The Ten Commandments - Basis for Civil, Secular Law?

In a previous article, I attempted to demonstrate that the public, official recitation of prayer by school children had inherent problems and doubtful efficacy. I also tried to show that the reluctance of honorable people to embrace such recitals was not motivated by hatred of Christians, the majority faith in this country, but rather that, to many, even the form and language of the prayer was offensive and, in some instances, forbidden.

In addition to the reinstitution of public prayer, some posters have complained that we liberals have forbidden the governmental display of the Ten Commandments which are said to be the cornerstone, the very pillars of our system of law, our very freedoms. Often, the term, "liberals" is combined with "secular" to show that liberals or democrats cannot also be devout.

I can speak only for myself.

The Constitution prohibits the federal government or that of any state from passing any "law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." The first part of the quoted phrase comes into play in the school prayer issues and those involving the Commandments. As I pointed out previously, the issue starts with whose prayer, which Commandments. Which version should be the version "approved" by the state? Since the language is said to come from Exodus and Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Scriptures, what is its importance and significance to Jews? The Commandments, which can be counted in Exodus as being 17 in number and, in the second Book, 21, are in Jewish orthodox belief equal in importance to 613 total commandments in the Bible. If one wishes to be technical, of the 613 Commandments, the penalty for violation is often death; only one commandment is associated with a specific reward for obedience. Under the conventional grouping and numbering by most Jews, Anglican and Protestants, the Fifth Commandment, "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." Actually, later Rabbis have interpreted that passage as a direction to support the elderly and infirm, the cornerstone of the modern social welfare programs! There are a number of ways to number and combine the Ten Commandments. In any event, I would urge that there are only a few of the Commandments that are consistent with our civil law; the rest are totally inappropriate in a pluralistic society. Let us see what they are.

The First and Second Commandments, according to the accepted numbering of most Judeo-Christian faiths, come from Exodus:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments."

Can there be anyone who could rationally suggest that this passage does not create an "establishment of religion"? The Deity is identified as the God of the Hebrews and insists on exclusivity, threatening generations of yet unborn children with punishment for their long passed ancestors' violation of that exclusivity.

Jewish and Christian interpretations of these clauses are vastly different. To a Jew, a painting of God is forbidden; Christian art is replete with statutes and paintings of God, Jesus, and icons which may constitute "idols". I'll leave that to theologians; I am not qualified.

The Third Commandment is, as many, a noble direction, but hardly the basis for civil law: "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name."

Do we really want to have a police officer arrest a person who has uttered an unfortunate phrase upon striking his thumb with a hammer? Or how about Rhett's parting words to Ms O'Hara?

The next Commandments deal with maintaining the Sabbath and giving honor to one's parents, the second of which has already been discussed. As to the Sabbath, whose shall we choose? Jews and some Christians treat Saturday as the Sabbath, traditional Christians consider Sunday the correct day and many Muslims have chosen Friday. We have a long and checkered and continuing history in this country regarding governmental enforcement of the Christian day of rest. Do we really want to revisit that arena? Should Jewish-owned businesses be compelled by law to close on Sunday and compelled by faith to close the previous day?

The next four Commandments, prohibiting murder, adultery, stealing, and swearing falsely, committing perjury, have been made a part of civil law, with some modifications. These are all worthwhile directions; will placing them on a monument reduce the number of violations? Will a potential thief be swayed by the moral imperative?

The final Commandments come from this passage: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Our legal and penal system punishes acts, not thoughts. Skipping over the feminists' objection to the characterization of a "wife" as property, the equivalent of an "ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor", isn't the "coveting" of the neighbor's things - other than the wife - the rationale of our economy? My kid "covets" the I-Pod of his friend; as a good American am I not expected to buy him one, too? Hasn't the president spoken of our obligation to shop and bolster the economy?

Coveting may be a moral flaw, but a crime?

We may, if we choose, place all of society's failings on a lack of faith. I choose to fault a failure on the part of parents to supervise and show by example, an awarding of star status to the spoiled, undisciplined role models presented by the entertainment industry to our children, the publicizing of out-of-wedlock births as normal and appropriate, the treating of hip-hop rap culture and music as a valid art form and the list can go on and on.

Placing a monument at government expense won't cut it. And that's even if we can decide on what goes on the monument!