DELIBERATELY DIVERSE | The Rev. Terry Pierce
Deliberately Diverse represents the thoughts and opinions of Taylor friends who never completely agree about anything but enjoy diverse discussions.
Editor’s note: This is the second in a twopart series about The Ten Commandments.
State Senate Bill 10, effective Sept. 1, requires the following specific form of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in publicschool classrooms.
The Ten Commandments
I AM the LORD thy
God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.
The text has 12 lines without explanation of how those 12 lines equal 10 commandments. My last article addressed how the first three lines are incorporated differently by Jewish, Catholic and Reformed theologians.
There are also differences in how the last two sentences are incorporated in different traditions. Interpretation is also variable. For example, some traditions would say “thou shalt not kill” and others would say “thou shalt not murder,” recognizing a difference between unintentional and intentional taking of human life.
Some argue for posting The Ten Commandments to counter a perceived lack of moral education of children.
I suspect those with such views are worried about the lack of moral education of other people’s children rather than their own.
Some argue The Ten Commandments are part of the historical foundation of this country.
In 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court overruled posting of The Ten Commandments in Kentucky public schools because, “The court found that the requirement … ‘had no secular legislative purpose’ and was ‘plainly religious in nature.’” (Stone v. Graham. Oyez, www. oyez.org/cases/1980/80321.)
While not killing or stealing is good moral teaching, talking about who is the lord and who are the other gods and what is Sabbath reaches into areas that our Founding Fathers meant when they prohibited the government from establishing a religion and from interfering with the free exercise of religion.
Arguing against posting The Ten Commandments in Texas are faith leaders, teachers and parents.
Some say the state shouldn’t require a particular religious text. Some say that parents and faith leaders should teach religious doctrine. Some worry that teachers are not trained to answer questions about the meaning of The Ten Commandments.
I was an annoying teenager and my first question to the teacher would be a math question: How come it’s called 10 commandments when there are 12 rules?
I agree The Ten Commandments should not be posted in our public- school classrooms.
Pierce is the vicar of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Taylor.
