Are the Ten Commandments 'religious'?
A law-suit in the United States demanded that a monument in a public park inscribed with the Ten Commandments be demolished. Apparently it offended the civil rights of atheists! But why so much opposition to this body of law? Is it indeed 'religious'?
The Ten Commandments, of course, are in the Bible - listed, for example, in Exodus chapter twenty. Most in our western society have heard of them. And though they are termed "commandments", few obey them! But just because they are in a religious book, are they merely religious? Can even secular society at large just ignore them? If we are of a faith that doesn't use the Bible should we be any less governed by "the terrible ten"?
Lawless Consequences
Even a superficial look at this concise body of law must stir some measure of agreement - whatever your religious faith or lack of it. Would you, for example, quarrel with You shall not steal? All of us do our best to protect our personal property. We spend multiple millions on security! If this law were removed from the nation's statute book there would be massive insurrection. And if it were not human nature to covet another's possessions or to indulge in 'conspicuous spending', look at the cost savings! So - is this a "religious law"?
Then there's the instruction Do no murder. What would your reaction be to the abolition of this law? Is it 'religious'? And what about the commandment that forbids perjury ('false witness')? How much more smoothly would our justice system run if nobody lied in court - or received the just Biblical punishment if they did so! Again - is it "religious"?
How many husbands and wives have longed for a strengthening of another of those "obsolete Bible laws": You shall not commit adultery? Vast heartache would be saved if wife-swapping, secret trysts, open adultery and all forms of sexual aberration were outlawed - and dealt with. Imagine the huge benefits to society: divorce would plummet, one-parent children would be rare, lawyers would diminish, billions of dollars redirected to productive use.
Then there's that law the breaking of which has caused endless heartache: Honour your father and your mother with its direct promise that if this instruction were honored the nation would thrive. Today? The elderly are despised and often abused, abandoned, murdered - even by their own children!
But what of the first four commandments? How do they relate to a secular society?
The Sovereign Creator
These four say: No gods before the Lord. No images or worship of other gods. No distortion of the divinely-revealed religious practices and form of worship. No violation of the seventh day Sabbath. Surely this is religion? Only if you don't believe there's a Creator God! With Him, religion and life - the nitty-gritty of day-to-day affairs - are intertwined. A whole, seamless.
Failing to recognize His sole authority, His sovereignty - as outlined in the first four commands - over every aspect of our being destroys the individual, the family, the nation - and ultimately the world.
Operating Manual
All ten Commandments originated when man was first created. They are the basis of the Manufacturer's Operating Manual. We were created by God with a specific physical, mental and psychological profile. His Law (Heb. torah = instruction) was the optimum way for us to live.
Look at the destructive effects of the clash between diverse religions within a nation. India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria - and increasingly our western democracies - are rent by religious disharmony. Unity of belief - if it is God's revealed faith - unifies a nation. (Wherever a false religion is imposed on a nation it becomes totalitarian.)
God's Law is not "religious"! In reality there's no conflict whatsoever between law and true religion. Yet our nation's leaders show a strong distaste for it. And perhaps surprisingly many of our religious leaders are intent on doing away with the divine Law!
So - no religious bias in any of these laws. Just plain common sense. Just sound regulation of human society. Indeed that's what The Ten are. These Laws were imparted to humanity at our very beginning. Observe them and we will live in peaceful harmony. Transgress them and we get hurt, because we are designed to function best as we live within them.
Plan B
Adam - mankind - chose a different path. Before long he began to walk his own way - a downward path we have, with few exceptions, ever since followed. With disastrous results. Happily. our merciful Creator has a 'Plan B'.
God foresaw human unwillingness to follow the Manual. The 'egg was scrambled' and could not be restored by human ingenuity! Only a divine plan could reconcile us to our Creator. [see other articles in this issue of New Horizons]
Why on earth, then, are these practical laws - perfectly designed to regulate society - so opposed!
The End of Civilization
Today we face the end of human civilization. Man has ignored the Manual and cocked a snook at the Maker. The "machine" is disintegrating and is ready for the scrap-heap. Until the United Nations, the Taliban, the Northern Alliance, our various national governments, our Local Councils, our families base our laws on the Ten Commandments society will continue to decay - and will experience serious consequences.
And until you personally base your life on this Law you will continue to suffer all that life throws at you. For the Ten Commandments define sin - again, not in truth a "religious" word! Sin is the transgression of what the apostle Paul called "the holy and just and good" Law of God (Romans 7:12). But sin simply refers to all that's wrong with individuals and society. Ignore God's Law, destroy it or disobey it - the end result is the same - death. Death for every society, every culture, and for you.
Write for our free booklets What Do You Mean - "Repent'? and Coming To Baptism. They clearly show you how to get on the narrow road to abundant life - now, and for all eternity.
To comment on this article or request more information, please contact James McBride by e-mail at the comment form below.
For PDF or mailed copy, see CGOM. Excerpt from New Horizons Volume 6 No. 1, January/February 2002. Edited by James McBride of the Churches of God, United Kingdom.
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