Second Commandment

The Second Commandment refers to and deals with the way Abrahamic worshippers of the true God worship. The second commandment's most obvious aspect governs the use of physical "helps" or "aids" in worshipping the spiritual God.

• The second of the Ten Commandments, refers to:
  • "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" under the Talmudic division of the third-century Jewish Talmud
  • "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" under the Augustinian division used by Roman Catholics and Lutherans
  • "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" under the Philonic division used by Hellenistic Jews, Greek Orthodox and Protestants except Lutherans

• In the new testament, the Second greatest commandment is to "love thy neighbor as thyself." In first glance, though this may seem as a contradiction, it can be reconciled and understood that these two greatest commandments mentioned in the new testament are just a summary of the actual 10 commandments.