Hebrew Bible Tentative Response

4. What is the basis for accepting the validity of, say, the ten commandments?

Part of the basis of the reason we accept the ten commandments lie in their practicality. The ten commandments include rules such as “thou shalt not lie”, “thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife” and “thou shalt not murder.” None of these commandments are particularly far fetched, and therefore, seem like good ideas to have set in place. The ten commandments maintain their authority because of their practicality and because of the person who handed them down to us- Moses. We accept these as laws because we accept Moses as a prophet who was given the authority, by God, to guide us to live our most virtuous lives.  Since he was chosen by God, he is seen as a person of power. His position as being a prophet allows him to come back down to the people and deliver them this new set of rules.