The hazards of being raised Lutheran

[mrissa]

I was reading karentraviss's Crossing the Line, and the last line of a chapter was, "'Get up, Commander,' he said. 'I'm fully prepared to break the Sixth Commandment.'" And I went, "WooHOOOOO!" And then: "Oh. That Sixth Commandment. Darn."

So the necessary background for those of you who don't have it: when people talk about the Ten Commandments, it's not like the Bible sits down and says, "Number One: X. Number Two: Y." The numbering is up to the monkeys. It's really the Approximately Ten Commandments. In some traditions, idolatry and worship get more attention, while in others, covetousness does. So for someone who was raised, say, Lutheran like me, the Sixth Commandment is, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." But for someone who was raised, say, Calvinist like markgritter, the Sixth Commandment is, "Thou shalt not murder." Which is, y'know, exciting and all that, but not nearly the plot twist that the other would have been.

Sigh.

Comments

[zunger.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure the numbering was fixed in the 1.0; it's just some translators that played a bit faster and looser than usual.

But you're right, that would have made for a much better story. (And why is it reminding me of a George Carlin routine where he suggested doing a search-and-replace in old movie cliches, turning murder into sex? "Alright, Sherriff - now, we're going to fuck you!")