WhyTheBible

Should the Ten Commandments be Posted in Schools?
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Notes: The views expressed below are not necessarily those of the author, but rather are intended to make people think. Feel free to distribute this essay anywhere you want, including web pages, newsgroups, forums, and e-mail. All scripture quotes, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New King James Version of the Bible.
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Not only should public schools be allowed to post the 10 Commandments, they should be REQUIRED to post them in each and every classroom. The lack of God’s Word in everyday life is clearly the reason for immorality so common among today’s youth. If we force the Bible into every kid’s daily life, all of their troubles will be solved. The Ten Commandments are only a start. We MUST restore things to the way they used to be.

If the killers at Columbine had seen "thou shall not murder" every day, there is no question it would have stopped them from gunning down their classmates. Same with any other would-be shooter. It doesn’t matter if they’re being bullied and picked on. There have always been bullies, and kids have always picked on each other. It also doesn’t matter if firearms are too easily available to these kids. The bottom line is, none of the school shootings would have happened if the Holy Bible had been present in those buildings.

Kids also need to see "Thou shall not steal". Kids today shoplift, and even commit auto theft. Obviously, these youngsters have no idea that stealing is wrong. We must allow God to tell them Himself, by posting His command not to steal where they see it every day.

The complete text of Exodus 20:1-17, where the Ten Commandments are delivered to Moses, must be posted and made clearly visible in every classroom of every school. That way, God’s Word will speak for itself to our children, and they will absorb the full meaning. Take, for instance, the first two commandments:

Exodus 20:2-6
2"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3"You shall have no other gods before Me.
4"You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.


The meaning here is unmistakable. You'd better worship the Bible God, and Him alone. We must put down everyone who rejects our God by displaying this on public walls. The message is that the one true God is extremely jealous, so much so that if you commit the horrible sin of rejecting Him, your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will suffer. Infidels must be constantly humiliated and brought to shame by seeing this message. It is their only hope of realizing the truth.

It is so important to God that you worship Him that He orders the death penalty for those who do otherwise.
Exodus 22:20
"He who sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

Deuteronomy 17:2-7
2"If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, 3who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 4and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 5then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. 6Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 13:6-10
6"If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, 8you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.


Immediately after that, God orders the destruction of cities which do not worship Him.
Deuteronomy 13:12-16
12"If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, 13"Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods"'--which you have not known-- 14then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, 15you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock--with the edge of the sword. 16And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again.


In the following passage, we find out how God dealt with some of the Israelites who built a golden calf and worshipped it instead of Him.
Exodus 32:27-28
27And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."' 28So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.


Are you getting the picture? God places exceedingly high importance on worshipping Him and only Him. Absolutely no ignoring Him or turning to other gods is tolerated. We must not allow anyone who doesn't worship our God to forget for one day what grievous sin they are living in.


Foul language is on the tongues of our youth today. Some even use God’s name as a swear word. Clearly, these kids don’t know the third commandment.
Exodus 20:7
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.


Could God be any clearer than that? He places this commandment even before "thou shall not murder", which is three commandments later. What is the penalty for cursing God’s name?
Leviticus 24:13-16
13And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 14"Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15"Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: "Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death.
Leviticus 24:23
Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.


Clearly, God will not tolerate disrespect toward Himself. It is our job to warn people to show Him reverence.

Violation of the next commandment is commonplace today.
Exodus 20:8-11
8"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.


Could God be any clearer than this? No work on the Sabbath. Again, God places this before "thou shall not murder". Why do we see stores open on the Sabbath day? That is a clear violation of God’s Word. This must be stressed to young teens who are looking for part-time employment or planning for careers. You must not take a job which, even occasionally, forces you to work on the Sabbath. It doesn’t matter if you can’t get a good job and can’t pay your expenses. God knows best, and He says no work on the Sabbath.

What is the Biblical penalty for infraction of the Sabbath? You can probably guess, if you don’t already know.
Exodus 31:14-15
14You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Numbers 15:32-36
32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.
35Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp." 36So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.


No violating God’s Sabbath law, and this includes picking up a few sticks. If you do, you will pay the price. The next commandment is also routinely broken by today’s youth.

Exodus 20:12
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.


You must honor your parents and obey their voice, no matter what their rules are. If this hurts you, or makes you an outcast, too bad. What is the penalty for disobedience? You guessed it.
Exodus 21:17
"And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21
18 "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20And they shall say to the elders of his city, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' 21Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.


Later, Jesus reiterated this commandment, condemning the Pharisees for failing to execute offenders.
Matthew 15:3-4
3He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4For God commanded, saying, "Honor your father and your mother'; and, "He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'


We all know about #6, which forbids murder. As we read in Leviticus 24:20, "fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth". #7 forbids adultery. Young children should see this who might not know what adultery is so they can find out. #8 forbids stealing. #9 forbids lying. The tenth and final commandment:
Exodus 20:17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."


In addition to forbidding one to desire someone else’s belongings, this commandment also teaches us two forgotten but important truths. 1: A woman is her husband’s property. Your neighbor’s wife is categorized with his house, slaves, and livestock. 2: God has given us the right to own slaves, as He mentions them here with no hint of disapproval.

Let’s examine a few other scriptures which demonstrate that woman is the property of man.
1 Corinthians 11:8-9
8For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.

Genesis 3:16 (NLT)
Then he said to the woman, "You will bear children with intense pain and suffering. And though your desire will be for your husband, he will be your master."


Right after the Fall, God mandated that man rule over woman. We see in the following verses how a man can purchase a wife.
Deuteronomy 22:28-29 (NIV)
28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.


Further proof that woman belongs to man is found in Numbers 31, when God commands the genocide of the Midianites.
Numbers 31:17-18 (KJV)
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.


The key words being "keep alive for yourselves" in reference to virgin girls.

Ephesians 5:22-24
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.


Since Christ is God, a wife must treat her husband like a god, submitting to his every command and desire. If we teach this Biblical truth to our young people, maybe they will return to the proper roles of marriage when they are older.

As for slavery, God makes clear that a slave is his master’s property, with which the master may do what he pleases.
Exodus 21:20-21
20"And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his property.

Leviticus 25:44-46
44And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have--from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.


God commands His people to take slaves from cities they capture.
Deuteronomy 20:10-14 (NIV)
10 When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. 11 If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. 12 If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. 13 When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. 14 As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.


Slaves are commanded to treat their masters as if they were God, and be pleasing to them, even if the masters are cruel.
Ephesians 6:5 (NASB)
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;

1 Peter 2:18 (NLT)
You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters. Do whatever they tell you--not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are harsh.

Titus 2:9 (ASV)
Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters, and to be well-pleasing to them in all things; not gainsaying;


If the heretic Abraham Lincoln had read these verses, maybe he wouldn’t have torn America apart over slavery in the 19th century. And we wouldn’t have the unBiblical 13th Amendment in our Constitution, which, in defiance of God’s Word, forbids us from owning slaves. If our children learn that slave ownership is a God-given right, perhaps one day the 13th Amendment will be repealed.


God takes sin so seriously He once demanded that animals be ritualistically slaughtered before he would forgive the transgressions of men.
Leviticus 5:7-10
7"If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. 8And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off its head from its neck, but shall not divide it completely. 9Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 10And he shall offer the second as a burnt offering according to the prescribed manner. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.


Having the Bible in our schools will teach children a great respect for God and for life, as evidenced in the above scripture quotes. We must not wait to bring back God’s word. Who knows what could happen if our country continues to turn its back on God?

[ August 03, 2002: Message edited by: WhyTheBible ]</p>

One of the last sane

Clearly, not only should the Ten Commandments be posted in schools, but a large pile of stones should be assembled at each school for dealing appropriately with transgressors. Praise the Lawd!

Defiant Heretic

Another suggestion I've heard is to make them post all of the different versions of the 10 commandments, from different books of the bible, different editions of the bible, etc. There are many variations and printing them all would demonstrate that the bible isn't so infallible.

Defiant Heretic

Of course, if they do post the commandments, it means they won't be able to bring into the schools that classic graven image: the crucifix

4th Generation Atheist

That would, of course, be a good side-effect.

Why not a big ol' wall-of-nonsense with everybody's out-of-date "Commandments", from all philosophies? We could start with the Bill of Rights, which we soon won't be following either...