With Louisiana’s Ten Commandments’ Law requiring the posting in public school classrooms moving towards enaction, critics are raising concern that the language used for the Commandments’ sign constitutes a form of “choice”. In essence, the “choice” of words constituted a preference towards a particular religion or religious sect.
“Choice”, in this instance, is nonsensical. The wording of the Ten Commandments is both complex and simple. The mere explanation as to why is a valuable lesson in and of itself.
The original version of Ten Commandments is in Hebrew, not English. The Commandments were first published as part of the Torah or the Five Books of Moses. The first iteration of the Commandments takes place in the Book of Exodus. In Exodus Chapter 20, at Mt. Sinai, the first version is delivered to the Children of Israel. The Torah also contains a second version of the Commandments in the Book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy, Chapter 5’s version, however, has slight differences from the original.
Thus, the Ten Commandments’ “choice” controversy perhaps started as soon as the Torah was disseminated to the public. Ancient people were well aware of there were differences within the Torah’s versions.
This awareness is evidenced by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 20th Century. These ancient scrolls, which date as far back as approximately 150BCE, included an iteration of the Ten Commandments. Biblicalarcheology.org
This fragment “harmonized” the two Torah’s two versions. Thus, early on, multiple versions of the Commandments were in circulation. With respect to the Dead Sea Scrolls’ version, there was an actual change to the Commandments.
The basis for the change stemmed from the fact that each Torah version of the Commandments gave a different reason for the Sabbath. In Exodus, the Commandments refer to the six days of creation of the world as the basis for the seventh day of rest. The Deuteronomy version refers to the act of the Exodus- being freed from bondage- as being the basis for the day of rest.
Due to the differences, the scribe of the Dead Sea Scroll version “harmonized” the text by placing both rationales within its version of the Ten Commandments.
In sum, Judaism, prior to Christianity, circulated multiple versions of the Commandments.
Since the Louisiana Ten Commandments’ text is an English translation, we must discuss the notion of translation. Translation is an art form. While at times translation can be ideologically driven, it is also driven by other concerns. Some translating want to be literal. Other translating have the goal in making in easily readable.
With respect to the Louisiana Law, the translation has other concerns. There is the need for children to understand them and not be burdened by the original text. Providing a simplified version assists with teaching the material. Having taught the subject as an Elementary School Hebrew Teacher, I have never used an exact text when teaching.
With this laid, out, we can now look at what will be placed in the Louisiana classrooms. The following is the version which they intend to employ:
“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.”” La Times.
Arguably, this content is excellent. This content addresses the Commandments essentially as a moral code as opposed to being a foundational document of a nation.
In essence, while the Ten Commandments were originally intended as a founding document of the Israelite nation, they were transformed into a moral code of conduct after the Israelite nations fell. After that, the Ten Commandments no longer served as a nation’s law. Rather, both Jews and Christians embraced them to serve as a portable moral code of conduct. Wherever they would live, they would abide by their country’s laws as well as their self-imposed moral code.
For example, in the United States, while there are no laws concerning honoring one’s parents, people still practice their moral code to treat their parents accordingly. Also, while people in a society may be able to work seven days a week with no break, these individuals will take it upon themselves to have a day of abstinence from work. A day upon which they can rest and reflect. Finally, while a government cannot restrict its population from the emotion of coveting, people following the Ten Commandments personally try to avoid being jealous of others and their possessions.
In the end, the notion of preference concerning the the proposed language of the Ten Commandment, in this matter is sheer nonsense. The proposed language does not reshape the Commandments or truly favors one religion over another. Rather, it provides a simplistic version suitable for children. Any accusation that it takes sides on theological questions is exaggeration at best.
The scary bottom line for those opposing the Ten Commandments in school is that it sparks the notion that people can create or adopt moral codes outside of government laws to live their lives. For instance, just because the governments allow for alcohol use, marijuana use, gambling, abortion, and prostitution does not necessarily mean that an individual should engage in those activities. Rather, children should be encouraged to live by a moral code. The Ten Commandments, to young children, offers up the most well-known moral code as an example.
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“This cause has persisted because conservative partisans believe it’s a way to mobilize their base,” said Kevin M. Kruse, author of “One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America” and a history professor at Princeton University. He disputes the historical reasoning being used in Louisiana.
“This isn’t about uniting the people of [Landry’s] state; it’s about trying to divide them with a culture war issue that he thinks will win his side votes.”
Is there only one version of the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments come from Jewish and Christian Scripture, which says there are 10 of them but doesn’t number them specifically. Catholics, Jews and Protestants typically order them differently, and the phrasing can change depending on which Bible translation is used or what part of Scripture they are pulled from.
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“If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses,” who got the commandments from God, said Landry during the signing ceremony at a Catholic school. The governor also is Catholic.
What version is Louisiana using in its public schools?
No Bible translation is named, but the Ten Commandments in the Louisiana law appear to be a variation on the King James Bible version and listed in the order commonly used by Protestants.
Translated in 17th century England from biblical languages, the King James version was for centuries the standard Bible used by evangelicals and other Protestants, even though many today use more modern translations. It is still the go-to translation for some worshippers.
The version in the Louisiana law matches the wording on the Ten Commandments monolith that stands outside of the Texas Capitol in Austin. It was given to the state in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a more than 125-year-old, Ohio-based service organization with thousands of members. In 2005, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled it did not violate the Constitution and could stay.
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The Eagles did not respond to the Associated Press’ request for comment, but the organization notes on its website that it distributed about 10,000 Ten Commandments plaques in 1954. The organization also partnered with the creators of “The Ten Commandments” to market the film, spreading public displays of the list around the country, according to Kruse, who wrote about the relationship in his book “One Nation Under God.”
“It’s significant that the Louisiana law uses the same text created for ‘The Ten Commandments’ movie promotions by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and Paramount Pictures because it reminds us that this text isn’t one found in any Bible and isn’t one used by any religious faith,” Kruse said via email. “Instead, it’s a text that was crafted by secular political actors in the 1950s for their own ends.”
What concerns are being raised about this version?
Although white evangelical Protestants and many white Catholics unite behind conservative politics today, the King James Bible has been used historically in strategically anti-Catholic ways, including amid the anti-Catholic sentiment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, said Robert Jones, president of the Public Religion Research Institute and author of “The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy.”
The Louisiana law contains plenty of evidence, including the specific Bible translation used, that the real intent is to privilege a particular expression of Christianity, Jones said.
“What it is really symbolizing is an evangelical Christian stamp on the space,” he said. “It is less about the ideas and more about its use as a symbol, a totem, that marks territory for a particular religious tradition.”
This version is an odd choice, Kruse said, but he thinks it speaks more to how political leaders view religion.
“Decades ago, we would have seen this as a triumph of Protestantism in a deeply Catholic state, but I think its adoption today just shows how little the political leaders of the state actually care about the substance of religion,” Kruse said.
For Benjamin Marsh, a North Carolina pastor watching the Louisiana law, his primary concern is people’s spiritual formation, so altering the Ten Commandments is worrisome to him.
“The problem with changing the text of the Ten Commandments is you rob the spiritual implications of the actual biblical text. So you’re giving some vague likeness to the Ten Commandments that isn’t the real thing,” said Marsh, who leads First Alliance Church Winston-Salem, part of a conservative evangelical denomination.
Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, drew cheers when he invoked the new law on June 22 while speaking to a group of politically influential evangelical Christians in Washington.
“Has anyone read the ‘Thou shalt not steal’? I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible,” Trump said during the Faith & Freedom Coalition gathering. “They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world.’’
How exactly will the Ten Commandments read on the classroom displays?
Under “The Ten Commandments,” the text in Louisiana classrooms will read: “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.”
Meyer and Smith write for the Associated Press.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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