What's Wrong with The Ten Commandments in Public Schools

Part 2: It is a Misrepresentation of True Christianity

But more important than honoring the legacy of our founders, given the purpose of this blog, is that requiring posters of the Ten Commandments is a misrepresentation of true Christianity to the children of other religions. To be clear, I do believe that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16) including the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament. After all, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). But like Tim Alberta, it never struck me as a coincidence that the vast majority of references to Scripture from politicians came from the Old Testament. “Jesus, in his three years of teaching, taught mostly about helping the poor, humbling oneself, and having no earthly ambition but to gain eternal life. Suffice it to say, the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount were never conducive to a stump speech” (The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory Page 47). It is obvious from the money invested in these battles, the contempt for the poor or the refugee, and the political partisanship behind them that proponents of Christian Nationalism have no interest in eternal life, only earthly wealth and status. Not only that, but they blatantly violate Exodus 20:7. When most people think of taking the Lord’s name in vain—I think the NIV’s translation, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God” is more accurate—we think of using God in a curse word, which of course we shouldn’t do. But this commandment also encompasses the wicked practice of co-opting God’s name for nefarious purposes. Isn’t that what Christian Nationalists are doing when they use God’s name to advance their political agenda?

But for the sake of argument, let’s imagine that the motives for Louisiana’s law are pure, and proponents of Louisiana’s law are truly motivated by nothing more than a genuine desire to ensure that in today’s tumultuous world, America’s children have a strong moral foundation. Just as with religious persuasion, moral education is also primarily the responsibility of parents, but given that children generally spend around seven hours a day, five days a week, nine months of the year in school, schools also have a significant influence on the moral education of children. Let us also imagine just for argument’s sake that you also had a genuine desire to make sure every child is exposed to the good news of the gospel, not to make them fully American, but because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and you worry if they aren’t exposed to God’s word in school, they never will be and thus they will wander in darkness their whole lives. Other religions, including Humanism, share moral principles in common with Christianity—charity to those in need, compassion and humility—because these basic moral principles are a component of God’s general revelation to all of humanity. But only Christianity offers the hope of eternal salvation. I would still argue there are more appropriate passages to accomplish these purposes than the Ten Commandments. For an example of what I mean, let’s look at Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Lifelong Christians like David French and myself might not think anything of this commandment on the poster because we are part of the privileged majority and we understand what it really means for our day. While in the Old Testament, people worshipped gold statues of animals that were referred to as idols, every sermon I have heard on Exodus 20:4 agrees that when this principal is carried over to the New Testament, an idol is anything that we prioritize before God in our lives which could include, our career, pleasure, money or power. But for a child from a Hindu family who just sees this poster and doesn’t have the full context of the New Testament, they might go home and feel confused or ashamed by the statues of other gods in their home and depending on the culture where they live, they may even be bullied about this by classmates, even teachers who embrace Christian Nationalism. This is definitely not how Jesus intended for the good news of the gospel to be shared. In fact, this self-righteous, legalistic way of sharing the gospel feels ominously comparable to the behavior of the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked sharply.

What if, instead, the poster on every classroom wall read, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)? It is not overtly religious so as to confuse or shame children of other faiths, or no religion at all. The longing to be loved unconditionally, to be treated with dignity and respect, is a longing planted in the hearts of all humans according to God’s general revelation. Thus, if you insist on having a poster with Scripture in every classroom, at least 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 starts from a place where we can all agree, and these verses have more potential than the Ten Commandments to open doors for the Holy Spirit to prompt a child to tell a Muslim friend about Jesus on the playground, or a Christian parent to reach out to the parents of their child’s Hindu or Atheist friend.

But I think the apostle Paul would say that regardless of the Scripture printed on the poster, Scripture is “only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1) if the words aren’t lived out in the overall culture of the school. It is also important to remember again that while 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 seems like it would be a mutually acceptable passage for people of all faiths or none at all, my perception may be clouded by the fact that I am part of the privileged Christian majority, and people of other faiths may see even this verse as unwelcome, indirect proselytism in the same category as sacred choral music. Given all of these realities, how about we live at peace with everyone, and honor Christ more appropriately by decorating classroom walls with cheerful artwork, and devote our energy instead to the lived out culture of the school. After all, Jesus taught that the Law and the Prophets can be summed up with one simple principal: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). This is not “chasing God out of the schools.” God is almighty. Nowhere in the universe is beyond His reach. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). I think we can safely infer from this beautiful psalm that to fear that the absence of superficial expressions of religion in public schools such as formal prayer time and posters with the Ten Commandments amounts to locking God out reveals a tragic lack of genuine faith.

That Reminds me of a Song: My Catholic education in childhood gave me an excellent Christian moral foundation, but one thing I missed out on was learning fun Sunday School songs. That wasn’t really part of the Catholic tradition. But my mom who was raised in the Quaker tradition, taught some of these songs to me, and as I was writing this, “They’ll Know We Are Christians” came to mind. It has an upbeat melody that would be fun for children to sing. The song is all about seeking unity, honoring each person’s dignity and living in peace. The refrain states, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love.” My mom remembers her parents saying on numerous occasions that if someone has to tell you they are Christian, you should be wary of them. It should be obvious by the fruit of their lives. Thus, in the spirit of this song, true Christians should be wary of proponents of Christian Nationalism who want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, while their policies demonstrate contempt for the poor, the orphan, the widow and the refugee, and their rhetoric inspires hate and divisiveness.