Bizarre: "Big Mac" beats the Ten Commandments - pollsters alarmed & concerned

[Bluebear]

Big Mac(R) Beats The Bible for Majority of Americans, Ten Commandments Not Set in Stone

Unprecedented marketing campaign responds to a nationwide crisis ... the illiteracy of The Ten Commandments, through CGI Animation film, The Ten Commandments, set to release nationwide through Promenade Pictures, October 19, 2007

Grassroots feature film campaign focuses on developing unique methods of teaching children and families The Ten Commandments and the deeper meaning of the story

Contact: Lesley Burbridge-Bates of Motive Entertainment publicity dept., 615-321-6400, [e-mail]; for Promenade Pictures
======

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- How many of the Ten Commandments can you name? That was the question posed in a recent survey of 1,000 Americans, which revealed that respondents were more familiar with the ingredients of a McDonald's(R) hamburger than they were with the historical basis for our nation's legal and moral code.

Done in conjunction with the upcoming nationwide theatrical release from Promenade Pictures of the animated feature film The Ten Commandments on Oct. 19, the study was commissioned by the Ten Commandments Commission and conducted by Kelton Research.


"Knowing and living the Ten Commandments empowers people and feeds their souls, while knowing the contents of a famous hamburger, at most, only feeds the stomach," said Dr. Ron Wexler, president of the Ten Commandments Commission. "How empowered we would be as individuals and as a culture if we knew and lived by, the very foundation of our moral and ethical codes."

Dr. Ted Baehr, president of the Christian Film and Television Commission and publisher of www.movieguide.org, adds that this is not just about knowledge. "We see the negative impact in culture today as people more and more consider these rules only 'Ten Suggestions,'" Dr. Baehr said. "Crime is more rampant than ever, teenage pregnancies are on the rise, dishonesty in business continues to make headlines. We are seeing the results when society disregards these words from God." Note: Don't we have actual laws to cover these crimes?

The random survey showed that respondents could recall both the Big Mac(R) ingredients and the members of the fictional TV series Brady Bunch family more easily than they could name the Ten Commandments. Consider:

· 80 percent surveyed know "two all beef patties" of the Big Mac(R).
· "Thou shalt not kill," was known to fewer than six in ten respondents.
· 62 percent know that pickles are an ingredient of a McDonald's(R) Big Mac(R) hamburger.
· Less than half (45 %) can recall the commandment to "Honor thy father and mother."
· The vast majority of those surveyed could easily name the primary ingredients in a Big Mac(R): two all beef patties (80%), lettuce (76%), sesame seed bun (75%), special sauce (66%) pickles (62%), and cheese (60%).
· Seven of the Ten Commandments are familiar to less than half of the individuals polled, including the more commonly recited, "Honor thy father and thy mother," and "Remember the Sabbath."
· Bobby and Peter, the least-recalled names from the Brady Bunch (43%), were more familiar to respondents than the least-recalled commandments, "Remember the Sabbath" (34 %) and "Do not make any false idols" (29 %).
· Even those who attend a place of worship at least once a week had a bit of trouble naming all ten. "Thou shalt not kill" (70%) and "Thou shalt not steal" (69%) are still less top-of-mind with this group than the top two ingredients in a Big Mac(R) -- two all beef patties (79%) and lettuce (76%).


Another dynamic of the studies done in connection with the film includes an online video of "man on the street" interviews that also tested the limited knowledge by individuals of the Ten Commandments against their ability to easily recite many trivial cultural facts. Respondents had no trouble recalling the four members of the classic rock group "The Beatles," but many times couldn't name even one commandment.

Promenade Pictures sees this as a critical time to release the feature film, The Ten Commandments, starring the voice talent of Ben Kingsley as narrator, Christian Slater (Moses), Alfred Molina (Ramses) and Elliott Gould (voice of God).

"We selected The Ten Commandments as our first film in the 'Epic Stories of the Bible' series because it is a pivotal story in the history of the Bible and one that the three major religions on earth respect," said Cindy Bond, president and COO of Promenade Pictures, producer and distributor of the film. "We are delighted to work with Motive Entertainment to use our film as a basis for the 'Ten Commandments Challenge,' to help increase everyone's familiarity with this important story."

The Ten Commandments Commission has teamed up with Promenade Pictures and Motive Entertainment, to encourage public participation in the "Ten Commandments Challenge" in conjunction with the theatrical release. The extensive grass roots campaign for The Ten Commandments film release, spearheaded by Motive Entertainment, will include nationwide screenings, endorsements from key leaders, promotional materials, publicity, radio promotions and Internet. Individuals and groups can visit www.10commandmentschallenge.org to see how they measure up against the national average and to download materials for their uses.

As a part of the "Ten Commandments Challenge" marketing campaign, an unprecedented opportunity will be available to the media as well as to leaders in the faith-based market, through a world-wide conference call/press junket held via phone on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2. The call will be moderated by Motive Entertainment and participants will be able to listen in on interviews and submit e-mail questions to the film's key talent. The call will also be taped for future uses and available as a podcast for a period of time following the call. Talent available for interviews on the call will include: Academy Award nominee, Elliott Gould ('God' in The Ten Commandments film), Cindy Bond (president, COO, Promenade Pictures), Ed Naha (Honey I Shrunk The Kids, The Ten Commandments film screenwriter), Jeremy Camp (Christian artist, GMA 2005 Best Male Artist of the Year, wrote and performed song "I Am Willing" for The Ten Commandments film) and Dr. Roni Wexler (president, CEO of The Ten Commandments Commission), who will conduct the interviews.

TO RSVP TO JOIN THE LEADER/PRESS JUNKET CALL, receive the call-in number and all necessary info, please click here.

Promenade Pictures is releasing "The Ten Commandments" in theaters nationwide Oct. 19, as the first in its "Epic Stories of the Bible" 12-film series. See www.10commandmentsmovie.com for more information.

Promenade Pictures was founded and is led by studio pioneer and entertainment industry legend Frank Yablans, who serves as CEO. Cindy Bond, who serves as President and COO of the company, oversees a team of veteran media industry executives including Ron Booth, Charlie Gay and John McAdams. Promenade Pictures has established itself as a full-service production, distribution and marketing company specializing in the distribution of theatrical motion pictures appropriate for the entire family. The company has leveraged the expertise and relationships of its principals and senior executive team to build a highly successful operation that in just a few short years has emerged as one of the leading privately held independent film and television companies focusing on the family market.

Promenade continues to maintain its independence and aggressively explore opportunities that will build upon the company's business mandate. Further branding itself in the family arena, Promenade has already entered into contracts and associations with many of the most recognized moral-valued authors, filmmakers and brands. For more information, please visit www.promenadepictures.com

Los Angeles based Motive Entertainment, which directed the grass roots marketing campaigns for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, the Tom Hanks/Robert Zemeckis film, The Polar Express and the record breaking Walden Media/Disney epic series, The Chronicles of Narnia, will develop and maintain extensive marketing for the film.

The Ten Commandments Commission is a coalition of churches, synagogues, civic and community organizations dedicated to keeping America One Nation, Under God. It was founded in 2005 by Dr. Ron Wexler, an Israeli-born Orthodox Jew and Dr. Myles Monroe of Bahamas Faith Ministries International. Their mission is to repair the damage caused by the landmark Supreme Court decision in McCreary County, KY v. ACLU of Kentucky and other similar legal cases that have removed the Word of God from our national conscience.

http://www.earnedmedia.org/mm1001.htm

[Dark]

1. Why do "christians" focus on the ten commandments and not the Beatitudes?

The latter seems a lot more akin to Jesus' message.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Its so convenient.....Its so Recognizable....and...ITS A BUSINESS

The Bastids are God Whores....Getting RICH using the BIBLE/////

[Dark]

55. Yea, getting rich off of the bible, whatever your religious/non-religious beliefs,

is reprehensible.

[EST]

3. You are asking for a level of sophistication and commitment

that few dabblers in religion possess, or even want to.

When you try to teach that there are more like forty three commandments, jaws slacken and the next point, the essential message concerning the utter impossibility of continuously observing all, is totally missed. (Or, at best, greeted with a sigh of relief.)

[WinkyDink]

4. Because Christ's words are incompatible with their life-styles, so they are ignored.

For too many, it seems to be sufficient to believe IN Christ, not actually to LISTEN TO Him.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

13. And there is another point:

Implicit in the "New Covenant" that Jesus brought was a replacement of the Levitican tribal laws of the Old Testament. No longer would ascribants be subject to the stern and unforgiving laws of a merciless god of desert tribes. No, the message was one of mercy, compassion and acceptance.

Of course, this makes for awful wedge politics.

[Clark2008]

14. Good questions.

As a Christian, I know the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount pretty much nullified the Ten Commandments. Jesus WHOLE speech on the mount was to nullify Jewish law. It's what spawned Christianity.

How come these people don't know this?

[zeemike]

24. I must take exception to this

"I know the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount pretty much nullified the Ten Commandments."
To the contrary they are the basis of the beatitudes and the sermon on th mount.
Where the confusion comes in is the confusion of the ten commandments with the Laws of Moses.
The ten commandments were intended and indeed were like our constitution in that they laved down some basic rights and wrongs and on that Constitution just like on the commandments was the laws of the land and the laws of Moses written.
The commandments were intended to be permanent and if you look at them there is noting in them today that is not just under our own law just as it was so under the jewish laws of the past.
Laws however do change all the time as they become obsolete or seen to be unjust or unfair.
So we must never confuse the Commandments with the law.

[Bill McBlueState]

47. that's a good point

Somewhere in the gospels, Jesus is quoted as saying that he came not to abolish the old laws, but to fulfill them. That's hard to reconcile with any claim that he nullified the ten commandments.

[zeemike]

51. There is a reason that some want to believe

That Jesus wanted to nullify the Ten commandments. There is one of them that they cannot keep without serious change to our way of life.
And that is of course "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy"
They have no problem with the part about going to church every 7 days but the rest of the Sabbath which is the heart of the matter is not part of the social economic system.
That no one should be compelled to work more than six days in a row without a rest
That the land is given a Sabbath and is allowed to rest every seven years
And that every 7x7 or the fiftieth year all debts are forgiven and the land is returned to it owner.
It is not possible to keep the Sabbath holy without fundamental economic and social change.

[Tesha]

18. They like smiting more than loving. (NT)

[lumberjack_jeff]

48. Smiting is cool. Heh heh. n/t

[Dark]

57. Too true. They always seem to focus on the OT, with its wonderful commands to

stone recalcitrant children, among many other absurdities.

[Rabrrrrrr]

61. They don't like any of Jesus' words, except the few about hell, because it's costly

That is, they'd actually have to change their lives if they followed what Jesus actually said.

They like the Ten Commandments because they're easy to do, and don't cost anything to do.

Feeding the hungry - that costs money. But not killing them? That's easy. And free. And of course, they would never make the large ethical implication that by not feeding the hungry they are killing them, because it's the hungry person's fault for not having food, and so they are killing themselves. And since killing yourself a sin, the fundy fucks can hate the hungry even more - "Look, Eunice, those poor people sitting there killing themselves by not eating. What disgusting people. Thank God we don't have to help people like that."

[trusty elf]

5. Anybody care to add some commandments to this list?

This is an old bit of inshrubordination that I got tired of and left unfinished.

[krispos42]

6. Lies. All fo it is lies.

These people absolutely REFUSE to admit that anything beside The Lord can affect people. And when that means giving Clinton credit for it, the squirming quintuples!!!

Under Reagan and Bush41, it sucked big time. Under Clinton, with his COPS program and other domestic policies as well as fiscal responsibility and a good economy. Under Bush43, it's starting to creep up again.


Note that the first two graphs are plotted on a log scale









See? All this stuff depends entirely on the income levels and education of a given group, not on how many Commandments people know.

[monktonman]

7. Big macs taste a whole lot better than bibles!

Everyone knows that. Besides, a big mac never molested anyone, never started a war, never embezzled money, never killed anyone (well not directly), never went on a crusade, doesnt spread hate and fear, etc.
Can the bible say that?
I think not.
I know what I'm having for lunch today.

[Clark2008]

15. Um... actually, the Bible never did any of those things, either.

People who misinterpret the lessons in the Bible have done those things, but, I'm sorry - an inantimate object such as a book cannot rape, lie, steal, kill or spread hate.

But, neither can a Big Mac.

Oh - but a Big Mac can make you fat and unhealthy.

:hi:

[booley]

8. Can some one tell me something?

"...teenage pregnancies are on the rise,"

maybe I missed it but where in the ten commandments is there anything saying you can't have sex until you are no longer a teenager?

Though for the record, i would love it if more people followed the ten dcommandments. Or at least if more Theo-Cons did.

Why not start small, just do the ones about not killing, stealing or bearing false witness?

[notadmblnd]

9. Perhaps if they cam up with a catchy little jingle for the 10 commandments

people would remember more?

[Richard Steele]

10. Two All-Beef Patties Special Sauce Lettuce Cheese Pickles Onions On A Sesame-Seed Bun. JESUS WEPT.nm

[Buns_of_Fire]

22. Word for word! And I STILL can't remember my own !@#$%^&* phone number!

[Theres-a]

58. McBlasphemy.

[Solly Mack]

11. The 10 Condiments

1.Ketchup
2.Mayo
3.Mustard
4.BBQ sauce
5.Salsa
6.Hot Sauce
7.Soy Sauce
8.Duck Sauce
9.Sweet and Sour Sauce
10.Special Sauce

slather, lather, and gather

[Maeve]

16. Heretic!! The 10th is Relish!

Nevermind the fundies who stick to the basics of salt and pepper first....

[Solly Mack]

17. I am so damned! How could I forget the relish?!?!

lolol

[moggie]

12. What nonsense!

Knowing and living the Ten Commandments empowers people and feeds their souls

How am I empowered and nourished by knowing that I must not work on a Sunday, or that I must not make idols? I worked last Sunday, and took Friday off. That's my choice. And lookee here:

"Thou shalt not kill," was known to fewer than six in ten respondents

Does anyone seriously believe that more than 40% of respondents don't know that killing is wrong? Of course they know that, which is the important thing. If they can't associate that imperative with a particular passage in a particular old book, that's quite surprising, but isn't necessarily a cause for great concern. I imagine the Ten Commandments Commission is mainly interested in commandment number one: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Hence their commitment to "America One Nation, Under God".

[midnight]

19. "Thou shalt not kill" That is a biggy. I don't think God gets over

that one too easily.

[moggie]

28. It's not THE biggie though

That would be the one about not having any other gods. The OT god's priorities were pretty out of whack. Check out the story of Elisha and the bears to see how cool he was with killing.

What's your point, exactly? Which is more important: that a person knows that killing is wrong, or that they can remember Moses?

[Tesha]

20. Why would anyone believe the Ten Commandments?

Why would anyone believe the Ten Commandments?

Let's just take "Thou shalt not kill".

Seems pretty straightforward, but society constantly
hedges against the meaning, being more than happy to
allow the killing of:

o Criminals who've committed the "heinous crime du jour"

o Soldiers fighting for the other side

o Women who mouthed-off at airports

o People who invade your home.

o People who merely appear threatening to you in the
public square.

o Homosexuals and witches, from time to time.

o People whose skin is the wrong color.

Clearly, "Thou shalt not kill" *ISN'T* a rule obeyed
by society so why is anyone surprised when individuals
in the society disregard it?

And don't hand me that cute little finesse about it
really being "Thou shalt not murder"; the definition
of "murder" seems conveniently flexible as well.

Tesha

[Jed Dilligan]

38. A poster here (don't see him around anymore) once explained to me

that the Hebrew is really "Thou shalt not murder." His point was that it was okay to kill Iraqis because it wasn't considered murder under the UCMJ.

[Tesha]

44. I covered that in my last paragraph; that's just a fig-leaf covering the fact that...

> A poster here (don't see him around anymore) once explained to me
> that the Hebrew is really "Thou shalt not murder." His point was
> that it was okay to kill Iraqis because it wasn't considered murder
> under the UCMJ.

I covered that in my last paragraph; that's just a fig-leaf
covering the fact that societies condone murder all the time
too.

For example, the execution of a number of innocents (and women
who are screaming at the airport).

Tesha

[gollygee]

21. Maybe they should do billions of dollars worth of advertising

That's how McD's did it, if they're wondering how McD's got so well known.

[MilesColtrane]

23. There's a reason Moses didn't make it to the promised land.

Over a billion burgers with cheese sold. Oy!!!

[BlooInBloo]

25. We're a stupid, trivial people. This isn't news, folks.

[NMMNG]

26. "Thou shalt not kill," was known to fewer than six in ten respondents.

Most of them can be found among Iraq war supporters.

[radfringe]

27. maybe they should push McDonalds to print a commandment

on each burger wrapper?

give out wind-up burning bushes with each Thou-Shalt-be-Happy-meals?

[peekaloo]

35. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's burger!

:bounce:

[radfringe]

45. THOU SHALT NOT HAVE ANY OTHER CLOWNS BEFORE ME?

[lumberjack_jeff]

49. Honor thy burger and fries. n/t

[Bluebear]

46. 'Thou-Shalt-be-Happy-meals?'

:spray:

[bullwinkle428]

29. Once again, kids, it's time to review George Carlin's take on the Ten Commandments:

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

http://www.geocities.com/bobmelzer/gc10cx.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

50. ... but he loves you. And he needs money.

"Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money."

[Javaman]

30. God needs a better ad campaign...

perhaps if they set the 10 commandments to a catchy jingle?

[elehhhhna]

31. But like 92% of Americans SAY they go to church regularly. Liars.

[youthere]

32. More like 25%

It's called the "halo effect". People lie on polls and surveys all the time, to make themselves look good.

[Kelly Rupert]

34. Most churches don't cover the 10 Commandments regularly.

They're not exactly applicable, I would say, since Jesus narrowed it down to two anyway.

[Kelly Rupert]

33. Gotta love computer-generated advertisements

[Homer Wells]

36. A stroke of genius

having Trapper John as GOD!!!!

I wonder if God likes Big Macs (R)?????
LOLOL

[yardwork]

37. Laugh. Out. Loud.

no text

[sinkingfeeling]

39. The ten commandments have nothing to do with 'the historical basis for our nation's legal and moral

code.'

[spoony]

40. ah, the smell of anti-theist bait in the morning

[Matariki]

41. actually crime is down I think.

and 'not having another god before me' or that thing about 'graven images' is quaint and irrelevant at best.

[Apollo11]

42. I love the humor in this news release

"Ten Commandments Not Set in Stone" ;-)

I just e-mailed it to a bunch of people.

Thanks! B-)

[Cha]

43. And Ted's

fuckmeister monkey is in charge.

"Dr. Ted Baehr, president of the Christian Film and Television Commission and publisher of www.movieguide.org, adds that this is not just about knowledge. "We see the negative impact in culture today as people more and more consider these rules only 'Ten Suggestions,'" Dr. Baehr said. "Crime is more rampant than ever, teenage pregnancies are on the rise, dishonesty in business continues to make headlines. We are seeing the results when society disregards these words from God." Note: Don't we have actual laws to cover these crimes?"

[LanternWaste]

52. Doesn't surprise me--

Doesn't surprise me-- The Ten Commandments are in a book (books-- very unpopular with many people in the age of the X-box and the I-pod), while the Big Mac is marketed in multi-media outlets that takes no more than 30 seconds to understand, of which we are conditioned to not merely tolerate, but to condone and enjoy.

I doubt the authors of the Old Testament had snazzy jingles, streaming media, or push-advertising in mind...

[petronius]

53. I forgot the pickles, but I only got 8 commandments (Catholic style),

so by percentage I guess I'm one of those bad Americans the pollsters are railing about. However, I gave myself bonus points for knowing that the commandments are actually not "...the very foundation of our moral and ethical codes."

[slampoet]

60. See my post #59 below. 99% of the christians can only get 8 of them of less.

[SoCalDem]

54. Ahh, the dirty-thirty (%) is at it again..

methinks they doest protest too much.. Maybe they are not that mega-force they have pretende to be..:)

[BoneDaddy]

56. Since when do most Christians know the Bible?

I have found that I, an agnostic, with an interest in world religions know more about the Bible, it's history and theology than most Christians.

Being Christian for most is nothing more than being affiliated with a "winning team". Kinda like all the Yankee, Cowboy and now Red Sox "fans" who can't mention a single person who plays for them.

[slampoet]

59. Most educated Christians and Intellectuals can only name 8 out of the ten.

This is because most of the meanings of the commandments overlap and get mixed in a person's mind. George Carlin did a great routine about how the meaning of all the commandments can be condensed into just a few statements. Also there are at least four major versions of the commandments and how they are said depending on whose bible you are reading.

People used to be able to recite Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner and other poetry and now they are taught different things in school. We don't learn Greek, Latin, or Chaucer in school anymore either. We don't do as many memorizations of texts from the ancient world as we did in say....the imaginary 1910 prep-school America where the producers of this movie seem to live.

BTW- i live down the street from one of those going back to the 1780's prep schools and i can tell you they sure don't teach any of the ancient texts like they used to.


The fact is this lack a memorization focus is being used to stir up a feeling that we are less religious than we were at the founding of this nation and this just isn't true.

Other than a big surge of church going at a few different time in our history like the 1840's church going has more or less been consistent and stable in America.