How about posting the Ten Commandments in churches?

[Michie]

Media outlets have been ablaze with arguments for or against displaying the Ten Commandments in public classrooms. I’m actually more concerned about churches posting the Ten Commandments in their own buildings and classrooms.

Last week when Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed legislation requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom in his state, it set off a passionate debate about the place of those commandments in our schools. I thought to myself that before we get all hot and bothered about the place of these commandments in our nation’s schools, how about getting all hot and bothered about placing them in our churches? If I were the head of a denomination, I’d first double down on requiring every church to post the Ten Commandments. After all, churches are supposed to be a light to the world. Yet how many churches post these commandments, let alone post them in a prominent place, or use them in their worship services and liturgies?

The sad reality is that many churches don’t, and for various reasons. Many Protestants and evangelicals have forgotten their confessional heritage. Many have stopped intentionally catechizing their children with teaching tools that use the Ten Commandments. Some have slipped into antinomianism theologies that have no place for law. And rare is the church that refers to them on a Sunday morning, unless, perchance a pastor is preaching through Exodus or Deuteronomy. Consequently, many sons and daughters of the Christian church have lost both their ethical framework and distinctiveness. So, are we really going to insist that our secular school system does what we are not doing?

Continued below.

How about posting the Ten Commandments in churches?

I m actually more concerned about churches posting the Ten Commandments in their own buildings and classrooms

www.christianpost.com

 

[Chrystal-J]

My church does have the 10 Commandments posted.

 

[Tuur]

We have a granite pillar with the Ten Commandments carved into it and posted in the foyer. We memorized them growing up. I have to wonder about that Christian Post article.

Now, posting the Ten Commandments is nice, but reading them is better. I ended up with two framed Ten Commandments hanging in my home, but couldn't tell you the last time I read them. This thread had me seeing if I could still recite them, and after first leaving out not taking God's name in vain, did manage to recite them but I question whether I did so in correct order.

 

[FaithT]

Media outlets have been ablaze with arguments for or against displaying the Ten Commandments in public classrooms. I’m actually more concerned about churches posting the Ten Commandments in their own buildings and classrooms.

Last week when Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed legislation requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom in his state, it set off a passionate debate about the place of those commandments in our schools. I thought to myself that before we get all hot and bothered about the place of these commandments in our nation’s schools, how about getting all hot and bothered about placing them in our churches? If I were the head of a denomination, I’d first double down on requiring every church to post the Ten Commandments. After all, churches are supposed to be a light to the world. Yet how many churches post these commandments, let alone post them in a prominent place, or use them in their worship services and liturgies?

The sad reality is that many churches don’t, and for various reasons. Many Protestants and evangelicals have forgotten their confessional heritage. Many have stopped intentionally catechizing their children with teaching tools that use the Ten Commandments. Some have slipped into antinomianism theologies that have no place for law. And rare is the church that refers to them on a Sunday morning, unless, perchance a pastor is preaching through Exodus or Deuteronomy. Consequently, many sons and daughters of the Christian church have lost both their ethical framework and distinctiveness. So, are we really going to insist that our secular school system does what we are not doing?

Continued below.

How about posting the Ten Commandments in churches?

I m actually more concerned about churches posting the Ten Commandments in their own buildings and classrooms

www.christianpost.com

I agree. And as far as I’ve ever noticed, my church doesn’t.

 

[jacks]

My church doesn't post them either. I think it would be great if they did. Maybe I will suggest it.

 

[The Liturgist]

Most Anglican churches built during the 18th and early 19th century, such as those of Christopher Wren, have the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and one of the Creeds carved into the reredos. I would prefer an icon of Christ our True God both as an adult and the Icon known as the Mercy Seat where He is depicted in infant form in the lap of his glorious Mother, our Lady Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary, and an icon of the Last Supper, and icons of the patron saints of the Church, but I guess that’s why I left Anglicanism for Orthodoxy a decade ago this year, while retaining ties to Confessional Anglo-Catholicism.

But these days since people need to be reminded of the obvious, it seems posting them is a good idea. Or better yet, posting the summary of the Law from our Lord and a quote of 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Corinthians 11 in its entirety (particularly 1 Corinthians 11:2 and 1 Corinthians 11:26-34, the former ignored by the nuda scriptura people who unlike Martin Luther and other early Protestants misinterpret Mark 7 as referring to all Church tradition, when clearly this is not the case, and the latter deleted for reasons I cannot comprehend from the Gospel lesson on Holy Thursday by both the three year Novus Ordo lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary (the Episcopal Church in its 1979 lectionary included an option to read through to verse 30, but it was nor required, and now they have suppressed this lectionary in favor of the RCL). This has greatly bothered me because I feel that people should be aware of the dangers of partaking unworthily, not discerning the body and blood of our Lord, and the peer pressure that exists to receive the Eucharist even if one feels one is unworthy or if one is serving a penance or if one has failed to maintain the pre-Eucharistic fast without a valid reason such as a health issue, in some Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran and even some Orthodox parishes, is a real problem for me.

 

[Nickbrown]

My church doesn't post them either. I think it would be great if they did. Maybe I will suggest it.

Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[dzheremi]

This is a good idea. As far as I can remember, our little parish of St. Bishoy in Albuquerque, NM did not have them posted, but to The Liturgist's point, we did have a sign in English and Arabic over the door listing the rules for communion, e.g., "The believer is a baptized Orthodox Christian", "The believer participates in the fasts and feasts of the Church", etc. This did serve a purpose beyond just reminding us who were there every service of our most basic duties, as we had plenty of very-occasional visitors, including some non-Orthodox and some non-Christians, especially when HG Bishop Youssef (as he was then; now he is HE Metropolitan Youssef) would visit.