Ten Commandments
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
The Ten Commandments are laws that have historically been accepted as a summary of the most important rules of behavior which God expects humanity to follow. The Bible says that God wrote these laws on tablets of stone and gave them to Moses while on Mount Sinai.
Within Judaism and Christianity alike, the 10 Commandments are held as a vital part of the Old Testament laws. Although most Christians hold them in high regard, they have rejected most of the other Mosaic Laws as no longer applicable or binding. Many Jews see the 10 commandments as not meant to apply to non-Jews. The Noahide laws are held as applying to Jews and non-Jews alike.
The Islamic Qur'an also appears to refer to the 10 Commandments and urges that they be followed; however it does not contain the actual text: "And We ordained laws for him in the tablets in all matters, both commanding and explaining all things, (and said): 'Take and hold these with firmness, and enjoin thy people to hold fast by the best in the precepts'..."7.145
There are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament. They are at Exodus 20:2-17, Exodus 34:12-26, and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Exodus 20 is the most commonly used set.
The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20 (NIV) And God spoke all these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
- "You shall have no other gods before me.
- "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
- "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
- "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
- "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
- "You shall not murder.
- "You shall not commit adultery.
- "You shall not steal.
- "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Legal Issues
For several years, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has been actively combating humanist and atheist groups who are attemting to have Ten Commandments monuments removed from public areas in the United States.
The most recent fight involves demands put forth in 2007 by a group called Summum to have the Utah cities of Pleasant Grove City and Duchesne City erect monuments containing what they call the “Seven Aphorisms”.[1][2] This organization is contending that if the Ten Commandments are displayed then their "Seven Aphorisms" must also be displayed. The Tenth Circuit ruled that private parties have a First Amendment right to put up the monuments of their choosing in a city park, unless the city takes away all other donated monuments. In August 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit split 6-6 over a request for the full appeals court to rehear two cases. If these lower court decisions are not overturned, cities and states could either be forced to dismantle a host of monuments, memorials, and other displays including long-standing patriotic and historical displays or else let all comers install privately owned monuments or displays, regardless of content. However, on March 31, 2008, the ACLJ announced that the Supreme Court granted ACLJ’s Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (No. 07-665).[3]
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