[MineralMan]

"Correction, the Commandments that are the cornerstone of western law are:

Don't kill anybody
Don't lie
Don't steal
Honor your parents
Don't commit adultery"

Actually, the last two you posted aren't encoded in our laws any longer. There's no law about honoring your parents, except when you're a minor, and no enforced laws regarding adultery, except in the UCMJ. Most states have repealed their adultery laws. So, that leaves only three:

Don't lie (at least not under oath)
Don't murder
Don't steal

And those three are in virtually every social system on the planet, regardless of religion.

The Ten Commandments are purely religious in nature.

[whattajoke]

Don't lie (at least not under oath)
Don't murder
Don't steal
And those three are in virtually every social system on the planet, regardless of religion.

A point I continually try to make. Not only that, but one needs to remember that these 3 (the only 3 that any Western Laws mirror in any way) were societal laws well before Moses' time.