscripts of the scriptures, 234 00:13:23,063 --> 00:13:26,806 because this then become a witness to the revelation of God. 235 00:13:28,193 --> 00:13:31,053 When Moses received the inspiration of the law, 236 00:13:31,053 --> 00:13:35,023 he recorded it so that it would be passed down in posterity, 237 00:13:35,023 --> 00:13:37,753 and these scrolls, these writings, 238 00:13:37,753 --> 00:13:39,753 were taken with the children of Israel 239 00:13:39,753 --> 00:13:41,273 when they entered the Promised Land. 240 00:13:41,273 --> 00:13:45,792 So he becomes the archetype of writers of the scriptures. 241 00:13:45,792 --> 00:13:49,063 - So Moses actually wrote the first five books of the Bible. 242 00:13:49,063 --> 00:13:53,077 - The scriptures were written by Moses himself. 243 00:13:53,077 --> 00:13:56,873 (gentle music continues) 244 00:13:56,873 --> 00:13:57,786 - [Ann] So tradition tells us 245 00:13:57,786 --> 00:14:00,603 that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis, 246 00:14:00,603 --> 00:14:02,986 which describes the story of the creation, 247 00:14:05,533 --> 00:14:08,253 as well as the books called Exodus, Leviticus, 248 00:14:08,253 --> 00:14:12,073 Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which are both his own biography 249 00:14:12,073 --> 00:14:14,926 and give all the detail of God's laws. 250 00:14:17,323 --> 00:14:21,183 His words have been read by billions of people 251 00:14:21,183 --> 00:14:24,363 as Jews and Christians traveled from the Middle East 252 00:14:24,363 --> 00:14:29,333 to Western Europe and finally across the entire world, 253 00:14:29,333 --> 00:14:31,823 taking the Bible with them. 254 00:14:31,823 --> 00:14:33,793 (gentle music continues) 255 00:14:33,793 --> 00:14:37,126 But these laws are much more than ancient history. 256 00:14:38,263 --> 00:14:41,763 Back home in England, I'm on my way to witness 257 00:14:41,763 --> 00:14:45,454 how they govern people's lives to this day. 258 00:14:45,454 --> 00:14:46,863 (upbeat music) 259 00:14:46,863 --> 00:14:48,503 I can see you have the Ten Commandments 260 00:14:48,503 --> 00:14:49,793 dominating the scene. 261 00:14:49,793 --> 00:14:53,063 - Yes, I think most synagogues have 262 00:14:53,063 --> 00:14:55,843 those tablets somewhere, but they are not 263 00:14:55,843 --> 00:14:58,293 an essential part of a synagogue. 264 00:14:58,293 --> 00:15:01,563 What is essential in the synagogue is the ark, 265 00:15:01,563 --> 00:15:04,803 the holy ark, based on the Ark of the Covenant 266 00:15:04,803 --> 00:15:05,903 that was in the temple 267 00:15:06,903 --> 00:15:09,533 where the Torah, the five books of Moses, 268 00:15:09,533 --> 00:15:12,073 the first five books of the Bible, were stored 269 00:15:12,073 --> 00:15:14,153 and I will take out one of the many 270 00:15:14,153 --> 00:15:16,353 that we are fortunate to have, 271 00:15:16,353 --> 00:15:18,763 and what we actually do is we don't say our prayers. 272 00:15:18,763 --> 00:15:20,066 We chant our prayers. 273 00:15:21,333 --> 00:15:23,943 And here, you can see the Ten Commandments 274 00:15:23,943 --> 00:15:27,183 written verse by verse. 275 00:15:27,183 --> 00:15:30,683 (Lionel chants in Hebrew) 276 00:15:47,163 --> 00:15:50,503 - So how important are the Ten Commandments? 277 00:15:50,503 --> 00:15:51,723 - They are very important. 278 00:15:51,723 --> 00:15:54,143 The commandments were the beacon 279 00:15:54,143 --> 00:15:58,103 of social justice for all eternity. 280 00:15:58,103 --> 00:16:00,033 God chose the Jews, 281 00:16:00,033 --> 00:16:03,313 not because of their any innate superiority, 282 00:16:03,313 --> 00:16:05,663 but because they were chosen to give 283 00:16:05,663 --> 00:16:09,413 to the world the commandments and the rule of the law. 284 00:16:09,413 --> 00:16:12,993 But they are only 10 of 613 commandments. 285 00:16:12,993 --> 00:16:17,993 The Ten Commandments are basic ones and include 286 00:16:18,083 --> 00:16:20,423 as subdivisions the other commandments. 287 00:16:20,423 --> 00:16:21,903 - Well, I won't put you to the test, 288 00:16:21,903 --> 00:16:23,103 but do you know them all? 289 00:16:23,103 --> 00:16:26,453 - I will tell you them all after I've revised for a year. 290 00:16:26,453 --> 00:16:31,053 - Rabbi Rosenfeld explains to me that these 613 laws 291 00:16:31,053 --> 00:16:34,573 or mitzvot govern every aspect of Jewish life, 292 00:16:34,573 --> 00:16:38,133 from morality to cleanliness and what food they can eat. 293 00:16:38,133 --> 00:16:41,483 One of these laws from the Book of Exodus tells Jews 294 00:16:41,483 --> 00:16:45,176 that they must keep milk and meat separate at all times. 295 00:16:45,176 --> 00:16:46,943 - Hello, hello. - Hello. 296 00:16:46,943 --> 00:16:50,333 - Busy preparing the bread for the Sabbath, 297 00:16:50,333 --> 00:16:54,803 and this is the best that we can do in a Jewish kitchen. 298 00:16:54,803 --> 00:16:56,423 - [Ann] Well, the first thing that strikes me is, 299 00:16:56,423 --> 00:16:57,993 you have two sinks. 300 00:16:57,993 --> 00:16:59,183 - [Lionel] Correct. 301 00:16:59,183 --> 00:17:01,073 - You have two ovens. 302 00:17:01,073 --> 00:17:02,203 - Two ovens. 303 00:17:02,203 --> 00:17:03,793 - You have two of everything? 304 00:17:03,793 --> 00:17:07,283 - We have two crockery, cutlery, even two dishwashers. 305 00:17:07,283 --> 00:17:08,193 Now I have to say- 306 00:17:08,193 --> 00:17:09,481 - Is that Moses' fault? 307 00:17:09,481 --> 00:17:13,493 - (laughs) Basically, it all came from the dietary laws. 308 00:17:13,493 --> 00:17:15,733 - As a Christian, I try to follow the commandment 309 00:17:15,733 --> 00:17:19,653 to keep the Sabbath as a day of rest, but Jews have scores 310 00:17:19,653 --> 00:17:23,124 of addition rules which expand on that idea. 311 00:17:23,124 --> 00:17:24,265 Can you give me some examples 312 00:17:24,265 --> 00:17:26,193 of what you can and can't do? 313 00:17:26,193 --> 00:17:30,363 - Well, you can't carry outside your private dwelling 314 00:17:30,363 --> 00:17:31,196 on the Sabbath. 315 00:17:31,196 --> 00:17:33,133 - You can't carry? - You can't carry. 316 00:17:33,133 --> 00:17:34,373 You can't use your car. 317 00:17:34,373 --> 00:17:35,890 - You can't drive? - You can't drive it. 318 00:17:35,890 --> 00:17:38,023 - Because you can't start the engine, 319 00:17:38,023 --> 00:17:40,103 because the spark is generated. 320 00:17:40,103 --> 00:17:42,993 And Torah law, "You shall not burn fire on the Sabbath." 321 00:17:42,993 --> 00:17:47,993 - It all seems to me an incredibly complicated business. 322 00:17:48,223 --> 00:17:50,083 You and I have in common the Old Testament. 323 00:17:50,083 --> 00:17:54,863 How come the Christians don't have to observe 613 mitzvots? 324 00:17:54,863 --> 00:17:57,143 - Well, you said, we share the Old Testament, 325 00:17:57,143 --> 00:17:59,293 but then you went onto the New, 326 00:17:59,293 --> 00:18:02,393 which isn't part of our Bible, and you devised 327 00:18:02,393 --> 00:18:04,873 a new religion which you called Christianity. 328 00:18:04,873 --> 00:18:09,443 And therefore, the Mosaic laws stopped applying to you 329 00:18:09,443 --> 00:18:10,813 the moment that you, 330 00:18:10,813 --> 00:18:14,733 in a sense, rejected the Judaism for something else. 331 00:18:14,733 --> 00:18:17,803 - I know there was a huge debate in the early church 332 00:18:17,803 --> 00:18:20,083 about whether followers of Jesus 333 00:18:20,083 --> 00:18:23,126 had to obey all the Laws of Moses. 334 00:18:24,043 --> 00:18:27,503 But I believe, from reading the Gospel of Saint Matthew, 335 00:18:27,503 --> 00:18:30,653 that Jesus gave a new interpretation of the law 336 00:18:30,653 --> 00:18:33,443 in his famous Sermon on the Mount. 337 00:18:33,443 --> 00:18:35,646 But how did Christ change the law? 338 00:18:36,683 --> 00:18:41,683 - The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus as the second Moses 339 00:18:41,933 --> 00:18:43,433 sitting down on the mountain, 340 00:18:43,433 --> 00:18:45,520 and he interprets the law and says, 341 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:47,983 "What I want is love and the generosity 342 00:18:47,983 --> 00:18:50,543 that is needed in obeying the commandments." 343 00:18:50,543 --> 00:18:52,513 When he's asked, what is the greatest commandment 344 00:18:52,513 --> 00:18:54,983 of the law, he says, "You must love the Lord your God 345 00:18:54,983 --> 00:18:56,613 with all your heart and all your soul," 346 00:18:56,613 --> 00:18:57,446 and the second commandment is, 347 00:18:57,446 --> 00:18:59,923 "You must love your neighbor as yourself." 348 00:18:59,923 --> 00:19:01,863 - That's a great summary, isn't it, of the commandments? 349 00:19:01,863 --> 00:19:06,163 - Yes, or you can use the Golden Rule, "Do not do to another 350 00:19:06,163 --> 00:19:08,783 what you do not want done to yourself," 351 00:19:08,783 --> 00:19:11,136 which Jesus also uses in the Gospel of Matthew. 352 00:19:12,143 --> 00:19:15,093 - [Ann] Christ's message of love was also tempered 353 00:19:15,093 --> 00:19:17,353 with a stricter reinterpretation 354 00:19:17,353 --> 00:19:19,003 of the laws of the Old Testament. 355 00:19:21,243 --> 00:19:22,933 - It's not enough that you 356 00:19:22,933 --> 00:19:25,573 should just not actually commit adultery, 357 00:19:25,573 --> 00:19:27,723 that you should not actually kill, 358 00:19:27,723 --> 00:19:31,453 but you mustn't get near it, and you mustn't want to kill. 359 00:19:31,453 --> 00:19:33,253 You also mustn't decide, 360 00:19:33,253 --> 00:19:35,523 I would commit adultery if I possibly could, 361 00:19:35,523 --> 00:19:37,836 going more to the spirit of the law 362 00:19:37,836 --> 00:19:40,229 than to the main letter of the law. 363 00:19:40,229 --> 00:19:42,305 (gentle music) 364 00:19:42,305 --> 00:19:45,463 - [Ann] For Christians, Christ's teaching transformed 365 00:19:45,463 --> 00:19:49,146 how they interpreted the 613 Laws of Moses. 366 00:19:50,988 --> 00:19:53,893 Paul, a central figure in the early church, 367 00:19:53,893 --> 00:19:56,823 believed his mission was to spread Christianity 368 00:19:56,823 --> 00:19:58,553 to the Gentiles. 369 00:19:58,553 --> 00:20:02,013 He argued that non-Jews did not need to follow 370 00:20:02,013 --> 00:20:05,323 all the rules of Moses, such as being circumcised 371 00:20:05,323 --> 00:20:07,873 and not eating certain foods. 372 00:20:07,873 --> 00:20:09,773 To become children of God, 373 00:20:09,773 --> 00:20:13,563 faith in Christ was what was most important. 374 00:20:13,563 --> 00:20:16,303 - Circumcision, Sabbath, and clean food 375 00:20:16,303 --> 00:20:18,443 were the three boundary markers 376 00:20:18,443 --> 00:20:21,573 which prescribed what makes a Jew. 377 00:20:21,573 --> 00:20:26,573 And Paul saw these were not necessary for salvation, 378 00:20:26,663 --> 00:20:29,333 that we are saved by Christ, not by the law. 379 00:20:29,333 --> 00:20:31,363 Salvation comes through the cross 380 00:20:31,363 --> 00:20:33,313 and through the resurrection of Christ. 381 00:20:34,383 --> 00:20:38,253 - Christianity had now developed its on distinct laws, 382 00:20:38,253 --> 00:20:41,863 based own the Ten Commandments and Jesus's interpretation 383 00:20:41,863 --> 00:20:44,173 of them, and these are the laws 384 00:20:44,173 --> 00:20:46,473 that served us for two millennia. 385 00:20:46,473 --> 00:20:50,563 But in the last 100 years, scholars have actually questioned 386 00:20:50,563 --> 00:20:54,273 the very foundations of the Bible. 387 00:20:54,273 --> 00:20:56,433 - Well, traditionally, scholars used to think 388 00:20:56,433 --> 00:20:57,266 that Moses wrote that book, 389 00:20:57,266 --> 00:20:59,893 but that was scholarship from several hundred years ago. 390 00:20:59,893 --> 00:21:02,313 By the time you get to around the 17th century 391 00:21:02,313 --> 00:21:04,603 and then moving forward into the 19th century, 392 00:21:04,603 --> 00:21:07,253 scholars began to realize that Moses was very unlikely 393 00:21:07,253 --> 00:21:09,623 to have written those books, primarily because there are 394 00:21:09,623 --> 00:21:13,053 so many conflicting ideas in those books. 395 00:21:13,053 --> 00:21:16,033 There were so many duplications and inconsistencies. 396 00:21:16,033 --> 00:21:17,493 So it's unlikely that one person 397 00:21:17,493 --> 00:21:20,183 was responsible for writing all of them. 398 00:21:20,183 --> 00:21:23,453 - [Ann] Disturbingly, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, 399 00:21:23,453 --> 00:21:25,953 along with many modern Biblical scholars, 400 00:21:25,953 --> 00:21:28,053 doesn't think Moses could have written 401 00:21:28,053 --> 00:21:29,956 the first five books of the Bible. 402 00:21:31,063 --> 00:21:33,313 She and her colleagues believe that these books 403 00:21:33,313 --> 00:21:36,933 from Genesis to Deuteronomy draw on a number 404 00:21:36,933 --> 00:21:39,343 of different historical traditions 405 00:21:39,343 --> 00:21:44,343 and were written down hundreds of years after Moses lived. 406 00:21:44,543 --> 00:21:48,523 If this theory is true, what does it mean for Moses? 407 00:21:48,523 --> 00:21:51,643 - Historically, we're not very sure about Moses at all. 408 00:21:51,643 --> 00:21:54,393 Some scholars even doubt that he actually existed. 409 00:21:54,393 --> 00:21:58,163 - So the Israelites were never enslaved in Egypt, 410 00:21:58,163 --> 00:21:59,943 there was no slave revolt, 411 00:21:59,943 --> 00:22:02,373 they didn't leave Egypt or wander rather uncertainly 412 00:22:02,373 --> 00:22:04,933 in the desert, they didn't finally arrive at a place 413 00:22:04,933 --> 00:22:06,113 that they were going to settle, 414 00:22:06,113 --> 00:22:08,403 none of that actually happened, 415 00:22:08,403 --> 00:22:10,913 it's all a figment of somebody's imagination? 416 00:22:10,913 --> 00:22:13,123 - There's no archeological evidence for a huge group 417 00:22:13,123 --> 00:22:15,723 of people leaving Egypt and coming into Canaan. 418 00:22:15,723 --> 00:22:17,733 If we take the Bible at face value, 419 00:22:17,733 --> 00:22:21,973 the Bible tells us that about 600,000 free men left Egypt 420 00:22:21,973 --> 00:22:23,293 to come into the Promised Land. 421 00:22:23,293 --> 00:22:25,833 So with their wives and their children, 422 00:22:25,833 --> 00:22:27,523 that would make about two million people. 423 00:22:27,523 --> 00:22:30,383 We would expect to find some kind of archeological trace 424 00:22:30,383 --> 00:22:32,713 of that, whether in Egyptian records 425 00:22:32,713 --> 00:22:35,343 or whether archeologically in terms of settlement patterns. 426 00:22:35,343 --> 00:22:37,150 - And somebody else wrote Deuteronomy and said, 427 00:22:37,150 --> 00:22:38,683 "I'll call him Moses." 428 00:22:38,683 --> 00:22:41,363 Well, I have to say that smacks to me, 429 00:22:41,363 --> 00:22:43,553 but let's disregard the whole of the Old Testament, 430 00:22:43,553 --> 00:22:45,183 'cause hey, it talks about God. 431 00:22:45,183 --> 00:22:47,113 - It's not to deny the historicity 432 00:22:47,113 --> 00:22:49,573 of any of these traditions necessarily. 433 00:22:49,573 --> 00:22:50,943 What's really important is that- 434 00:22:50,943 --> 00:22:53,283 - So the answer is you don't know. 435 00:22:53,283 --> 00:22:55,553 - We don't know for sure, of course. 436 00:22:55,553 --> 00:22:56,723 There may well have been an exodus. 437 00:22:56,723 --> 00:22:58,773 What we do know is that it's highly unlikely 438 00:22:58,773 --> 00:23:00,683 to have been anything of the kind of scale 439 00:23:00,683 --> 00:23:02,533 that's described in the Hebrew Bible. 440 00:23:03,923 --> 00:23:05,963 - Well, we've heard a suggestion 441 00:23:05,963 --> 00:23:08,483 that Moses may not have existed, but when pressed, 442 00:23:08,483 --> 00:23:11,553 she had to say, of course nobody could be quite sure. 443 00:23:11,553 --> 00:23:12,583 Crucially, of course, 444 00:23:12,583 --> 00:23:16,813 what matters is what the Old Testament tells us about God, 445 00:23:16,813 --> 00:23:18,663 about his relationship with man, 446 00:23:18,663 --> 00:23:21,143 about what he expects of us, 447 00:23:21,143 --> 00:23:24,703 and it isn't necessary and never has been necessary 448 00:23:24,703 --> 00:23:28,347 that every single line should be historically proven. 449 00:23:28,347 --> 00:23:31,423 (bright music) 450 00:23:31,423 --> 00:23:33,803 It's one thing to cast doubt on the origins 451 00:23:33,803 --> 00:23:37,163 of the Ten Commandments, thousands of years ago, 452 00:23:37,163 --> 00:23:39,693 but no one can deny the influence they've had 453 00:23:39,693 --> 00:23:41,703 on our society. 454 00:23:41,703 --> 00:23:45,853 I've been involved in making laws for a mere 23 years. 455 00:23:45,853 --> 00:23:49,453 But as I'm about to discover, the Ten Commandments 456 00:23:49,453 --> 00:23:53,143 have inspired British lawmakers for over a millennium. 457 00:23:53,143 --> 00:23:56,193 They've shaped our government and our lives 458 00:23:56,193 --> 00:23:58,416 since the very origins of our nation. 459 00:24:00,653 --> 00:24:04,053 300 years after Christian missionaries from Rome 460 00:24:04,053 --> 00:24:06,453 brought the Bible and its laws to England, 461 00:24:06,453 --> 00:24:10,545 they were almost wiped out by a wave of Viking invaders. 462 00:24:10,545 --> 00:24:12,003 (dramatic music) 463 00:24:12,003 --> 00:24:14,083 By the 9th century AD, 464 00:24:14,083 --> 00:24:17,583 Christian England was on the brink of annihilation, 465 00:24:17,583 --> 00:24:20,213 and a young Anglo-Saxon prince 466 00:24:20,213 --> 00:24:24,473 fought a desperate campaign to preserve his kingdom. 467 00:24:24,473 --> 00:24:28,163 After a series of bloody encounters with the Danes, 468 00:24:28,163 --> 00:24:31,953 Alfred, the only English king ever to be called great, 469 00:24:31,953 --> 00:24:35,613 defeated them to become, according to some historians, 470 00:24:35,613 --> 00:24:37,636 the first king of the English. 471 00:24:40,333 --> 00:24:42,853 Alfred didn't just save his kingdom. 472 00:24:42,853 --> 00:24:45,223 He founded the English nation. 473 00:24:45,223 --> 00:24:47,193 But to secure his rule, 474 00:24:47,193 --> 00:24:50,533 he needed to establish law and order. 475 00:24:50,533 --> 00:24:53,113 So where did the first king of the English 476 00:24:53,113 --> 00:24:55,223 look for his inspiration? 477 00:24:55,223 --> 00:24:56,743 To the Bible, of course. 478 00:24:56,743 --> 00:25:00,043 He used Moses as his role model 479 00:25:00,043 --> 00:25:01,903 to found one of the first, 480 00:25:01,903 --> 00:25:06,192 and certainly the most influential, codes of English law. 481 00:25:06,192 --> 00:25:08,020 (upbeat music) 482 00:25:08,020 --> 00:25:10,693 (people chattering) 483 00:25:10,693 --> 00:25:13,803 To find out more about this extraordinary book 484 00:25:13,803 --> 00:25:17,183 whose name in Anglo Saxon simply means the law, 485 00:25:17,183 --> 00:25:20,258 I'm traveling to Downing College in Cambridge. 486 00:25:20,258 --> 00:25:22,373 - [David] Yes, we've got an early manuscript. 487 00:25:22,373 --> 00:25:26,693 - So Alfred actually starts his law, he opens it, 488 00:25:26,693 --> 00:25:28,773 with Moses' Law. 489 00:25:28,773 --> 00:25:31,553 - Yes, this seems to be the instinctive reaction, 490 00:25:31,553 --> 00:25:32,973 but perhaps not just of Alfred 491 00:25:32,973 --> 00:25:36,583 but also of contemporaries in the early Middle Ages. 492 00:25:36,583 --> 00:25:38,263 The page that we're looking at here 493 00:25:38,263 --> 00:25:40,583 covers the Ten Commandments. 494 00:25:40,583 --> 00:25:41,973 - Oh, this is, of course, this is Old English. 495 00:25:41,973 --> 00:25:44,447 - Yes, that's right, yes. 496 00:25:44,447 --> 00:25:48,280 (David speaks in Old English) 497 00:25:51,023 --> 00:25:54,753 It's a very ambitious statement of Alfred 498 00:25:54,753 --> 00:25:57,503 to begin his law book with the Ten Commandments, 499 00:25:57,503 --> 00:26:01,823 and then move onto a whole series of selections from Exodus, 500 00:26:01,823 --> 00:26:06,323 which form a very large percentage of the book as a whole. 501 00:26:06,323 --> 00:26:09,683 - And how much of this book would be Mosaic law? 502 00:26:09,683 --> 00:26:12,143 - Well, 20% of the whole book. - [Ann] 20%? 503 00:26:12,143 --> 00:26:14,053 - Yes, I mean, it was absolutely central 504 00:26:14,053 --> 00:26:16,683 to everything that Alfred really stood for. 505 00:26:16,683 --> 00:26:19,043 - So why Moses? Why his law? 506 00:26:19,043 --> 00:26:22,513 - Yes, well, I suppose he was the law giver par excellence 507 00:26:22,513 --> 00:26:26,303 in the Old Testament, and so he was the starting point 508 00:26:26,303 --> 00:26:30,983 for all law giving and for all later law giving. 509 00:26:30,983 --> 00:26:34,483 - How important is this law? 510 00:26:34,483 --> 00:26:38,253 - Some of these principles became important in what 511 00:26:38,253 --> 00:26:40,073 will become known as the common law, 512 00:26:40,073 --> 00:26:42,203 the law by which England was governed, 513 00:26:42,203 --> 00:26:44,183 really from that period onwards. 514 00:26:44,183 --> 00:26:47,373 We could think of his reign for its longterm legacy 515 00:26:47,373 --> 00:26:49,773 as one of the most important turning points 516 00:26:49,773 --> 00:26:50,776 in English history. 517 00:26:52,033 --> 00:26:54,383 - As a Christian and a lawmaker, 518 00:26:54,383 --> 00:26:57,263 it's exciting to discover that English law 519 00:26:57,263 --> 00:27:02,263 began with the Ten Commandments, and I'm struck by the idea 520 00:27:02,343 --> 00:27:05,553 that in times of extraordinary change, these laws 521 00:27:05,553 --> 00:27:09,833 have guided us and helped transform our society. 522 00:27:09,833 --> 00:27:13,313 One of these seismic shifts was the Reformation, 523 00:27:13,313 --> 00:27:16,893 a radical movement of religious reform instigated 524 00:27:16,893 --> 00:27:19,683 by those who believed the Roman Catholic Church 525 00:27:19,683 --> 00:27:22,940 had lost sight of the laws of the Bible. 526 00:27:22,940 --> 00:27:25,163 (gentle music) 527 00:27:25,163 --> 00:27:28,443 Here in England, Henry VIII broke with Rome, 528 00:27:28,443 --> 00:27:31,443 and he declared himself to be the supreme governor 529 00:27:31,443 --> 00:27:32,963 of the Church of England. 530 00:27:32,963 --> 00:27:34,533 But his son Edward 531 00:27:34,533 --> 00:27:38,803 was crowned the first Protestant king in 1547, 532 00:27:38,803 --> 00:27:42,003 and he was even more radically reforming. 533 00:27:42,003 --> 00:27:45,493 Above all, he wanted to put the Law of Moses 534 00:27:45,493 --> 00:27:47,556 at the heart of the Christian Church. 535 00:27:48,816 --> 00:27:50,953 (bright music) 536 00:27:50,953 --> 00:27:53,313 Just a few months into his reign, 537 00:27:53,313 --> 00:27:56,553 Edward introduced one of the most influential texts 538 00:27:56,553 --> 00:28:00,010 in English history, the "Book of Common Prayer." 539 00:28:01,103 --> 00:28:04,263 This was the first time that church services were heard 540 00:28:04,263 --> 00:28:07,733 in our own language, and it became the blueprint 541 00:28:07,733 --> 00:28:10,166 for Anglican worship all over the world. 542 00:28:11,943 --> 00:28:14,283 - I don't think you can overstate the influence 543 00:28:14,283 --> 00:28:15,573 of the "Book of Common Prayer" 544 00:28:15,573 --> 00:28:19,843 in the lives of English men and women for hundreds of years. 545 00:28:19,843 --> 00:28:23,683 This was what was in every parish of the country. 546 00:28:23,683 --> 00:28:26,343 It's something that reached everybody. 547 00:28:26,343 --> 00:28:29,653 The language is powerful and beautiful and resonant. 548 00:28:29,653 --> 00:28:32,693 - Where is Moses's law in all this? How central is it? 549 00:28:32,693 --> 00:28:36,443 - It becomes a key part of the "Book of Common Prayer," 550 00:28:36,443 --> 00:28:38,183 and as you can see here, 551 00:28:38,183 --> 00:28:41,543 it comes right to the beginning of the communion service. 552 00:28:41,543 --> 00:28:44,803 So you would have heard the Ten Commandments every Sunday. 553 00:28:44,803 --> 00:28:46,643 Then after each one was read out, 554 00:28:46,643 --> 00:28:49,673 the people would say, "Lord have mercy upon us 555 00:28:49,673 --> 00:28:52,190 and incline our hearts to keep this law." 556 00:28:53,793 --> 00:28:55,553 - [Ann] The commandments were now central 557 00:28:55,553 --> 00:28:57,116 to the new Church of England. 558 00:28:59,733 --> 00:29:03,253 When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, 559 00:29:03,253 --> 00:29:06,236 the laws of the Bible took on even more significance. 560 00:29:07,623 --> 00:29:11,603 - Elizabeth orders that every parish church in the land 561 00:29:11,603 --> 00:29:12,913 should have painted boards 562 00:29:12,913 --> 00:29:15,223 with the Ten Commandments on them. 563 00:29:15,223 --> 00:29:18,583 - So suddenly, the Ten Commandments, 564 00:29:18,583 --> 00:29:21,543 which have always been with the church, 565 00:29:21,543 --> 00:29:23,863 are put center-stage, why? 566 00:29:23,863 --> 00:29:27,483 - Yes, I think that's partly about the Reformation desire 567 00:29:27,483 --> 00:29:29,593 to strip down to basics. 568 00:29:29,593 --> 00:29:33,133 It's a bit of a back-to-basics, if I may use that term, 569 00:29:33,133 --> 00:29:36,703 campaign by the Reformation Church. 570 00:29:36,703 --> 00:29:38,593 The Ten Commandments were presented 571 00:29:38,593 --> 00:29:40,113 to the laity in the prayer book. 572 00:29:40,113 --> 00:29:42,443 They would have heard them week by week. 573 00:29:42,443 --> 00:29:45,526 And now they're visually being shown them as well. 574 00:29:46,488 --> 00:29:49,193 (upbeat music) 575 00:29:49,193 --> 00:29:50,213 - But for some, 576 00:29:50,213 --> 00:29:54,103 Elizabeth's reforms didn't go nearly far enough. 577 00:29:54,103 --> 00:29:57,553 A sect of extreme Protestants called the Puritans 578 00:29:57,553 --> 00:30:01,453 believed in living rigidly by the laws of the Bible. 579 00:30:01,453 --> 00:30:04,623 I'm on my way to a town in South West England 580 00:30:04,623 --> 00:30:08,203 where a group of them, led by a charismatic preacher, 581 00:30:08,203 --> 00:30:10,803 embarked on a radical experiment 582 00:30:10,803 --> 00:30:13,860 whose ideas reverberate to this day. 583 00:30:13,860 --> 00:30:16,293 (upbeat music continues) 584 00:30:16,293 --> 00:30:19,773 In early 17th century Dorchester there were many 585 00:30:19,773 --> 00:30:23,173 of the problems that we associate with today. 586 00:30:23,173 --> 00:30:26,923 Illegitimate children, teenage gangs, 587 00:30:26,923 --> 00:30:31,323 rampant drunkenness, coarse language, 588 00:30:31,323 --> 00:30:33,156 and disrespect to elders. 589 00:30:34,433 --> 00:30:38,513 In 1606, John White, an ardent Puritan, 590 00:30:38,513 --> 00:30:40,143 became the vicar of this church, 591 00:30:40,143 --> 00:30:42,213 Saint Peter's in Dorchester, 592 00:30:42,213 --> 00:30:46,053 and tried to reform its unruly citizens. 593 00:30:46,053 --> 00:30:47,823 For more than seven years, 594 00:30:47,823 --> 00:30:52,543 his fiery sermons fell on deaf ears. 595 00:30:52,543 --> 00:30:54,663 He needed a sign from God, 596 00:30:54,663 --> 00:30:57,263 something that would move his flock 597 00:30:57,263 --> 00:30:59,263 away from unrighteousness. 598 00:30:59,263 --> 00:31:02,877 And then, in August 1613, he got one. 599 00:31:02,877 --> 00:31:03,943 (fire roars) 600 00:31:03,943 --> 00:31:08,493 Fire raged through Dorchester, destroying half of the town. 601 00:31:08,493 --> 00:31:12,203 John White called it fire from heaven. 602 00:31:12,203 --> 00:31:14,783 - Gradually, the town was rebuilt, 603 00:31:14,783 --> 00:31:18,113 a society that will, in response to God's love, 604 00:31:18,113 --> 00:31:20,565 be moral and godly and upright. 605 00:31:20,565 --> 00:31:24,363 - And this Puritan regime, it was founded on Biblical Law? 606 00:31:24,363 --> 00:31:27,553 - Absolutely, we must remember that the Protestant view 607 00:31:27,553 --> 00:31:30,013 was all that is necessary for salvation 608 00:31:30,013 --> 00:31:31,923 is found in the Bible. 609 00:31:31,923 --> 00:31:34,683 And the Puritans were not frightened of using 610 00:31:34,683 --> 00:31:37,343 the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. 611 00:31:37,343 --> 00:31:39,603 - How did that manifest itself in practice? 612 00:31:39,603 --> 00:31:43,133 - Remember the commandment, "Honor thy mother and father," 613 00:31:43,133 --> 00:31:45,773 and that would have been at the heart of the very matter, 614 00:31:45,773 --> 00:31:50,603 for family was seen as the root building block 615 00:31:50,603 --> 00:31:51,843 of a godly society. 616 00:31:51,843 --> 00:31:54,703 - Supposing you've broken the commandments, what happened? 617 00:31:54,703 --> 00:31:57,253 - The law was implemented with quite a lot of rigor, 618 00:31:57,253 --> 00:32:02,053 and people were outraged and being fined for being drunk, 619 00:32:02,053 --> 00:32:03,853 for being called out for having a bit 620 00:32:03,853 --> 00:32:07,363 of unauthorized sexual contact or whatever it might be. 621 00:32:07,363 --> 00:32:08,853 But it's not just negative. 622 00:32:08,853 --> 00:32:09,993 It's positive as well. 623 00:32:09,993 --> 00:32:13,133 There are moves to actually implement the law 624 00:32:13,133 --> 00:32:16,313 in terms of social welfare, helping the poor, the widows, 625 00:32:16,313 --> 00:32:19,313 education for boys and for girls. 626 00:32:19,313 --> 00:32:23,623 I would argue today, while there is chaos in many areas, 627 00:32:23,623 --> 00:32:26,583 there are also signs of greater gains, 628 00:32:26,583 --> 00:32:29,903 which was set on the foundations of the Puritans. 629 00:32:29,903 --> 00:32:31,293 So when the welfare state arrived, 630 00:32:31,293 --> 00:32:33,283 when universal education arrives, 631 00:32:33,283 --> 00:32:35,633 it's very often the church that's leading on this, 632 00:32:35,633 --> 00:32:37,564 drawing from their great heritage. 633 00:32:37,564 --> 00:32:38,853 (birds squawking) 634 00:32:38,853 --> 00:32:41,803 - The Puritan attempts to reform society 635 00:32:41,803 --> 00:32:45,753 grew increasingly unpopular, and by 1660, 636 00:32:45,753 --> 00:32:48,753 their religious experiment was over. 637 00:32:48,753 --> 00:32:53,063 But not before John White persuaded 120 Puritans 638 00:32:53,063 --> 00:32:57,636 to set sail from Dorset to America to build a new Jerusalem. 639 00:32:58,833 --> 00:33:02,853 Today, the Puritans have something of a bad reputation, 640 00:33:02,853 --> 00:33:05,493 but I can't help feeling some admiration 641 00:33:05,493 --> 00:33:08,423 for John White and his godly brethren. 642 00:33:08,423 --> 00:33:11,833 However strict they might appear to us today, 643 00:33:11,833 --> 00:33:14,913 they provided education and social welfare, 644 00:33:14,913 --> 00:33:17,653 and they actually brought about a reduction 645 00:33:17,653 --> 00:33:22,193 in unwanted pregnancies, drunkenness, violence. 646 00:33:22,193 --> 00:33:24,876 Perhaps we could do with a touch of Puritanism today. 647 00:33:25,831 --> 00:33:28,823 (upbeat music) 648 00:33:28,823 --> 00:33:32,583 To me, it seems obvious that our country would be better 649 00:33:32,583 --> 00:33:34,316 if we followed the commandments. 650 00:33:35,722 --> 00:33:38,246 (bright music) 651 00:33:38,246 --> 00:33:41,773 I've always tried to be guided by the Ten Commandments. 652 00:33:41,773 --> 00:33:46,043 But in 21st century Britain, trendy skeptics dismiss them 653 00:33:46,043 --> 00:33:49,933 as old-fashioned, out of touch. 654 00:33:49,933 --> 00:33:52,233 Well, I never cared that much for fashion, 655 00:33:52,233 --> 00:33:55,843 and if the Law of Moses has worked for thousands of years, 656 00:33:55,843 --> 00:33:57,956 I can't see any reason to change it now. 657 00:33:59,944 --> 00:34:00,777 Good morning. 658 00:34:00,777 --> 00:34:02,213 In the last census, 659 00:34:02,213 --> 00:34:06,423 72% of us described ourselves as Christian. 660 00:34:06,423 --> 00:34:09,933 But how many people read the Bible and know its laws? 661 00:34:09,933 --> 00:34:11,343 Do you read the Bible? 662 00:34:11,343 --> 00:34:12,473 - Not if I can help it. 663 00:34:12,473 --> 00:34:13,693 - No? - I'm an atheist. 664 00:34:13,693 --> 00:34:15,313 - I don't. - I do. 665 00:34:15,313 --> 00:34:17,413 - If I answered honestly, no. - Yes. 666 00:34:17,413 --> 00:34:18,872 - Wrong person to ask. (laughs) 667 00:34:18,872 --> 00:34:20,043 - Why's that? Why is that? 668 00:34:20,043 --> 00:34:20,876 - Don't believe in any of it. 669 00:34:20,876 --> 00:34:24,373 - They're good records of how one should live. 670 00:34:24,373 --> 00:34:27,483 I think if there's more people that lived that way, 671 00:34:27,483 --> 00:34:29,383 we'd be a much, much better country. 672 00:34:29,383 --> 00:34:31,303 - I think they're a good code to live by. 673 00:34:31,303 --> 00:34:33,003 - Imagine if we didn't have any rules, 674 00:34:33,003 --> 00:34:34,940 what sort of society would we be? 675 00:34:34,940 --> 00:34:35,903 - I think it's a novel. 676 00:34:35,903 --> 00:34:36,743 I don't think people 677 00:34:36,743 --> 00:34:38,693 should base their lives around it necessarily. 678 00:34:38,693 --> 00:34:40,683 - I wish I did believe, 'cause I think it would help. 679 00:34:40,683 --> 00:34:42,613 - If we didn't have them, you'd find that society 680 00:34:42,613 --> 00:34:45,506 would crumble, which is probably what it's doing today. 681 00:34:47,303 --> 00:34:50,333 - Throughout modern Britain, the voice of secularism 682 00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:52,963 is growing more and more strident. 683 00:34:52,963 --> 00:34:55,683 In this debate, I'm arguing against two 684 00:34:55,683 --> 00:34:58,653 of Britain's leading atheists that my religion, 685 00:34:58,653 --> 00:35:01,496 Roman Catholicism, is a force for good. 686 00:35:02,753 --> 00:35:05,463 - How can this church say it has any moral superiority? 687 00:35:05,463 --> 00:35:08,813 It has difficult catching up to what ordinary people regard 688 00:35:08,813 --> 00:35:12,003 as common, moral, and ethical sense. 689 00:35:12,003 --> 00:35:15,623 - It is the only owner of the truth 690 00:35:15,623 --> 00:35:18,333 for the billions that is likes to boast about, 691 00:35:18,333 --> 00:35:21,373 'cause those billions are uneducated and poor 692 00:35:21,373 --> 00:35:23,953 as again, it likes to boast about. 693 00:35:23,953 --> 00:35:28,170 But they are the ones it can tell and bully and domineer. 694 00:35:28,170 --> 00:35:33,170 - A world without the Catholic Church would be poorer, 695 00:35:33,213 --> 00:35:35,313 would be more hopeless, 696 00:35:35,313 --> 00:35:39,453 and would be a worse place in which to live. 697 00:35:39,453 --> 00:35:42,596 Sadly, a majority of the audience agreed with my opponents. 698 00:35:43,583 --> 00:35:45,733 After the debate, I caught up with them 699 00:35:45,733 --> 00:35:49,313 to try and find out exactly what enrages them 700 00:35:49,313 --> 00:35:51,923 about the Bible and the Ten Commandments. 701 00:35:51,923 --> 00:35:54,193 Christopher Hitchens, how would you sum up 702 00:35:54,193 --> 00:35:56,513 the impact of the Ten Commandments? 703 00:35:56,513 --> 00:36:00,023 - As an appeal to give your allegiance 704 00:36:00,023 --> 00:36:02,053 to a totalitarian authority. 705 00:36:02,053 --> 00:36:03,453 It's a document of a very aggressive 706 00:36:03,453 --> 00:36:07,373 and cruel tribe and religion, and it shows. 707 00:36:07,373 --> 00:36:08,843 - Honor thy parents. Is that? 708 00:36:08,843 --> 00:36:10,703 - No, but obvious things, like this code 709 00:36:10,703 --> 00:36:13,250 are common to all human morality, and I would say innate. 710 00:36:13,250 --> 00:36:16,223 And that religion gets its morality from humans, 711 00:36:16,223 --> 00:36:18,316 and not the other way around. 712 00:36:19,213 --> 00:36:21,553 - As our interview came to a close, 713 00:36:21,553 --> 00:36:24,556 Christopher gave his views on the story of Moses. 714 00:36:26,763 --> 00:36:29,603 - It was Marcion, I think, of the early church fathers. 715 00:36:29,603 --> 00:36:32,473 Who said, dump the Old Testament, start afresh. 716 00:36:32,473 --> 00:36:34,990 Marcion was the cleverest Christian there ever was. 717 00:36:34,990 --> 00:36:37,323 You're saddled with this savage Judaism. 718 00:36:37,323 --> 00:36:38,643 I submit that there's actually evil. 719 00:36:38,643 --> 00:36:40,969 - I don't mind being saddled with the Ten Commandments. 720 00:36:40,969 --> 00:36:42,838 - Read the next chapters. - And I don't find them evil. 721 00:36:42,838 --> 00:36:44,073 - They're ordered. - Yeah, I've read the whole. 722 00:36:44,073 --> 00:36:46,233 - In the next chapter, to massacre and slaughter 723 00:36:46,233 --> 00:36:48,583 and enslave people, it's wicked. 724 00:36:48,583 --> 00:36:49,416 It's really awful. 725 00:36:49,416 --> 00:36:52,440 And they give it to children. It's disgraceful. 726 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:53,731 - 3,000 years ago, yeah. - Really terrible. 727 00:36:53,731 --> 00:36:54,906 Really terrible. And we won't let it happen. 728 00:36:54,906 --> 00:36:56,873 - 3,000 years ago, yeah, quite. 729 00:36:56,873 --> 00:36:59,243 - All right, bye now. 730 00:36:59,243 --> 00:37:02,273 - The Ten Commandments have underpinned Western law 731 00:37:02,273 --> 00:37:04,703 for centuries, indeed, for millennia. 732 00:37:04,703 --> 00:37:06,263 What's wrong with that? 733 00:37:06,263 --> 00:37:08,553 - Well, what's wrong with it is it isn't true, of course. 734 00:37:08,553 --> 00:37:12,563 The fact is, anybody, Socrates, for example, 735 00:37:12,563 --> 00:37:16,063 Plato, his recorder, anybody who is interested 736 00:37:16,063 --> 00:37:19,953 in virtue, justice, truth, the right thing to do is going 737 00:37:19,953 --> 00:37:23,873 to examine what is at the heart of good human behavior. 738 00:37:23,873 --> 00:37:27,653 - They took a code of morals which simply said 739 00:37:27,653 --> 00:37:32,423 you honor God, you honor your parents, you don't steal, 740 00:37:32,423 --> 00:37:35,876 you don't kill, you remain faithful in marriage. 741 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:38,703 - You're not mentioning the silly ones, are you? 742 00:37:38,703 --> 00:37:39,752 - No, I'm going right through the 10. 743 00:37:39,752 --> 00:37:40,585 - [Stephen] All right, okay, 744 00:37:40,585 --> 00:37:41,923 let's get to the covetousness, then. 745 00:37:41,923 --> 00:37:42,823 - That's number 10. 746 00:37:42,823 --> 00:37:44,504 - All right, sorry, that's very rude of me. 747 00:37:44,504 --> 00:37:45,522 You're right. - That is number 10, okay? 748 00:37:45,522 --> 00:37:46,355 - Okay, fair enough. 749 00:37:46,355 --> 00:37:51,355 - What exactly is wrong with those code of morals? 750 00:37:51,533 --> 00:37:54,753 - There's nothing wrong with those particular commandments, 751 00:37:54,753 --> 00:37:57,453 as you call them, but let's look at what they don't do. 752 00:37:57,453 --> 00:37:59,043 They don't stop slavery. 753 00:37:59,043 --> 00:38:01,593 There's no mention of it, and they kept slaves. 754 00:38:01,593 --> 00:38:04,753 So hello, what a perfect society they had 755 00:38:04,753 --> 00:38:06,013 because of their Ten Commandments. 756 00:38:06,013 --> 00:38:07,193 What did God forget? 757 00:38:07,193 --> 00:38:10,013 The Ten Commandments are the hysterical believings 758 00:38:10,013 --> 00:38:12,013 of a group of desert tribes. 759 00:38:12,013 --> 00:38:15,663 Those desert tribes have stored up more misery for mankind 760 00:38:15,663 --> 00:38:19,073 than any other group of people in the history of the planet, 761 00:38:19,073 --> 00:38:20,583 and they're doing it to this day. 762 00:38:20,583 --> 00:38:23,233 - I've asked you if you think 763 00:38:23,233 --> 00:38:24,706 that there was anything wrong with them, and you've said no. 764 00:38:24,706 --> 00:38:26,293 - Well, that to say that that 765 00:38:26,293 --> 00:38:28,333 should underpin the way we live, 766 00:38:28,333 --> 00:38:29,853 to say it's a commandment, 767 00:38:29,853 --> 00:38:31,843 that gives all your game away. 768 00:38:31,843 --> 00:38:32,944 How dare you command? - My game? 769 00:38:32,944 --> 00:38:33,870 It's not my game. 770 00:38:33,870 --> 00:38:36,593 - You bid us be commanded. 771 00:38:36,593 --> 00:38:38,536 I think life is much more exciting than that. 772 00:38:38,536 --> 00:38:40,063 It's to do with finding out. - Stephen, Stephen. 773 00:38:40,063 --> 00:38:42,364 - It's not to do with being told by some awful patriarch. 774 00:38:42,364 --> 00:38:45,764 - Stephen, Stephen, we're not speeching. 775 00:38:45,764 --> 00:38:47,853 - I am, sorry. I'm happy to. - We're trying to answer- 776 00:38:47,853 --> 00:38:49,753 - Because these damn commandments of yours, 777 00:38:49,753 --> 00:38:51,063 you say they've made life better. 778 00:38:51,063 --> 00:38:53,920 I say they've suppressed and tyrannized and bullied. 779 00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:55,933 (gentle music) 780 00:38:55,933 --> 00:38:57,933 - Of course I'm not such a fool 781 00:38:57,933 --> 00:39:00,373 that I don't realize those views are shared 782 00:39:00,373 --> 00:39:03,983 by more and more people, and that aspects of the Bible 783 00:39:03,983 --> 00:39:06,706 are unpalatable to modern sensibilities. 784 00:39:07,963 --> 00:39:11,123 It was written over 3,000 years ago 785 00:39:11,123 --> 00:39:12,966 and in very different times. 786 00:39:13,963 --> 00:39:17,283 But I still believe that like all great philosophies, 787 00:39:17,283 --> 00:39:20,613 the Bible contains eternal moral truths 788 00:39:20,613 --> 00:39:22,366 which are still relevant today. 789 00:39:23,453 --> 00:39:25,883 Don't lie. Don't steal. 790 00:39:25,883 --> 00:39:29,799 Be faithful. Honor thy father and thy mother. 791 00:39:29,799 --> 00:39:33,290 (gentle music continues) 792 00:39:33,290 --> 00:39:35,793 (birds chirping) 793 00:39:35,793 --> 00:39:37,713 After the death of my father, 794 00:39:37,713 --> 00:39:41,096 my mother lived with me until she died at the age of 95. 795 00:39:42,763 --> 00:39:44,696 To me, that seemed only natural. 796 00:39:45,563 --> 00:39:48,083 My mother looked after me throughout my childhood, 797 00:39:48,083 --> 00:39:49,213 so the least I could do 798 00:39:49,213 --> 00:39:51,286 was to honor her by looking after her. 799 00:39:52,283 --> 00:39:55,743 But I was amazed by how many people asked me, 800 00:39:55,743 --> 00:39:58,356 well how can you cope living with your mother? 801 00:40:02,283 --> 00:40:06,593 This is a subject that fills me with rage and frustration. 802 00:40:06,593 --> 00:40:08,953 We're passing on a completely callous message 803 00:40:08,953 --> 00:40:10,323 to the next generation, 804 00:40:10,323 --> 00:40:12,813 which it's absorbing all too quickly. 805 00:40:12,813 --> 00:40:17,173 Is it so surprising that we now have so many teenagers 806 00:40:17,173 --> 00:40:19,223 with no respect for their parents at all? 807 00:40:20,273 --> 00:40:23,513 But I think there are even more worrying examples 808 00:40:23,513 --> 00:40:27,803 of where we could end up if we abandon the Ten Commandments. 809 00:40:27,803 --> 00:40:30,153 To me, the most important Commandment 810 00:40:30,153 --> 00:40:32,703 is, "Thou shalt not kill." 811 00:40:32,703 --> 00:40:36,113 It's one of the most fundamental principles of my religion, 812 00:40:36,113 --> 00:40:38,923 that human life is sacred. 813 00:40:38,923 --> 00:40:43,373 It goes right to the core of any civilized society. 814 00:40:43,373 --> 00:40:46,693 Yet incredibly, we are now talking 815 00:40:46,693 --> 00:40:49,028 about legalizing killing. 816 00:40:49,028 --> 00:40:51,695 (upbeat music) 817 00:40:54,723 --> 00:40:57,133 Driving this debate are the tragic stories 818 00:40:57,133 --> 00:41:00,883 of people like Heather Pratten whose husband and two sons 819 00:41:00,883 --> 00:41:04,933 suffered from Huntington's Disease, a degenerative illness 820 00:41:04,933 --> 00:41:08,760 that robs victims of their physical and mental faculties. 821 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,220 Hello, are you Heather? I'm Ann Widdecombe. 822 00:41:11,220 --> 00:41:14,903 Her middle son Nigel was in his early 30s 823 00:41:14,903 --> 00:41:17,806 when he realized he had the terminal disease. 824 00:41:19,723 --> 00:41:22,243 - From when we first found out about the disease, 825 00:41:22,243 --> 00:41:27,163 his stand was always, he would never endure the final years. 826 00:41:27,163 --> 00:41:31,133 And he said to me, "I've got the best birthday present ever. 827 00:41:31,133 --> 00:41:34,210 My friends have got me this heroin." 828 00:41:35,503 --> 00:41:37,143 And I didn't really argue with it, 829 00:41:37,143 --> 00:41:40,293 because I thought of all the options he had, 830 00:41:40,293 --> 00:41:43,433 that was a nicer way of going. 831 00:41:43,433 --> 00:41:44,896 We both went to sleep, 832 00:41:45,823 --> 00:41:47,773 and when I woke up, 833 00:41:47,773 --> 00:41:49,163 I knew he'd nearly gone, 834 00:41:49,163 --> 00:41:51,763 because his face was very white and waxy. 835 00:41:51,763 --> 00:41:56,763 His lips were blue, and he was only breathing now and again. 836 00:41:56,773 --> 00:42:00,423 And I thought, this can't go on. 837 00:42:00,423 --> 00:42:02,403 This has got to end. 838 00:42:02,403 --> 00:42:04,213 And I picked up a pillow, 839 00:42:04,213 --> 00:42:06,656 and I put it over his face. 840 00:42:07,553 --> 00:42:11,033 I then waited for half an hour, 841 00:42:11,033 --> 00:42:14,723 because I didn't want any change of resuscitation, 842 00:42:14,723 --> 00:42:16,966 and then I called the ambulance and police. 843 00:42:19,493 --> 00:42:21,503 - Heather, you and I are of a generation, 844 00:42:21,503 --> 00:42:23,533 we grew up with the commandments. 845 00:42:23,533 --> 00:42:24,366 - [Heather] Yes. 846 00:42:24,366 --> 00:42:26,080 - One of which was very straightforward, 847 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:27,933 "Thou shalt not kill." 848 00:42:27,933 --> 00:42:29,683 Do you believe in that Commandment? 849 00:42:31,363 --> 00:42:33,243 - I do believe in it, 850 00:42:33,243 --> 00:42:36,803 but in an ideal world, nobody would kill. 851 00:42:36,803 --> 00:42:40,713 But I do recognize there are circumstances 852 00:42:40,713 --> 00:42:44,013 when people do not want to live, if they are 853 00:42:44,013 --> 00:42:49,013 in continual pain, if they have terminal diseases. 854 00:42:49,463 --> 00:42:51,443 - Heather was tried for murder 855 00:42:51,443 --> 00:42:54,853 and was eventually given a one-year conditional discharge 856 00:42:54,853 --> 00:42:57,683 for aiding and abetting suicide. 857 00:42:57,683 --> 00:43:02,013 Those arguing to legalize euthanasia cite cases like hers 858 00:43:02,013 --> 00:43:04,803 as an example of why the law must be changed. 859 00:43:04,803 --> 00:43:07,046 But I'm still not convinced. 860 00:43:07,046 --> 00:43:09,303 (birds chirping) 861 00:43:09,303 --> 00:43:12,743 Heather was faced with a horrific situation, 862 00:43:12,743 --> 00:43:15,473 and if somebody I loved was suffering like that, 863 00:43:15,473 --> 00:43:18,843 I might have been tempted to do the same. 864 00:43:18,843 --> 00:43:21,723 But I would still have expected to face the full rigor 865 00:43:21,723 --> 00:43:25,973 of the law, because this is a law that must not change. 866 00:43:25,973 --> 00:43:29,343 We only have to look at divorce and abortion 867 00:43:29,343 --> 00:43:31,573 to see what abuse can follow. 868 00:43:31,573 --> 00:43:33,993 And when it comes to life and death, 869 00:43:33,993 --> 00:43:36,493 we simply can't take those risks. 870 00:43:36,493 --> 00:43:38,950 We should stick with the Law of Moses, 871 00:43:38,950 --> 00:43:40,944 "Thou shalt not kill." 872 00:43:40,944 --> 00:43:43,527 (mellow music) 873 00:43:54,853 --> 00:43:57,790 The last commandment deals with our thoughts. 874 00:43:57,790 --> 00:43:59,756 "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. 875 00:43:59,756 --> 00:44:03,073 They shall not covet thy neighbor's goods." 876 00:44:03,073 --> 00:44:05,373 It's a sophisticated concept, 877 00:44:05,373 --> 00:44:08,553 and one that gives the lie to any claim 878 00:44:08,553 --> 00:44:11,696 that the commandments are old-fashioned or crude. 879 00:44:13,183 --> 00:44:16,133 People are now gripped by covetousness, 880 00:44:16,133 --> 00:44:18,673 desperate to acquire a bigger house, 881 00:44:18,673 --> 00:44:21,883 the latest phone, designer clothes. 882 00:44:21,883 --> 00:44:26,163 Personal borrowing has soared to historic highs. 883 00:44:26,163 --> 00:44:31,163 Every day, our nation pays 182 million pounds in interest, 884 00:44:32,273 --> 00:44:33,783 and every four minutes, 885 00:44:33,783 --> 00:44:37,263 one of us is declared bankrupt or becomes insolvent. 886 00:44:37,263 --> 00:44:40,203 We live in a society where self-restraint 887 00:44:40,203 --> 00:44:43,386 is considered unhealthy and repressive. 888 00:44:45,073 --> 00:44:48,963 The last of the Ten Commandments is, "Thou shalt not covet." 889 00:44:48,963 --> 00:44:53,923 It's telling us not to indulge envious thoughts. 890 00:44:53,923 --> 00:44:55,133 Good Commandment, isn't it? 891 00:44:55,133 --> 00:44:57,653 - I don't think that you can make a law 892 00:44:57,653 --> 00:45:00,003 that tells you what to think what not to think, 893 00:45:00,883 --> 00:45:03,103 and basically saying thou shall not covet 894 00:45:03,103 --> 00:45:06,013 is an attempt to control people's thinking, 895 00:45:06,013 --> 00:45:09,443 which is impossible and unrealistic and unfair. 896 00:45:09,443 --> 00:45:12,603 In general, covetousness is normal and healthy 897 00:45:12,603 --> 00:45:14,763 and helps us survive as human beings. 898 00:45:14,763 --> 00:45:16,273 There's nothing wrong with desiring things 899 00:45:16,273 --> 00:45:18,143 that are pleasurable and not necessarily the sexual. 900 00:45:18,143 --> 00:45:21,643 - There's everything wrong with being driven by that. 901 00:45:21,643 --> 00:45:23,843 We're absolutely immersed in debt, 902 00:45:23,843 --> 00:45:25,453 particularly in this country. 903 00:45:25,453 --> 00:45:29,683 Debt is because people want, want, want. 904 00:45:29,683 --> 00:45:32,463 And they want what they can't afford. 905 00:45:32,463 --> 00:45:34,553 You can't control what comes in your head. 906 00:45:34,553 --> 00:45:37,296 You can control whether you develop those thoughts. 907 00:45:38,173 --> 00:45:40,193 - I think that the thoughts would be 908 00:45:40,193 --> 00:45:44,273 far less likely to overwhelm you and consume you 909 00:45:44,273 --> 00:45:46,123 if you just allowed the thought to be there 910 00:45:46,123 --> 00:45:48,063 and didn't try to control it. 911 00:45:48,063 --> 00:45:49,143 - I have to say at the moment, 912 00:45:49,143 --> 00:45:50,663 Abigail, I think that's just wrong. 913 00:45:50,663 --> 00:45:52,673 We've lost power. 914 00:45:52,673 --> 00:45:57,673 We cannot say "No, I can do without that.: 915 00:45:57,778 --> 00:46:01,253 (gentle music) 916 00:46:01,253 --> 00:46:05,033 I realize that some of my ideas may sit uncomfortably 917 00:46:05,033 --> 00:46:10,033 in 21st century Britain, but for me, Moses' revelation 918 00:46:10,223 --> 00:46:15,223 on a mountain 3,000 years ago still resonates today. 919 00:46:16,123 --> 00:46:17,273 For the Jews, 920 00:46:17,273 --> 00:46:20,896 it transformed a tribe of slaves into a nation. 921 00:46:21,963 --> 00:46:25,953 For Christians, Jesus revealed the spirit of the law 922 00:46:25,953 --> 00:46:28,041 and taught us how to live. 923 00:46:28,041 --> 00:46:29,553 (dramatic music) 924 00:46:29,553 --> 00:46:33,843 Secular academics may question the origins of Moses' laws, 925 00:46:33,843 --> 00:46:35,813 but whether we like it or not, 926 00:46:35,813 --> 00:46:38,656 they are part of our moral DNA. 927 00:46:40,003 --> 00:46:43,136 For centuries, we've read and recited them. 928 00:46:45,593 --> 00:46:47,303 They've adorned our churches 929 00:46:48,573 --> 00:46:52,207 and shown us how to build a better society. 930 00:46:52,207 --> 00:46:54,563 (dramatic music continues) 931 00:46:54,563 --> 00:46:59,083 Today, these laws are attacked by the new secular orthodoxy. 932 00:46:59,083 --> 00:47:03,217 But for me, their eternal truth remains. 933 00:47:03,217 --> 00:47:05,341 (wind whooshing) 934 00:47:05,341 --> 00:47:06,908 (bird chirps) 935 00:47:06,908 --> 00:47:09,575 (gentle music) 936 00:47:10,453 --> 00:47:14,473 I believe that when God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai, 937 00:47:14,473 --> 00:47:19,473 he was giving us the greatest ever moral manifesto. 938 00:47:19,723 --> 00:47:24,403 And for centuries, millions of people across the world 939 00:47:24,403 --> 00:47:28,333 have built better, less selfish communities 940 00:47:28,333 --> 00:47:31,913 by following the Law of Moses. 941 00:47:31,913 --> 00:47:35,243 To me, it's not restricting to say no 942 00:47:35,243 --> 00:47:38,543 to our worst instincts, to modern temptations. 943 00:47:38,543 --> 00:47:43,003 It's liberating, and for all the onslaught of the skeptics, 944 00:47:43,003 --> 00:47:47,323 I remain totally convinced that we would have happier, 945 00:47:47,323 --> 00:47:49,523 more fulfilled lives today 946 00:47:49,523 --> 00:47:52,438 if we still followed Biblical Law. 947 00:47:52,438 --> 00:47:55,503 (dramatic music) 948 00:47:55,503 --> 00:47:56,973 - [Announcer] In the next program, 949 00:47:56,973 --> 00:47:59,923 Bettany Hughes goes in search of the women of the Bible 950 00:47:59,923 --> 00:48:02,618 and reveals why they still matter today. 951 00:48:02,618 --> 00:48:05,213 - Bathsheba's brazen nakedness reminds us 952 00:48:05,213 --> 00:48:08,033 of the problem of Eve's natural nakedness. 953 00:48:08,033 --> 00:48:10,663 And so nakedness is a really hot topic 954 00:48:10,663 --> 00:48:12,644 right the way through the Bible. 955 00:48:12,644 --> 00:48:15,210 (women grunting) (stick clacking) 956 00:48:15,210 --> 00:48:17,793 (lively music)