332: The Ten Commandments
May 4, 2007
Stories of people struggling to follow the Ten Commandments from the book of Exodus.
WEB EXTRA: BONUS AUDIO
We weren't able to squeeze this excellent interview into Commandment Six. You Shall Not Murder: Marine chaplain Eli Takesian—like Lyn Brown, the chaplain interviewed in this episode—was attached to a unit that saw the brutality of combat up-close, but in a different war. He served two tours as a chaplain during Vietnam. Takesian talked with TAL producer Alex Blumberg. Listen. (8 minutes)
- Host Ira Glass reads from the Ten Commandments. Not the original Ten Commandments, but some of the newer, lesser-known ones. There's the "Ten Commandments of Tractor Safety," the "Ten Commandments of Paris Dining," the "Miner's Ten Commandments of 1853," the "Ten Commandments of Umpiring," and the "Ten Commandments for Math Teachers"—just to name a few. (4 minutes)
- As a boy in religious school, Shalom Auslander is informed that his name, Shalom, is one of the names of God; so he must be very careful not to take his own name in vain. Shalom Auslander is author of Beware of God: Stories and most recently Foreskin's Lament. (10 minutes)
- TAL producer Alex Blumberg talks to Lt. Col. Lyn Brown, a U.S. Army Reserve chaplain who served two tours in Iraq. Brown talks about what "thou shall not kill" means to soldiers on the battlefield. (8 minutes)Song: "Kish", David Byrne
- In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that looking lustfully at a woman is like committing adultery in your heart. Contributor David Ellis Dickerson was raised as an evangelical Christian, and for many years tried not to have a single lustful thought. (9 minutes)
- Chaya Lipschutz wanted to donate one of her kidneys to a stranger. But to save a stranger's life, she had to break the commandment against lying. And the person she had to lie to was her mother. Chaya talked to TAL producer Sarah Koenig. (8 minutes)
