Why Christians Keep the 10 Commandments (But Ignore the Rest of the Old Testament)

About this episode

This episode discusses the significance of the 10 Commandments in Christianity and why other Old Testament laws are often ignored.

The 10 Commandments are the most famous laws in the Bible, despite the fact that most people can't name more than a few. Today, I'm joined by Bart Ehrman to discuss why the 10 commandments are so famous, and why Christians still see them as important, even though most of the other 600 Old Testament laws are ignored.

People in this episode

Host: Bart Ehrman

Topics covered

• 10 Commandments
• Old Testament laws
• Christianity
• religious significance
• biblical interpretation

Keywords

• 10 Commandments
• Old Testament
• Christianity
• religious laws
• biblical significance

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: 10 Commandments, Old Testament

More episodes of Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

• This 1,700-Year-Old Song Is the Oldest Christian Music We Have · June 9, 2026 · 39 min
• Why No One Can Prove the Resurrection · June 2, 2026 · 45 min
• Before Genesis: What the Old Testament Borrowed from Mesopotamian Stories · May 26, 2026 · 40 min
• 5 Evangelical Truisms that Aren't True · May 19, 2026 · 42 min
• Is the Trinity Really in the Bible? · May 12, 2026 · 43 min
• Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Actually Prove the Bible Never Changed? · May 5, 2026 · 44 min