Cindy Allen, Editor for the Enid News and Eagle, wrote an editorial for the July 5, 2023, newspaper entitled The Ten Commandments in School Would Violate the Constitution.
Cindy Allen is a friend. She’s smart, community-oriented, and works great as our local newspaper editor. I sometimes irritate Cindy with my positions and writing, but Cindy never personally irritates me. I admire what she does for our city.
That said, I trust James Madison on the Constitution of the United States more than Cindy.
James Madison is known as “the father of the U.S. Constitution.” He served as the fourth President of the United States. He was the primary author of the Bill of Rights and engineered the Louisiana Purchase (1803). Madison believed the Ten Commandments to be the moral foundation for a just government.
According to politician historian Clarence Manion who summarizes Madison’s views in The Federalist,
“Our entire political experiment swings upon our capacity to govern ourselves according to the moral law…. The only people who can afford the great luxury of a civil government strictly limited by law are those people who recognize and are willing to live by their natural, God-imposed obligations and responsibilities under the Ten Commandments.” (Source: Clarence Manion, The Conservative American 197, 1964).
To Which Commandment Do You Object?
The first? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people who love themselves more than God and others (self-indulgence).
The second? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people that love money, finance, and luxury more than justice (self-exaltation).
The third? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people that think they are more important than the Creator (self-righteousness).
The fourth? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people that think working seven days a week without rest is normal and natural (self-importance).
P.S. – The Hebrew word “Shabat” – translated into English as “Sabbath” – simply means “seven.” A human being must rest for one out of seven days.
The fifth? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people who disrespect and dishonor their mothers and fathers and have anarchy in the home (self-love).
The sixth? – If so, you’ll have a nation of juveniles entering schools to murder teachers, students, and adult volunteers who have offended them (self-justice).
The seventh? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people who feel it is normal and natural to cheat on the person to whom they’ve vowed fidelity (self-satisfaction).
The eighth? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people who act as if it is okay to steal what others possess, turning a land of liberty into a territory of tyranny (self-gratification).
The ninth? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people who think it is okay to lie as long as the purpose is noble, and soon “the truth” becomes subjective (self-justification).
The tenth? – If so, you’ll have a nation of people who falsely believe equality of outcomes is the same as equality of opportunity (self-aggrandizement).
The Ten Commandments Remind Us that Life Is about Others, not Self
Oklahoma House Bill 2177, passed by the Oklahoma State Legislature and signed by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, approves the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.
My two-fold question to my friend Cindy Allen is as follows:
- To which of the Ten Commandments do you object?
- Which principle of the U.S. Constitution is violated by the public display of the Ten Commandments?
I respect all my friends who disagree, but I can say emphatically, dogmatically, and Constitutionally that the display of the Ten Commandments in the public education classrooms of the United States is Constitutional, beneficial, and ultimately existential for our Republic.
Wade,
There is only one of the Ten Commands that has a promise. The fifth one states: “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land your God has given you.” (Exodus 20:12 NLT)
Wade, I agree the Ten Commandments would be beneficial if they were displayed in our public schools.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 KJ)
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NLT)
Rex,
Precisely!
Am wondering which of the three versions of the Ten Commandments might be used:
the Jewish version, the Catholic version, or a Protestant version?
What I do know is that the Catholic version is used to teach the young how to ‘examine your moral conscience’ with the end goal being that the person must consider the consequences of their actions or inactions in the various situations posited.
I am aware that some Protestant faith communities are using the Ten Commandments in a similar way,
but I do not see that happening among the evangelical-fundamentalist communities, unless I have misunderstood, because there appears to be little to no focus on the priority of moral conscience as ultimate guide in certain communities. If I have misunderstood, it may be because I cannot ‘translate’ some of the recent changes in beliefs in the evangelical political scene. Many people are confused. I am not the only one. (sigh)
Christiane,
You are asking about interpretation.
🙂 Shabbat is the Hebrew word for SEVENTH. The principle of the SEVENTH DAY is that a man should work no more than six days a week and REST on the seventh.
Everything else seems fairly clear!
I like what you said, ‘examine your moral conscience’ with the end goal of being that person who must consider the consequences of their actions.
That’s good.
CHRISTIANE,
My brother-in-law and his brother Bill were raised Catholic until they became Baptist. As kids at ever confession, Bill would tell the priest when his father was asleep, he would steal the money in his pants. Bill was wearing the Priest out until the Priest told him if he didn’t take over a certain amount not to bother him. So, Bill took less than that amount and never bothered the Priest again.
CHRISTIANE,
Bill and his wife are in heaven now. She had a wonderful voice, and the song I liked best was “If it wasn’t for the Lighthouse (Jesus) where would this ship be?”
REX RAY, I have many photos and pictures of lighthouses in my home as my son is a US Coast Guard officer, and ‘light houses’ have a special meaning for me too . . . we are not ‘alone’ in the dark thanks to Christ 🙂
is this the song you liked best? I hope so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s0PpBqI4Mc
CHRISTIANE,
That was it! Thank you!