The trouble with the reversal of Matthew 22:37-29's ordering of the commandments is that it relies upon human power -- rather than divine power -- to achieve the desired results. Implicit in the reordering is that people will actually abide by the new first commandment, which is to treat others as one wishes to be treated themselves.
One of the cornerstones of the Bible is the notion that mankind is inherently sinful. It's important at this point to define "sin" -- sin, according to the Bible, is not only the explicit commission of some wrong act, but rather the failure to abide by God's will. A quick reading of the Ten Commandments reveals that God's will extends to our thoughts as well as our deeds. The inability to mankind to abide perfectly to these commandments -- and perfection is required as God is perfect in His Holiness -- is the basis for the Bible's judgment that man is inherently sinful. (That is why the most useful way of viewing the Ten Commandments is not as a ladder one climbs to God, but rather as a mirror in which one sees one's true self. That is when the gift of Grace through Jesus Christ becomes evident.)
Therefore, if mankind is incapable of avoiding sin, then mankind is incapable of perfectly following the commandment to "treat others as they themselves wish to be treated." Some will try not at all; some will strive heartily and fail frequently. Small infractions lead to larger ones; habits nurtured become character.
That is why, I feel, that Jesus ordered the commandments the way he did: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." From that will flow greater obedience to the Lord, which results in God's Holy Spirit working through the obedient to further God's Will here on earth.
The objection is that someone such as Osama Bin Laden would argue that by murdering thousands they are, in fact, being obedient to God or loving God, perverse as that may be. This then is why I believe another cornerstone of the Christian Faith is a belief that Scripture is inerrant -- not literal, but inerrant -- and that God's will is revealed in Scripture. Believing this, then one's obedience to a calling can be tested against Scripture. And "testing against scripture" involves not only specific verses, but context within the passage, within the book and within the Bible as a whole. One who claims to be justified in doing something heinous such as killing thousands with a terrorist strike would find no support for their plans in Scripture.
If mankind were first to love the Lord their God and from that then strive to do right by God's will, then we would have a better world. When man inverts the equation man falls prey to his inherently sinful nature, and the best laid plans are eventually corrupted.
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Ok I see what you're getting at, but if man cannot abide by "Treat others as they wish to be treated" isn't man left with the same problem with trying to abide by "Love God with all your heart soul and mind"?
I think you're saying that if a person can start down the "Love God with all your heart soul and mind" route then he'll get a boost (from The Holy Spirit) which will allow him -- give him the strength -- to continue? This may be true but impossible to measure?
The trouble is .. what is the best approach, what is the most practical approach to a better world today? A billion Muslims are not going to convert to Christianity, neither are Jewish folks. So this entire tranch of humanity will probably never follow Jesus' covenant and carry on in their partisan factions.
The trite answer is to say "Ok, their loss, they were given the opportunity" -- this strikes me as not that divine and lacking in love. Wouldn't it be better to ask everyone to try to share in the doctrine of "Treat others as you wish to be treated"? Incidentally that would stop Muslims trying to convert Christians to Islam ... because a Muslim himself what not like a Christian trying to convert him to Christianity :-)
You say:
"One who claims to be justified in doing something heinous such as killing thousands with a terrorist strike would find no support for their plans in Scripture."
What if they deserved to die? Osama thinks they deserved to die in 9/11. The folks in Sodom & Gomorrah deserved to die also I believe, this is Biblical support for killing people on a large scale is it not?
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