Big Mac beats 10 Commandments

[rocklobster]

Have you hear about the new survey? They found out that more people know the ingredients in a Big Mac then all 10 Commandments.
For a refresher, here are the ingredients in a Big Mac:
Sesame-Seed Buns (2)
Ground Beef Patty (2)
Lettuce
Tomato
Pickles
Onions

And here are the 10 commandments (Catholic Version):
1. You shall not have other gods before me, nor shall you make graven images.
2. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain.
3. Keep the sabbath day and keep it holy.
4. Honor thy father and Thy Mother
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
10. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

This is a very sad state of affairs.

[AsianBlossom]

Um, I think 8 and 10 are reversed.

Interestingly enough, I could tell you the Catholic 10 Commandments, but I probably couldn't tell you what's on a Big Mac. A Whopper, maybe, but I don't really like McDonald's burgers. Now, McDonald's fries, they pwn.

[LadyRushia]

I heard about this on the radio while I was half asleep and I was like "What? Bible and a BigMac on the radio?"

That is really sad though that people know more about a fat infested sandwhich than one of the most famous passages in the Bible.

[jon_jinn]

that's a random fact there. however, somehow, i must admit that i'm not surprised at this fact...

[AsianBlossom]

Yeah; I once heard that more children recognized Ronald McDonald than Jesus. It's sad.

[Alexander]

Yeah; I once heard that more children recognized Ronald McDonald than Jesus. It's sad.

It might not exactly make sense, but this is how I feel with some of the viewpoints people have with Jesus.

At least I know I'll be able to teach my own children about him.

[Okami]

Man, it's sad indeed.

I mean, summing up the main idea of each commandment isn't like writing full essays on each one or something

[Mr. SmartyPants]

People memorize it because their advertising campaign included a really catchy song that listed the ingredients of it? XD

[Nate]

Yeah]
Uh, how is that sad, considering no one knows what Jesus even looked like? And also considering that the traditional view of how Jesus looked is probably nothing like his actual appearance? I'd be willing to bet you or I wouldn't recognize Jesus either if we saw Him. :p

Two: Considering that there are different versions of the Ten Commandments depending on which denomination you belong to, it's not surprising people can't remember them well. Example:

Commandment One:
Jewish: I am the Lord thy God.
Orthodox: I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Roman Catholic/Lutheran: I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me, thou shalt not make for thyself an idol.
Protestant: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Add to this the fact that Roman Catholics use "kill" instead of "murder" for the sixth (or fifth) commandment, and the fact that Catholics split up "don't covet your neighbor's house/don't covet your neighbor's stuff" into two separate commandments, and it's no surprise people know what's in a Big Mac better. Big Macs don't have different ingredients depending on which McDonald's you go to.

Finally, what Ryan said is absolutely right. People tend to remember catchy jingles a lot better than speeches or lists. If the Ten Commandments had a little tune to sing about them, maybe people would remember them better. Not that I'm suggesting someone do that, it would be a terrible idea. I'm just giving a reason why Big Mac ingredients are more easily recited.

I mean, summing up the main idea of each commandment isn't like writing full essays on each one or something

No, but the commandments are indeed vague enough to be confusing. For example, the second, first, whichever commandment, says not to make a graven image. Some denominations of Christianity believe ANY portrayal of Jesus, even in a painting, drawing, etc., is a violation of this commandment, which is one reason you had some groups protesting The Passion of the Christ, because it was a portrayal of Jesus.

Another is that as I mentioned before, Catholics use "kill" instead of "murder," there is a difference between killing and murdering.

So yeah. There you go.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

Random observation: no Big Mac I've ever eaten has had Tomato on it.

[rocklobster]

Maybe its because you tell the cashier no tomatoes?

[Nikolai Melodie]

I'm sad to say that I'm not shocked about this at all. Then again, I didn't know all the ingredients of a big mac in the first place, and I've never looked at a list of the Catholic ten commandments.... even though the Christian part of my family actually is Catholic. I've always just stuck to the Protestant ones.

Honestly, I'll admit that the order threw me off there.

[Okami]

Hey, I just realised this old book thing my aunt Pam sewed for me when I was young are the Roman Catholic Ten Commandments

Oh, and murder is the Sixth, according to this, Nate. *checks her Bible notes as well* Yep, Sixth.

[creed4]

the ten commandment are listed in Exodus 20.

[ilikegir33]

I'm sad to say that I'm not shocked about this at all. Then again, I didn't know all the ingredients of a big mac in the first place, and I've never looked at a list of the Catholic ten commandments.... even though the Christian part of my family actually is Catholic. I've always just stuck to the Protestant ones.

Honestly, I'll admit that the order threw me off there.

Me too. I hate McDonalds.

[Nate]

Oh, and murder is the Sixth, according to this, Nate. *checks her Bible notes as well* Yep, Sixth.

In the Lutheran and Catholic Ten Commandments, murder (well, killing for them) is the fifth. :p

That's why it's confusing.

[Okami]

In the Lutheran and Catholic Ten Commandments, murder (well, killing for them) is the fifth. :p

That's why it's confusing.

o.O;; I see your point.

And according to my pastor, there's a difference between murdering someone and killing them. Murder was like, specifics or something (hate crime, I guess), and killing was war-type death. Obviously, there was a bunch of war in the old testament.
Murder > Killing

If I ever find those sermon notes, I'll be sure to inform you guys

[uc pseudonym]

I read about this, and I believe there are factors that mitigate the results. At least, I was struck that the two conditions ("knowing the ten commandments" and "knowing big mac ingredients") were unequal. Does anyone have a link to the study itself that would say in more detail? If not I suppose I can try to track down the article.

[rocklobster]

At the risk of thunderbolts, can I ask why the Commandments are structured that way to begin with? I think the order is irrelevant.

[mechana2015]

The only thought I had during all the hubbub y'all were making over this was, "The big macs contents have had more advertising in the last 20 years than the 10 commandments... why is everyone so shocked? The "...and a sesame seed bun" ad campaign was probably burned into every TV watchers head at least 2-3 times a DAY when it was in full swing, let alone the people that actually VISITED mcDonalds and saw it everywhere. Most of the populace would see/hear the commandments once a WEEK or more likely LESS.. Its pure exposure numbers really. Advertising works, plain and simple.

[Danyasaur]

I'm not surprised at all, either. I don't know all the ten commandments by heart, just the greatest one: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And last I checked, I've never had tomatoes in my Big Mac either (And no, I don't change anything about the burger). Oh, and there's actualy three buns, there's a bottom part of a bun sandwhiched between both burger patties. And they forgot the sauce part.

Though that's irrelevant to the general dicussion. They might've changed it a bit over the years.

[AsianBlossom]

I'd be willing to bet you or I wouldn't recognize Jesus either if we saw Him. :p

I don't think I want to answer that]For example, the second, first, whichever commandment, says not to make a graven image. Some denominations of Christianity believe ANY portrayal of Jesus, even in a painting, drawing, etc., is a violation of this commandment, which is one reason you had some groups protesting The Passion of the Christ, because it was a portrayal of Jesus.[/QUOTE]

I always found that interesting. Contrary to popular belief, Catholics don't worship the images; statues and pictures of Jesus merely serve the purpose of directing our focus to Him. Sure, they are based on what we believe He looks like, but it helps to remind us that He is there. It's sort of like how pictures of our family members remind us of those we love; we don't treat the pictures like people because they are only reminders.

However, we treat holy images and objects with respect because they remind us of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. This means we don't just throw them on the floor or anything; besides, you wouldn't do that to a picture of your dearly departed aunt, would you?

But yeah, so anyways...I guess this goes to show that McDonald's is everywhere...it's inescapable...O.o

[EricTheFred]

The only thought I had during all the hubbub y'all were making over this was, "The big macs contents have had more advertising in the last 20 years than the 10 commandments... why is everyone so shocked? The "...and a sesame seed bun" ad campaign was probably burned into every TV watchers head at least 2-3 times a DAY when it was in full swing, let alone the people that actually VISITED mcDonalds and saw it everywhere. Most of the populace would see/hear the commandments once a WEEK or more likely LESS.. Its pure exposure numbers really. Advertising works, plain and simple.

"...and a sesame seed bun"? This must refer to the "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun" jingle (and later simple recitation) that Burger King used for years.

That's right, Burger King. As in the Whopper. Not the Big Mac.

To all of you arguing over which commandment is which... you need to accept a simple fact. The Bible, at least in true-to-the-original-Hebrew versions, does not have any numbering, and does not say there are Ten Commandments. If your copy has a heading saying 'The Ten Commandments" over them, that is an editorial rubric, not a part of the Bible text. The closest to this distinction that the text gets is that the Deuteronomy version says 'These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed".

The tradition of separating them into ten articles is a Christian Era thing. Josephus divided and numbered them, and so did St. Augustine, but they did it differently. The Augustinian version is the one used by Catholics and Lutherans, while most Protestants use the Josephan. I have no idea which version is used by Orthodox. I'm not certain whether the Jewish faith divides them into ten parts or not.

In addition, there are two sources in the Bible, Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20. Some minor differences between the two have spawned a few arguments over the correct wording as well, although they are essentially identical for most of the text.

[Nate]

I don't think I want to answer that]
Ah, sorry; that wasn't my intention. Obviously when He comes back one last time and creates the new Heaven/new Earth we'll recognize Him. I was thinking more along the lines of what the OT says, about how He was nothing special and we wouldn't be attracted to Him. This seems true for the most part, after all, most people of His day didn't recognize Him as who He really was either. So what I'm saying is, you and I would be no different, that we wouldn't see Him as the Son of God either.

I always found that interesting. Contrary to popular belief, Catholics don't worship the images; statues and pictures of Jesus merely serve the purpose of directing our focus to Him. Sure, they are based on what we believe He looks like, but it helps to remind us that He is there. It's sort of like how pictures of our family members remind us of those we love; we don't treat the pictures like people because they are only reminders.

However, we treat holy images and objects with respect because they remind us of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. This means we don't just throw them on the floor or anything; besides, you wouldn't do that to a picture of your dearly departed aunt, would you?

Oh, I completely agree, 100%. I was merely using that example to show how the Ten Commandments are quite vague and have different ways of being interpreted. Same as how some people think the phrase "Oh my God!" is taking the Lord's name in vain, but others don't, or that honouring your father and mother means doing everything they say without question. There's a lot of different schools of thought on all of these things, which I won't get into for time constraints and to deter theological debate.

But yeah, so anyways...I guess this goes to show that McDonald's is everywhere...it's inescapable...O.o

Yeah, unfortunately. XD

[mechana2015]

"...and a sesame seed bun"? This must refer to the "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun" jingle (and later simple recitation) that Burger King used for years.

That's right, Burger King. As in the Whopper. Not the Big Mac.

Whoops...

Well reguardless there have been advertisements that are as much about the contents of the Big Mac in the past, as that ad for the whopper. The sandwich itself has been way more publically publicized than the 10 commandments, recently.

One wonders what would happen to the numbers if a well designed, highly visible 10 commandments marketing campaign were to happen.

[Cognitive Gear]

"...and a sesame seed bun"? This must refer to the "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun" jingle (and later simple recitation) that Burger King used for years.

That's right, Burger King. As in the Whopper. Not the Big Mac.

That's the Big Mac jingle. Unless they both had the same jingle, the following proves it to be Big Mac.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Roe98uRIQ6M

Anyways, While this is sad, it's also completely logical. The Ten Commandments aren't exactly pasted on the sides of buildings anymore.

[rocklobster]

This may surprise some of you, but I actually think it's a good thing the Commandments aren't as publicized. A theocracy is not a good thing at all as Islamic countries have certainly shown us.

[Nate]

That's the Big Mac jingle. Unless they both had the same jingle, the following proves it to be Big Mac.

It couldn't have been Burger King, the Whopper has tomatoes, and the Big Mac doesn't. Also the Whopper doesn't have special sauce, just ketchup and mustard. And it doesn't have two beef patties. The Double Whopper does, but not the regular Whopper.

This may surprise some of you, but I actually think it's a good thing the Commandments aren't as publicized. A theocracy is not a good thing at all as Islamic countries have certainly shown us.

QFT. Theocracies are always bad news.

[Cognitive Gear]

QFT. Theocracies are always bad news.

Look at the Old Testament and tell me that was all bad. :p

But really, theocracies that don't have God constantly intervening are made of fail.

[teen4truth]

I don't know either the ten commandments or the ingriedents of a big mac....I should get to memorizing!