It seems that there has been a lot of interest in the 10 Commandments here lately. A recent law in the state of Texas currently requires that each public school classroom must post a copy of the Ten Commandments somewhere in the classroom. There are people who are strongly in favor of this law and there are others who are strongly opposed.
I am old enough to remember many of the political fights that were had over the idea of the seperation of Church and State; including the use of the words “under God” in the pledge of Allegiance, apparently the idea of prayer in schools is still cooking somewhere on the back burner, and of course the Ten Commandments has taken center stage. What I don’t understand is Why is this such a big deal?
People who are opposed to Christians having a voice in the public square may feel like our political system is supposed to shield them from any kind of religious messaging coming through government channels. If that is the case, then they are destined to to be very disappointed in life. The very nature of religion is that it fills people’s lives with meaning and having a life that means something virtually guarantees that news will be proclaimed publicly. If it is not the proverbial soap box preacher holding forth in the city park warning his fellow citizens about the coming apocalypse, then it will be the Islamic terrorist proclaiming his own apocalypse at his very own hand. Religion means things to people and that means that they will try to convince others that they should participate in their own path to Nirvana. Indeed, if we really tried to silence all religious talk in the public square, then the religious talk of Atheists, which is itself a religion would hold the top spot in public discourse.
On the other hand, many Christian folks feel that their voices have been, maybe not silenced, but muted for far too long, and they want to reverse the trend. I am reminded that Jesus came at a time in human history when there were a great many religions being practiced and which were legal and he founded a religion that very quickly became not only scorned, but was made illegal and was actively persecuted. Was Jesus extraordinarily unlucky? Was there something that singled out Christianity and made it especially dangerous? Actually Christianity as well as the Judaism that it sprang from are both extremely dangerous. Both of these religions have in common, among other things, an adherence to the Law of God, also known as the Ten Commandments.
But the Ten Commandments are not exclusively religious by their nature. That they were the basic rules given by God, is what makes them religious. However, no one has to be religious to follow them. Only four of the Commandments have anything to do with God, and even three of those can be followed without direct reference to God at all. Even the First Commandment can be kept, loosely speaking so long as nothing else becomes more important than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In a secular sense our system of Judicial Law has its root in the Law of Moses. Do not steal, do not covet, do not lie, do not murder, do not commit adultery all form the basis of all legal systems. We in America are blessed to have a system of laws that do not have their basis in the whims of a King. The Ten Commanments remind us that all people, kings included, are answerable to the Law. In fact our founding documents call upon all persons to know that our human rights are not the gift of our government, but rather, our Government is charged with protecting us to preserve the Rights that were given us by our creator.
In short, the Ten Commanments were written for all mankind, Jewish or not, Christian or not. The Ten Commandmets were an explicit gift from God for all people and for all time. Their purpose was to tell all mankind that there is a source of Truth that is beyond human existence. They were intended to tell Kings that they do not have the authority to determine what is right and wrong. They were intended to tell the Rich that money and power do not make right. They tell the strong that their strength is not enough to determine the right way to live. They tell the ruling majority that there is yet another voting block that is entitled to be counted before the rules are made. The Ten Commandments reveal to the world that The Almighty exists and that He has the final say on the final day.
They say that if we all followed the Ten Commanments that there would be no need for Police, or for Courts, or for wars, or for governments And that is a very good reason to post them in the classroom. All children should be told that they are not the ones who make the final decisions. Because all children believe that the whole world revolves around them, and many of them carry that belief all the way to the grave.