Louisiana intends to put copies of the Ten Commandments in every school. State Representative Dodie Horton, the politician who crafted the law, said during the debates, “I’m not concerned with an atheist. I’m not concerned with a Muslim. I’m concerned with our children looking and seeing what God’s law is.” Horton’s statement is interesting.
First, she assumes students will notice the Commandments and read them. As I recall, I attended Coolidge Junior High for some time before I realized it wasn’t named after the former president. Yet, the story was on the wall. (The only thing I recall about this Coolidge is that he was a longtime friend of poet Carl Sandburg.) Will state approved curriculum require students to read or memorize the Commandments, like in Sunday school? One is tempted to ask if Horton believes the parents of Louisiana are failing to do their duty and she must step in as a surrogate.
Second, she obviously revers the Commandment as “God’s law.” Okay, I’m a former pastor, I get that. Even agree, though I’d argue they don’t comprise all of God’s will for us. Anyway, just how will the nature of the Commandments be explained? Get this, THE COMMANDMENTS ARE INFUSED WITH THEOLOGY. In both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, they are inextricably linked to this statement: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery….” Those words, described by F. W. Robertson as the nearest definition of God in the Old Testament, picture God acting in history on behalf of a particular people, the Jews. That act—the Exodus—explains why God can demand absolute devotion: “You shall have no other gods before me….” The Commandments assume a people in a relationship with this God, though it seems those without than relationship can be coerced to obey. But, of course, ancient Israel is not 21st century America.
Other commandments are also rooted in Biblical assertions. How about, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy?” In the context of Exodus 20, that means no work—none. Does Representative Horton intend to stop semis loaded with all kinds of merchandise from traveling I-10 through Louisiana on Sundays? Will the Saints not be allowed to play on Sundays?
Then, too, the rationale for keeping the seventh day holy, is the assertion that God rested from his creative activity on the seventh day. Will biology teachers in Louisiana be expected to reconcile that with what they are teaching about evolution?
I could go on. What’s a child to make of “Honor your father and mother,” when those parents are persistently high? What can be said to the kid who sees dad hit mom (or mom hit dad, the statistics are about the same in Louisiana)? Will hearing or reading “Thou shalt not kill” really make a difference in a state with one of the highest murder rates in the nation? Will there be no more purse snatchers in the French Quarter once they learn “Thou shalt not steal?”
The point is, the Commandments are not just a collection of challenging words. We’re intended to think about them, discuss them, try to understand what they mean (Deut. 6:7) To fully appreciate them, we need a community of faith. If her pastor has done his duty, Horton knows this, knows that just being able to recite the rules doesn’t change behavior.
Why, then, push such controversial legislation? Horton’s motive may be just as she said: she wants children to know what God’s law is. But we know some Scripture-quoting, Bible-toting politicians promote Christo-populist programs, even if they know the programs won’t achieve the desired end, just to get attention. We call it grandstanding.
