There are two reasons I make the distinction that I did. One is that we don't live in a theocracy as the ancient Israelites did. The other is the implication of what happened in the Temple as Jesus died--the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place ripped in two. This was a huge, thick, heavy curtain that no man could ever hope to rip with his bare hands. It was also far taller than any man could ever be, hence the ripping of it was a clear supernatural event. As it happened at the same time Jesus died, and Jesus was *the* Passover Lamb (plus other significance of the temple that I don't remember right now but have studied), the ripping of the curtain signals an end to the sacrifices. Many people have used this as an excuse to say that the Ten Commandments no longer apply.
I will pause to explain why ten commandments: they are ten because we group each commandment that speaks on a particular theme. I am not sure that it matters so much whether there are ten or not, as I can't recall Jesus ever naming the *number*. When he talks to the rich young man, he names off the six commandments that deal with relating to others (leaving off the four that deal with relating to God). It's pretty clear that the verses on making images and bowing to them are related and belong together; remember that verses are a construct of medieval scholars, as the Bible originally didn't even have punctuation, much less verses! And yes, you are correct, Ann, many Christians have not paid attention to the 2nd commandment. The Roman Catholic Church wished to bring more pagans into the fold, pagans who were accustomed to bowing to their idols and statues (and the pretty colors and images would make the worship a "richer" experience), and so they began to make saints of people and sell people pictures of them to pray to (the money didn't hurt either). Although I don't think they ever altered the Bible text itself, in many (perhaps even today, I don't have one to check) Catholic Bibles the special pages with the Ten Commandments on them for easy reference will look a little different than the ones Protestants are used to, as they cut the 2nd commandment (the one about idols) out entirely, and dropped much of the 4th commandment (as they had instituted Sunday as a day of worship to bring more pagans in, the glaring text proclaiming the *seventh* day was a little too obvious). Many Christians have bowed to idols unwittingly--but what God looks at is the heart. It is those who have led them astray that will bear the blame for it.
Anyway, although all the signs make it clear that Jesus was the ultimate Sacrifice (doing away with a need for more sacrifices), it doesn't do away with the moral precepts behind the law, which are embodied in the Ten Commandments. They are not separate laws so much (as I'm afraid I made it sound) as one set is the guidelines and the other set is the implementation. A good example is our laws today in the US. The Constitution sets out ideals such as everyone having the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If they left it at that, people would run roughshod over others because the laws aren't specific. So the specific laws were created to make the ideals obvious and to keep people from maliciously ignoring them. The laws, however, cannot be made to fit every single possible case that could ever exist, and so they are only partial approximations of the principles. In the theocracy the Israelites lived in, the principles in the Ten Commandments were the ideals to live by, and the laws were the approximations of the principles, but necessarily limited. This is another reason why we see laws that don't seem to be completely fair. God required enough to start changing people, but those who really followed Him would show it by applying the *principles* to what they did, not just the laws. We see some of the difference there in relation to the six levels of moral development that are known in modern psychology.
Hence, although we no longer need to follow the literal laws as laid out, the moral principles in the Ten Commandments are timeless and apply even today. The six principles regarding one's neighbor still apply: honor your parents, don't murder, don't steal, don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't covet. It also stands to reason that the four principles governing our interactions with God still do: put God first in everything, don't bow and worship images, don't use God's name lightly or for cursing, and keep the Sabbath day holy. The actual details of how each of these principles looks when put into practice may vary slightly depending on culture and upbringing (this is where the questions come in that will split a group down the middle, each side believing strongly that they're trying to do what is right), which is where it reverts to our conscience, and as Terry said, we have to seek out God's will and earnestly try to do what He impresses on us is right. In many cases there are other clues in the Bible that help us decide what God wants, but in the more complex dilemmas there isn't always an obvious right answer.
I hope that makes things a little more clear--thanks for correcting my error in making them seem too separate.
