Many
Laws are Meant to be Broken but Not the 10
Commandments
By Bob
Pardue
The
10 Commandments
- I had what you would call
a religious up bringing. We were taught the 10
commandments at a very early age.
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- In fact the 10
commandments have played such a large role in my
life I cannot remember when I learned them. I
remember having to memorize them for Sunday
school, but that was more trying to remember
what order the 10 commandments came in rather
than learning what they were.
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- Because the 10
commandments have been a part of my life since I
was a little child, I have not spent much time
reflecting on them.
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- As with so many aspects
of my Christian faith I have just accepted the
10 commandments as a fact of life.
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But recently I
have spent more time pondering them due
to all the media attention of having
the 10 commandments displayed in public
buildings.
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- I had to stop and review
exactly what the 10 commandments are and why
someone may be offended seeing them in print.
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- I had to stop and reflect
whether or not I had just accepted something
that may be offensive just because it has always
been part of my life.
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- I have to admit that
trying to recall the 10 commandments in order
was a true memory exercise.
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- I could not remember all
of them and the middle ones were especially a
challenge.
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- I mentioned this to my
wife and she could not understand why memorizing
the commandments made any difference since you
could look them up in the Bible or
online.
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- I thought she had a valid
point, that it did not really matter that I
couldn't remember them all or what exact wording
I used to remember them, it was the idea behind
each of the 10 commandments and the important
message that we are to take to
heart.
After thinking about each of
the 10 commandments I have decided that for me they
are not at all offensive. I would not feel
discriminated against or violated in any way seeing
them in print.
The message with each of them
is clear to me and in general I feel they outline a
decent and courteous way to conduct my life.
I respect other people's
beliefs and accept that not everyone has the same
set of beliefs that I have.
In fact I think life would be
boring if we did all think the same and had the
same beliefs. I understand that we are not all from
the same belief system, but I still cannot
understand why someone would be offended by seeing
the 10 commandments in print.
There are many billboards and
bus advertisements that I find offensive, but I
know there are others that disagree with me.
If I find something offensive
I try to look at something that is more appealing
or positive to me.
We do not all need to believe
the same things in order to exist together, we do
not even need to understand each others beliefs, we
just need to learn tolerance.
So, whether or not you are a
Christian or believe in the Bible, I encourage you
to at least read the 10
Commandments before
you make a final decision.
Bob Pardue is the owner of Making Christ Known and
is a member of First Baptist Church in Lancaster,
SC.
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