Commentary; Posted: 7/13/05
The Ten Commandments and the courts
By Rev. John C. Blackford,
Religion Columnist
The Ten Commandments, a large part of our Judaeo-Christian heritage, have become a great issue in courts in America.
In the past two weeks, the Supreme Court has handed down two rulings regarding the display of the Commandments on public grounds and buildings. In one decision the Court upheld a 6-foot high Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas capitol, while declaring that framed copies of the Commandments on the walls of two Kentucky courthouses were unconstitutional.
The Ten Commandments date back to approximately 1500 B.C., and according to the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), were given by God to their leader, Moses, on tablets of stone. An older set of laws, called the Code of Hammurabi, came from the Babylonians (modern Iraq) in 2000 B.C., and contains many of the elements of the Commandments.
A prologue to the Code states it was formulated so ìthe strong oppress not the weak, that the widow and orphan be protected.î The Babylonians made no claims of a divine origin for their Code, whereas the Hebrews believed the Commandments were from God to His people through Moses. The differences between them are significant.
The Ten Commandments are found in two places in the five books attributed to Moses, called the Pentateuch, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. The reason for the repetition apparently is that the former was given at the beginning of the forty years of wilderness wandering of the Jews, and the latter at the end, so that those born in that period could receive the same guidance from God as their parents. The Commandments are also known as the Decalogue, from the French words for ìten laws,î which come from the Latin and Greek.
Both Christians and Jews have always given a significant place to the Ten Commandments.
There is a difference among the churches regarding the first four commandments. Basically, it has to do with the content of the second Commandment. In the Roman Catholic and Lutheran faiths, this section is a footnote, so there are three commandments in the first table of the law.
In other churches it is the second, making four commandments in the first table. In the former case, the commandment on coveting becomes numbers nine and ten. (Those who wish to study this matter further are invited to read their own version of the Scriptures, or discuss it with a member of the clergy.)
It is noteworthy to consider the fact that in the various expressions law, only the Ten Commandments include the first three (or four.) They thus demonstrate that Christianity and Judaism are unique among the religions of the world. The writer, a World War II Navy chaplain, had identifying crosses on his uniform; Jewish chaplains wore insignia in the form of the two tables of the Ten Commandments, a reminder of our rich common heritage.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, reporting on the recent Supreme Court action (June 28, 2005) headed the article, ìCourt issues a firm ëmaybeí,î suggesting there will be more rulings on the Ten Commandments controversy.
Perhaps the court members will consider their own building at the outside top has a row of the worldís lawgivers, and each one is facing one in the middle who is looking forward with a full frontal view...it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments. In addition, the two huge oak doors to the courtroom have the Ten Commandments engraved on the lower part of each door. Inside the courtroom, above where the justices sit, is a display of the Commandments. In a democracy, dealing with such important matters takes time and much discussion. Along with it, many will pray about the results and impact of decisions about the Ten Commandments, fervently desiring Godís will be done.
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