Introduction.

Our era is a time of great cultural, technological and economic change, and many people think they see increased anti-social behavior and mistreatment of others. They also believe that there has been an upswing of selfish and rude behavior, immorality, and unethical acts. Their efforts to deal with these situations have resulted in social and political conflicts. One dispute in America revolves around the Biblical Decalogue--the Ten Commandments.

There are Christian groups that want this ancient set of rules to be officially displayed. They suggest that it be placed on the walls of governmental buildings, in schools and generally be the focus of a renewed morality. Is this a good idea for our secular and multi-religious--but dominantly Christian--American society? Would various public displays of the Decalogue help us through this time of social transformation? We'll study the history of the Decalogue to help us think through answers to these questions.

The History.

Any discussion of the history of the Decalogue is likely to be controversial because it comes out of the Bible, a book many--not all--Americans believe contains divine messages. Secular Americans or those who follow Eastern, Native American or new religions generally do not accept the Bible as authoritative. Christians and Jews (and Muslims to a degree) accept the Bible as holy, but they differ greatly as to how it should be understood. Some accept the accounts--beginning with the story of creation--at face value. Others see the Bible as containing religious truth, but do not believe it is an authoritative history book or one that contains the full extent of God's revelations.

Background.

Decalogue in Greek means "ten words," and some scholars think that it began as a list of very short moral sayings that existed long before the Bible time of Moses. Anyway, if one just looks at the general meaning of the Commandments--honoring one's God and parents, having days of rest, being truthful and respecting other people and their possessions--the Commandments are almost universal. Similar ideas are found in most societies. Nonetheless, in discussions concerning the public display of the Decalogue people almost always focus on the Bible.

The Biblical View.

According to the Bible, the Ten Commandments were given by YHWH (pronounced Yahweh) to Moses at Mt. Sinai after he and his followers left Egypt and before they arrived in Canaan. Using Biblical chronology as understood by many Christians, these events occurred between 1300 and 1200 B.C.E. Following Bible accounts, the Commandments were on two stone tablets which the Israelites placed in a container called the Ark of the Covenant. After directions on how the Ark should be built, Yahweh says, "You shall put into the ark the covenant that I shall give you." (Exodus 25: 16). The Israelites carried this Ark (with Commandment tablets inside) as they continued their nomadic life, eventually reaching the hill country of Canaan, their "Promised Land."

Continuing the Bible narrative, through war and diplomacy they made a place for themselves in this new homeland between the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The Ark (with the two Commandment tablets inside) was put in a tabernacle in Shiloh, a city north of Jerusalem.   A tabernacle, in turn, was a movable, rectangular tent-like place for Yahweh. The Ark was taken from place to place until finally secured in the Temple that King Solomon built in Jerusalem.

Solomon was the third Israelite monarch, according to the Bible. It relates that the kingdom had started with Saul who was followed by David. King David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites, made it his capital and brought the Ark of the Covenant to this location.

The kingdom was near its height when his son, Solomon took over. Solomon built the first temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem and placed the Ark of the Covenant within it. After Solomon's time, there's no further Biblical mention of the Ark or its contents.