Thank you both, Lula and KFC, for these lists and sources. These maxims, values, virtues, etc., however, are common among religions. I am getting the sense that such principles are made Christian by virtue of the fact that they were taught by the authors of the Hebrew scripture and recapped by Jesus. 

Purity of motive, however, is important, I think.  While, on the one hand, it is good to be good to please God, pleasing God, in such a context becomes something added to the equation. It makes moral behavior something contingent.  

If we say, "its all God" then how is that fundamentally different from saying we are virtuous because virtuosity is an aspect of God and by being virtuous, surrendering our selfishness to Godliness we are allowing God to manifest in (or through) us? 

I think Christians get stuck obsessing about ownership. Perhaps theologically they must?  Rather than understanding the various ways/aspects of God being made manifest through differing understandings of Him.

A list of virtues or values such as the Six Perfections in Zen Buddhism (generosity, morality, diligence, patience, meditation, and wisdom) , or a core virtue in Christianity such as "love" have corresponding places in all religions I am aware of.  What often changes in their relative axiologic rank. In Buddhism, the core value of compassion is much like (arguably the very same thing as) Christian love. In both cases it is the selfless manifestation of either God or Buddha-nature.

I would think all religious adherrants would be happy that people would manifest such values and principles in the world rather than getting caught in the need to say one ownwership is somehow better, different, or holier than another.

Lastly, secular virtue is virtue regardless of its source. Secular people, humanists, atheists, agnostics, can be (and often are) very virtuous. Love, sacrifice, generosity, patience, tolerance, these exist apoart from any religious source. They exist because we human beings have evolved to include them through natural selection: they are beneficial to the species.

Be well.   

Very nice, KFC. Nice use of mythic structure. (I mean that in a very positive sense as myth is what we use ti make sense of our world.)   However, if sin messed us up, as you say, then our creator was far from perfect...or likes a good drama...and on top of all that is a praise addict. I suspect sin is a product of a point of view.  A product of a discriminating mind. In other words, a human creation.

Be well.

On this you or Jesus is clearly mistaken. The sabbath is honored by Jews through a cessation of work, but also, and most importantly, study and prayer. We step out of time on Shabbat. We become one with God on Shabbat. Besides, its not the Jews, but the Torah itself that spells out the rules.  The ten commandments are but an executive summary of the 613. 

As to divorce, the Torah is clear that it allows divorce, eh, that would be God's word.  However, there is an interesting discussion on Matthew's take on it here:

http://www.moshereiss.org/christianity/06_mathew/06_mathew.htm

See ya.

If we wish to evolve as a species, we must step away from ancient texts and their interpreters which seem to give permission to continue a primitive set of actions.  The Torah does prohibit murder, but it also demands killing under certain circumstances.  Does this mean we should do it?

We must use the Torah, its commentaries, and modern responsa only as guides. Christians are fond of pointing out we should seek the spirit of the law rather than the letter.  They do this in some circumstances better than others, admittedly, but it is, non-the-less, wise advice.

Modern sensibilities have changed, dare I say, evolved, over time.  Our world has become closer, far more tightly knit.  We are much like a family with bickering factions than sets of nations. Those who remain on the outskirts, the fundamentalist, anti-modernists, such as radical Muslims or Ultra-orthodox Jews, or seriously fundamentalist Christians, are not only out of touch with modern sensibilities, but they actually see them as a threat to their old ways.

Spiritual progression must take a Middle Way, a balance between the letter and the spirit. We must be willing to examine and re-examine doctrine, often opting to set it aside when proven wrong by science, for example, or improving conditions of the species, or worsening conditions of the planet's environment.

Our creator endowed us with a mind, with a heart, and with determination. These ought not be at war with each other, but rather, they should be in-service to one another. 

Old myths like the Myth of the Eternal Return, resurrection myths, Adamic Redemptive themes, must be cast in contemporary terms.  Reform Judaism, for example, has revisited the Messiah myth and re-stated it as a "Messianic Age". So, we are not looking for a person, a hero, who will make everything peachy keen, but rather a working together of mankind to create an enlightened world.  

Text in such circumstances must be read with different eyes.  Eyes wiling to see text as symbolic expressions of a deep desire to get close to God and to make ourselves Holy.

Be well.