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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

There is much said these days about the Ten Commandments and whether they can be or should be displayed on property owned by the various governments in these United States of America. The argument in favor of their display is that the United States was established under God and the Ten Commandments are the foundational precepts upon which our republic came into existence and continues to exist.

Of course, the focus of the opposition to their display is based upon separation of church and state issues, and rightly so. These commandments are elementary to Judaism and Christianity and a display of them clearly infers a governmental preference for Judaism or Christianity and is clearly precluded by the first article of the Bill of Rights.

But, let's look at the look at this issue from another standpoint. Are these commandments really fundamental or foundational to our laws?

One version of the Ten Commandments (there are two versions in the Old Testament) begins in Exodus, 20:2, wherein God is alleged to say "I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." This verse appears to me to be more of a statement than a commandment and to count it as a commandment would make 11 commandments. Clearly, however, this verse is directed at but one group: those descendants of Abraham who had escaped slavery in Egypt. The framers of our republic clearly were not kept in slavery in Egypt, nor were they descended from those slaves. Most of the framers of our country were from England and other northern European countries and were not of Jewish descent.

The first actual commandment is in Exodus, 20:3, which states that "You shall have no other gods before me." One could argue that this verse allows for a person to have other gods after this god of Moses, but the footnote to the verse indicates that the word "before" could be interpreted to be "besides". Despite this admonition, it is clear that the framers of our republic decided that the government should not establish this Judeo-Christian god as the god of the land. Instead, not tenth, fifth or buried anywhere, they denied this god a superior position in the very first amendment to the Constitution, the first section of the Bill of Rights by ordaining that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…" Also, other parts of the first amendment relate to the guarantees of free speech and free press and the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Once again, the freedom from the establishment of religion was first in the first amendment.

The second commandment, found in Exodus, 20:4-6, states that "You shall not make yourself a graven image…[and] you shall not bow down to them or serve them…" Once again, this commandment was clearly rejected by the framers of our republic when Congress was precluded from making any laws relating to religion in the first section of the Bill of Rights.

The third commandment, found in Exodus, 20:7, states that "You should not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…" While a bunch of kids have probably had their mouths washed out with soap over this commandment, I am not aware of any federal law relating to this commandment. Once again, such a law would be precluded by the first article of the Bill of Rights and can hardly be considered fundamental to our republic.

The fourth commandment, found in Exodus, 20:8-11, requires that we "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…[and] in it you shall not do any work…" This commandment presents a few problems. First, the Sabbath day is not the same in every religion; in fact, each religion (Judaism and Christianity) that accepts the Ten Commandments observes it on a different day. To accept one day over the other appears to me to be a clear violation of the first article of the Bill of Rights and the old "blue" laws that restricted sales on Sunday are now a thing of the past. Thus, to allege this commandment to be fundamental to the republic is absurd and clearly denied by the framers in the Bill of Rights.

The fifth commandment, found in Exodus, 20:12, requires that you "Honor your father and mother…" Obviously, this is a desired quality and society operates better if we do honor our parents, but it is hardly a fundamental law of the land. We have laws that govern the relationship of minor children with their parents. Parents have responsibilities in regard to the raising and supporting of their children and children have legal responsibilities in regard to obeying their parents, but no where is there a requirement that children honor their parents. Once grown, of course, except in the area of inheritance, the legal relationship between parent and child is pretty much governed by the same rules that govern all legal aged adults. Thus, to say that this commandment is fundamental to our republic is absurd.

This sixth commandment is the first commandment that can be said to be fundamental law. In Exodus, 20:13, we are commanded: "You shall not kill." This is generally accepted to mean that you shall not kill another human being, as we routinely kill other animals for food and sport. While a matter of great debate, we have often accepted the killing of another human as punishment for various crimes, generally the most heinous ones. But, do we in the United States observe this law because of this commandment? I say no! Rather, this is a fundamental rule of society. No civilized society of humans can exist where humans can routinely and without punishment kill other human beings. We do not need the Ten Commandments to know that we should not kill another human being.

The seventh commandment, found in Exodus 20:14, says: "You shall not commit adultery." This is a commandment which, if followed, aids in preserving an organized and successful society. Adultery can cause dissention, fighting and perhaps even deadly combat between the parties involved and can break apart families and have extremely injurious effects upon the children of the families. Yet, to my knowledge, the federal government has never made laws relating to adultery. Many states once had laws making adultery a crime, but most have abolished those laws leaving these issues to the individuals involved. Likewise, many states established alienation of affection as a tort (civil wrong doing), but that cause of action, also, has become nearly extinct (FN1). Once again, to not commit adultery is a desirable quality, but not fundamental to the laws of our republic.

The eighth commandment is the second commandment that can be said to be fundamental law. In Exodus, 20:15, we are commanded: "You shall not steal." For society to be successful, its members must work hard to sustain themselves. In turn, that means that a person who has worked hard must be guaranteed that the fruits of his or her labor shall remain his or hers and not be stolen by another. Thus, any successful society must have rules against stealing and so does the United States. But do we have these rules because of this commandment in Exodus? As with the rule against killing above, I say no! Rather, this is a fundamental rule of society. No civilized society of humans can exist where humans can routinely and without punishment steal from other human beings. We do not need the Ten Commandments to know that we should not allow one person to steal goods acquired by the other person through his or her honest and hard work.

The ninth commandment is found in Exodus, 20:16, and states that "You shall not bear false witness against you neighbor." This is normally meant to mean that you should not lie about your neighbor and can probably be extended to lying in general. Once again, this is a desirable quality as society operates better if people speak honestly of others, but it is not a fundamental part of our law, with a few exceptions. It is a crime to lie in court and sometimes in business dealings. The concept of "let the buyer beware" is well engrained into our legal system.

The tenth commandment is found in Exodus, 20:17, and states that "You shall not covet your neighbor's house…your neighbor's wife…or anything else that is your neighbor's." Now, this commandment is almost un-American for many many Americans in fact do want to have what their neighbors have – not what they actually have, but something just like it or preferably even a little better. "Keeping up with the Jones" drives many Americans into extra jobs, unwise financial decisions and undue stress. So, the commandment is, no doubt, a wise recommendation, but hardly fundamental law. There are no laws against wanting the actual thing that another has, but there are laws regulating the means by which you can obtain it. As mentioned above, stealing is precluded. Even wanting your neighbor's wife or husband is not against the law and those laws precluding attempting to get your neighbor's wife or husband (alienation of affection laws) are going away.

Please note, that in regard to the last commandment, I left out the sections where one should not covet his neighbor's manservant, maidservant, ox and ass. They seemed to be a little out of sync with today's culture. Some people do have servants, but we ought to bring these up to date a little. The ox might be a Cadillac and the ass might be a beat up pickup.

I think I have made a clear case against the proposition that the Ten Commandments are fundamental to the laws of our republic. The only commandments that can be considered fundamental law are the commandments about killing and stealing and do not require any intervention from a supreme being to make them legitimate. They stand on their own as essential rules by which all organized and successful societies must operate.

The commandments as to honoring one's parents, adultery, bearing false witness and coveting one's neighbor's belongings may encourage wise courses of action and in some cases there are legal regulations affecting those, but those commandments do not relate to fundamental law. The commandments as to no other gods, graven images, taking the Lord's name in vain and keeping the Sabbath relate entirely to Judeo-Christianity and are clearly denied efficacy by the first article of the Bill of Rights.

In short, the Ten Commandments are in no way fundamental American law.

I am sorry that I have examined this mundanely in a numerical order, but it seems that the subject required a point by point examination of the commandments. Quotations from the Bible are from my Revised Standard Version (the only one I have).

Footnote 1 (Back)
For instance, on June 16, 2003, the Missouri Supreme Court abolished the tort of alienation of affection. At that time the court noted in its footnote 3 that, prior to its holding, thirty-four states had abolished the tort by statute and six had abolished it through the courts. Louisiana and Alaska never recognized the tort. The case is Katherine Louise Helsel, Respondent v. Sivi Noellsch, D.C., Appellant. The court's case number is SC85053; I am sorry, but I do not have the Southwest Reporter citation.