What will You say about the Ten Commandments?
September 28, 2005, Service of Word, Cannon Chapel
By Rev. Dr. David L. Petersen, Professor of Old Testament
During the past year, it has been difficult to read newspapers without finding an article that addresses the Ten Commandments. Just two weeks ago (9/13/05), the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a brief article about a plaque of the Ten Commandments for sale on eBay. That object had been removed by a court order from the Barrow County Courthouse. The sale of the plaque, which had been "authenticated" by the signatures of all Barrow county commissioners, was intended to defray some of the legal expenses incurred by Barrow County in its defense of the plaque in the courthouse. Conversation about the Ten Commandments in our state is very much alive!
Lots of people are talking and writing about the Ten Commandments. They include journalists, legal figures, members of religious communities, radio talk show hosts, and spokespersons for advocacy groups, such as Ten Commandments-Georgia. Everybody but us. Notably underrepresented in these conversations are those from mainline denominations and spokespersons for "progressive Christianity." And, to the extent that representatives of mainline groups do talk about the Ten Commandments, they are usually "nay sayers," maintaining that the Decalogue should not be placed in classrooms or not in front of court houses.
The silence of people like us is not, however, absolute. The Ten Commandments are worrying people; they’re even worrying Methodist ministers. Robert, a Methodist pastor serving a church in Illinois, wanted to talk about them last July. He was trying to carve out a position that he could use with his parishioners. He was interested in knowing what ancient Israelites likely thought about the Ten Commandments. As a result, he asked: did Israel understand them to be a universal moral code, applicable to all people, or did Israel think of them as applying only to themselves? It didn't take me long to respond, since it seems clear that the Decalogue is presented in both Exodus and Deuteronomy as a series of sayings aimed solely at Israel. But I'm not sure my answer to his question was going to help him as he tried to figure out how to think about the significance of the Ten Commandments in twenty first century North America.
Many mainline types, and I include myself in that group, are primarily interested in analyzing the Ten Commandments, rather than talking about their contemporary purport. And there are some fascinating things to study.
First, there is significant controversy about how to translate some of the commandments. Should we translate the sixth commandment, "You shall not kill" or "You shall not murder?" Should we translate the tenth commandment, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house" or "You shall not inappropriately acquire your neighbor's house?"
Second, there are some consequential differences between the two versions of the Decalogue in the OT. In Exodus, the rationale for "remembering" the sabbath is based on the creation of the seventh day as a sabbath. Whereas in Deuteronomy the rationale for "observing" the sabbath is that Israel should remember they were slaves in Egypt.
Third, different religious traditions understand the Ten Commandments in different ways. According to Jewish tradition, the Ten Commandments begin like this: "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt." The Jewish version begins with a theological confession. According to Christian tradition, however, the Ten Commandments begin, "You shall have no other gods besides me." The Christian version of the Decalogue commences with a prohibition.
Fourth, within Christianity, the commandments are divided up differently. The charge, "You shall not make for yourself a sculpted image" is part of the first commandment in Roman Catholic and Lutheran tradition whereas it is the second commandment in the so-called Philonic tradition, which was adopted by many Protestant denominations.
This is interesting stuff and it belongs in any lecture on the Decalogue in an introductory OT course. But this sort of analysis is likely to be of only marginal interest to the person who wants the Ten Commandments placed in front of a court house. That person lives in the conviction, a religious belief, that these divine commands express something central to his or her faith and that they are important for the quality of life in this country.
So, here we are, overhearing others talk about the Ten Commandments and hearing me analyze them. But what shall we say about their significance for today?
During the past month or so, I have asked a number of people about how they as Christians view the Ten Commandments. Here is what I have heard, ten things said about the Ten Commandments:
- The Ten Commandments are not important for me as a Christian—they have been superseded by the NT's emphasis on grace.
- The Ten Commandments are at their best when they say things in a positive and not a negative manner.
- Christian ethics is not based on edicts or commands but rather on sacrificial love.
- The Ten Commandments are Jewish, not Christian.
- The Ten Commandments are part of the Christian Bible. That means I must take them seriously.
- The Ten Commandments are really guidelines but people should not try to obey them literally today. After all, they are addressed only to men, not to women.
- The Ten Commandments symbolize the best in ancient religion that is relevant to our own time.
- The Ten Commandments were given to Israel, a nation that was to become a blessing for all people. Hence, the commandments are for all people.
- The ethical commandments--do not steal, do not murder--are valid for all people.
- The Ten Commandments unite Jews and Christians.
I don't know what any of you would say, but your voice belongs somewhere in this conversation. And so does mine. I'm still working on what I want to say. And I certainly don't want to tell you what to say. But I would like to offer three reflections about the Ten Commandments as you think about what you might say.
1. God comes first in the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue offers a self-avowed theological ethics, not a secular moral philosophy. If one reads the Decalogue in its Jewish version, it begins: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." This first line focuses on God and God's act of liberation. This theological affirmation stands prior to any imperative verbs. What is the case and what has been the case stands prior to any oughts. A positive statement precedes any prohibitions. Further, the first four commandments, at least in the Christian tradition's enumeration, focus on God and how the old and new Israel are to be related to that God. God comes first.
2. The Ten Commandments are a distillation of the Torah. According to medieval Jewish tradition, the Torah is made up of 613 commandments. I mention this tradition only to emphasize that one may find many commandments embedded in the Old Testament. Because of this great number, it seems clear that there was an interest in and need for identifying some core admonitions. What was really important? Here are three separate commands. "Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death." (Exod 21:15). "Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death." (Exod 21:17). "If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey his father and mother, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. They shall say to the elders of his town, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death." (Deut 21:18-21).
Three different laws concerning a child and parents. One can imagine that, over time, there was an interest in identifying some norm about how children should comport themselves with their parents. What better summary than: "Honor your father and your mother."
This process of distillation continued. The final five commandments all involve relations with our neighbors. Here too I can imagine someone asking. Is there some way that I can talk generally about how I should act toward my neighbors, especially if I want to think in positive terms. One writer, whose words have been preserved in the book of Leviticus (19:18), offered a wonderful answer: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Or, someone might read through the entire Ten Commandments and ask, is there I way I can think about my dual responsibilities to God and neighbor? We may find an answer in Micah 6:8, "Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God." That pretty much says it all. That is the ultimate distillation; the really pure and strong stuff.
I would like to propose that we use this very un-Methodist metaphor—that of distillation—for thinking about the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue is a distillation of the 613 commandments. Like any distillate, they are more concentrated and potent than that from which they derived. And there are even more potent distillations—the drops that we found in Leviticus and Micah.
These high proof beverages occur in the NT as well. When Jesus was asked, "Which commandment is the first of all?", he did not refer to any of the Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-34). Rather, he cited the book of Deuteronomy, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." And then, at his own initiative, Jesus offered a second commandment. It, too, cannot be found within the Decalogue. Rather, he quoted the verse in Leviticus about loving ones neighbor as oneself.
One might say that the high proof distillates offered by Micah and Jesus have made the Decalogue unimportant. I disagree. The Decalogue remains significant since it offers concrete and definitive examples of what loving the Lord and loving ones neighbor involve. If you love the Lord, you will not create anything that competes for allegiance to God. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will not scheme to dispossess him or her of either family or property. We need to hear such specific examples of the loving life.
3. The Ten Commandments place the individual within community. The commandments refer to two types of relationship: family member and neighbor. And of these, the neighbor is the more prominent. One might understand the commandments best if we read them this way. You shall not murder your neighbor. You shall not commit adultery with your neighbor's spouse. You shall not steal from your neighbor. You shall not commit perjury when testifying regarding and in front of your neighbors. The Ten Commandants are relational. They do not insist on heroic individual virtue, but in virtue acted out among those with whom we work and live.
So, if the Ten Commandments offer a theological ethic, if they are a distillation of a broader Torah, if they place the individual in community, where do the Ten Commandments belong? On a rock in front of a courthouse? On the wall of public schoolroom? I don't think so. They belong organically within Bibles, Jewish Bibles and Christian Bibles. To take them out is to risk taking them out of that particular context in which they have their special meaning and potency. They stand midway between the full Torah and the high proof distillations offered in both the Old Testament and New Testament.
The Ten Commandments remain a big deal, even for Microsoft. I can't type Decalogue or Ten Commandments without my spell-check program making those words begin with a capital letter. For that reason alone, we, as religious leaders and scholars, must be in a position to say something about them. But the ultimate challenge comes not from Microsoft, but rather from our faith. What does it mean to love God with all your heart? How do you love your neighbor as yourself? The Ten Commandments offer answers filled with distilled wisdom. What will you say about them?