In religion, a precept is a divine commandment.
Precept , originating from the Latin praeceptum , is a notion that refers to a principle or a rule . It must be said that this Latin term is made up of the sum of two components, perfectly delimited:
-The prefix «prae-«, which can be translated as «in front» or «before».
-The verb "capere", which is synonymous with "take" or "catch".
What is a precept
A precept, in this way, can be an instruction that a teacher or a hierarchical superior indicates to a disciple or subordinate.
For example: "I am going to let you direct the company's new commercial project, but I ask you not to stray from my precepts" , "The team has not yet assimilated the precepts of its new coach" , "This group does not have precepts that sustain it."
Precepts can be instructions or steps to follow.
The term in law
Within the scope of law, we find what is known as a constitutional precept. It is an article that is part of the aforementioned constitution and that establishes an order or mandate.
Furthermore, we could establish that precepts of this type are divided into two: those that refer to fundamental rights and those that revolve around the powers of the State .
The precept as a moral principle and as a rule
Precepts can be associated with ideas or rules that constitute the moral or ethical basis of something. The owner of a company can require employees to respect his corporate precepts, such as the immediate satisfaction of customer complaints or respect for co-workers.
A football technical director, for his part, has tactical precepts that he seeks to impose on the teams he directs. Defending with a line of three players, including a midfielder who acts as a hook and trying to play from the back with short passes can be some of the precepts of a coach.
The notion in religion
In religion , precepts are commandments that are considered instructions from God or emanations of divine laws. Not eating pork is one of the precepts that the Jewish religion respects, while making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your life, whenever you have the possibility, is one of the Islamic precepts. Among the Catholic precepts, we can mention the obligation to attend mass every Sunday.
Specifically, within the Catholic religion we find the existence of two types of precepts in the set of the Ten Commandments. Thus, on the one hand, there are affirmative precepts, which are those in which it is ordered to do something specific. Examples of this are commandment number 1, which says "You shall love God above all things," command 4, which states that "You shall honor your father and mother," or commandment 3, which reads the following: "You shall sanctify the festivals."
On the other hand, there are negative precepts that prohibit doing something. Examples of these are the remaining seven commandments, among which are number 2 which states that "you shall not say the name of God in vain", number 6 which determines that "you shall not commit impure acts" or number 10 which states that "You shall not covet other people's goods."