The Mirror Newspaper reported this week that a quarter of 11 to 16-year-old Britons cannot recall ANY of the Ten Commandments, according to a recent poll. Apparently just one in 17 adults and teenagers could recite all 10. And many were left baffled by the language of the Old Testament rules. Most of the 1,000 questioned for the survey commissioned by computer game makers Electronic Arts said there should be modern commandments such as “protect the planet”.
A few years ago the Methodist Church and Ship of Fools ran a competition to find a new 11th commandment and the winners suggested the following:The 11th Commandment initiative was designed by The Methodist Church’s 20s and 30s Group, and seeks to reach out to the “missing generation” of under-40s to discover what matters to them and what they think about God.In the current climate a few MPs made their own suggestion- “Thou shalt not get found out!”
Thou shalt not worship false pop idols
Thou shalt not kill in the name of any god
Thou shalt not confuse text with love
Thou shalt not consume thine own body weight in fudge
Thou shalt not be negative
Among the runners-up were: Thou shalt not…
… dump your lover by text… covet thy neighbour’s iPod… dance like your dad… marry unless truly in love… change allegiance if your football team is relegated… hold loud conversations on thy mobile in a public place… condemn thy neighbour for having different beliefs… use faith to hide from reality… use plastic to multiply your possessions… shrink-wrap cucumbers… pretend to have no change when asked to donate to charity.
And also: Thou shalt…
… commit random acts of kindness… respect the earth… indicate at roundabouts… smile at the person opposite.
The overall winner, Andrew Shaw, 21, a student from Essex, thought it had been “a good idea to take the discussion into pubs”. His commandment, “Thou shalt not worship false pop idols”, is particularly topical. “Celebrities are the golden calves of today,” he said. “They do not serve any purpose other than to be idolized”.
I DONT SAY IF…
Thank you for posting this. In the most sincere love for the truth and for Jesus, I believe this trend of “new commandments” is a disgrace to God. How little today’s Christian youth must think of our awesome Creator! His precious commandments are being trampled on by today’s generation. If salvation mattered in the innermost part of the human heart–if it mattered to love God who created you, who sustains you, and who made a plan of salvation for you–YOU– then it would not be “What do WE think of God” , but rather, “What does God think of ME?” Instead of “How can I adapt God to MY life? or fit him in, conveniently?” how about we ask in humility to the Creator of the universe Himself, “How can I adapt my life to GOD?” God says “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous (a burden).” (1 John 5:3) Not only should we memorize the 10 Commandments, but we should store them in our hearts and think of them as more precious than gold (“The law of his God is in his heart” Psalms 37:31 , “All His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Pslam 110: 7-8, “The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul…the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. ” Psalm 19:7, 8, 10.) The 10 Commandments are actually a transcript of God’s character, and show us in the first 4 how to honor and love God, and in the last 6, how to honor and love our neighbors. The law is perfect. But in and of itself it is not capable of saving us, only like a mirror revealing our sin…that we may know we have sinned…which points us, ultimatley, to Jesus who washes us clean. Jesus then asks us to “sin no more” or in other words, He will give us the strength to forsake and resist sin if we ask Him. How would we know if we sinned, if we didn’t have the law? Jesus came to magnify the law, to explain it, to reveal its purpose in God’s plan…not to destroy it or make it void. Isaiah 42:21 prophecizes of Jesus, “The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” In Psalm 119:126 it reads, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made VOID thy law.” Does that seem familiar? I think so…looking around at today’s diluted Christianity that often preaches “We are not under the law! That’s legalism!” – falsely claiming Jesus came to destroy the law and “set us free”. Well, yes, He set us free but from SIN and from the ceremonial law of sacrifices! But just because we are forgiven our sins, does not mean we go on sinning…that would be a disgrace to God’s plan and make void Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Out of love for God, we are asked to obey His commandments, not make them void! Matthew 5:17-19 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets, I am not come to destroy but fulfill. For verily (truthfully), I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Ahh…breath of fresh air. Thank you Jesus for making it clear. Has heaven and earth passed yet? Well we’re still sitting here! So, no. Is the law still in tact? Yes, it is. Is it okay to just follow them loosely? (For example, I Don’t murder, I don’t steal..so I’m a good person, right?) Well, read the rest of Matthew chapter 5 and you will quickly find out. If we cheat on our husband/wife, we commit adultery, but Jesus goes a bit further. If we THINK , or dwell on cheating, if we have the notion in our hearts to be with anyone outside of marrige, THAT is condemnable under the law in the SAME way as actually doing it! And the transgression of the law is DEATH. Hmm. Since God is our Father and loves us, He truly wants the best for us. It is His will that we become more like Jesus, more like Him. To adopt His mind and fruits of the spirit. Anyone who wants to know God and His character? The easiest way there is to commit the 10 commandments to heart, mind, and soul…and to read the Bible with a plain, “Thus saith the Lord” attitude…inviting the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to interpret, of course, and convict the soul.
In a sense it would be better if today’s lukewarm, diluted form of Christianity would not call itself Christian at all, than to drag God’s name through a backslidden, man-focused religion. The precious, loving truth of the gospel is at once life-giving and conditional- that the word of God is profitable to make us wise unto salvation, through the truth of Jesus Christ, but it is holistic and must be studied, tried, digested, relied upon, and stored in our hearts – to nurture an abiding relationship with Jesus Himself. And what a beautiful relationship it is! The relationship that means life, forever! Walking with God in a path of righteousness, and love, and faith! How can we take that lightly? How can our “faith” be on our terms? Is that faith? It is time to live on God’s terms, and His a lone. Because His matter. (Otherwise, explain how Abraham went to sacrifice his own son Isaac on the mountain- by faith and faith a lone he obeyed God, even against his own feelings…) So, what does God think of us as we trivialize His commandments with extraneous doctrines and commandments- which in my opinion, amount to nothing but vain shouts in the dark to a God that has laid it all out in the scriptures before us…He wants your heart, your mind, your body and soul- He wants you to seek Him above all else and esteem nothing, not even your own life , more important than Him. And So, then, are we to be amused, entertained, diverted, dragged through the mud of a trendy, self indulgent religion? Does the heart of Christianity aim to be popular, amusing? Are we to adapt the gospel to the world? Or the world to the GOSPEL?? Is that Christianity? Ask God. Frankly, the only Christianity I know is in the Bible and the Bible a lone my friends. And it says those who follow Jesus will be hated by the world, that they will be persecuted for their pure faith, that they must forsake the world to love God. We are living at a time in history when we must ask ourselves if we can AFFORD to be liberal. “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Jesus speaking of the end time church called “Laodicea”- Revelation 3:16) God bless you in your walk with the Lord my friends. May God be near to you. “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.” Deut 18:13.
and PS: After reading the 10 Commandments, the issue of the 4th one in particular caught my eye. Keep the Sabbath Day Holy, the 7th day. The Lord convicted me to keep that day, even though I felt like an outcast from my Sunday-keeping family. I have been greatly blessed in keeping the 7th day. The fullness of the 10 Commandments is a beautiful thing, and to follow Jesus, the “Lord of the Sabbath” where-ever He may go is a priviledge. God bless you.
I have to confess – I couldn’t tell you all 10 commandments either. Granted, I also am unable to tell you the major tenets of Islam, or Buddhism, Taoism, or even Satanism (if they exist).
But, quite frankly, I am fine with that. If somebody wishes to memorize the tenets of their religion, then by all means they should try to do so. And if they are successful, more power to them!
However, to decry that only a small portion of the people around you can’t recite YOUR religion’s tenets is simply ridiculous. I mean, it would be like worrying that the average person cannot tell you the syntax rules for .NET, or can’t explain the detailed rules of soccer (as handy as those might be now that the World Cup is in progress), or can’t count to 100 in Hindi. Those folks who wish to know those things should learn them. But to proclaim that a societal problem exists because the folks around you can’t count to 100 in Hindi is as much of a waste as declaring a societal problem exists because they don’t know a list of ten things specific to one particular sect.
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