Why I’m Uneasy About the Ten Commandments Bill

Have you ever given much thought to what our kids see each morning on the walls of their school classrooms? In the past few weeks, the Texas legislature did, as Senate Bill 10 passed through both the Texas State Senate and House of Representatives.

This bill would require that every public school classroom “display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.” Schools that don’t have such posters would be legally required to “accept any offer of a privately donated poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.” At this point, Governor Abbott has pledged to sign the bill, meaning that it is all but inevitable that this will become law in the state of Texas. That said, even if the bill passes, it likely faces legal challenges that will probably eventually end up in the Supreme Court of the United States.

As someone whose kids attend public school, and as someone who has worked and taught in public schools, I’ve done a good deal of reflection on this bill and its repercussions in the past couple of weeks. Some of the issues I’ve wrestled with include the role of public education vs. the church, the potential positives vs. the negatives, and ultimately, whether something like this advances or brings harm to the cause of Christ’s Kingdom on earth. In doing so, I personally have reached the conclusion that this (and similar laws) are ultimately not in the best interest of the church, our shared society, and our call to Kingdom work. These concerns are threefold: (1) the theological mismatch between the Ten Commandments and New Testament faith, (2) the misuse of political power for spiritual ends, and (3) the threat to religious freedom.

1. The Gospel Is More Than Ten Rules

The issue of the Ten Commandments in school is not a new one, as there have been many proponents of laws like this, typically by individuals who sincerely desire our society to be shaped by Christian values. While this desire is understandable, I don’t believe the Ten Commandments truly represent the core of the Christian faith or what we should want school-age children to perceive as what it means to be “Christian.”

While the Ten Commandments are part of the Judeo-Christian tradition, we believe that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of all of the law. God gave the Ten Commandments (along with all of the Mosaic Law) to His chosen people of Israel as part of a specific covenant with them at a specific point in the Biblical narrative. Hebrews 8 teaches us that God has made a new covenant with His people that extends to all who follow Christ as Lord, and has given new laws that are written not on stone, but on our hearts. In fact, verse 13 of that chapter says that “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” If then the old covenant is obsolete, why would we want to emphasize its laws in such a prominent way? It's important for children to know the Ten Commandments, but only as part of the larger redemptive story. They teach us much about God’s character, but they have to be balanced with “the rest of the story,” which is that God knew we couldn’t perfectly keep those commandments and thus sent His son to keep them for us.

In my mind, we shouldn’t want children’s earliest exposure to God to be “these are the ten rules He wants you to follow.”

Rather, it should be “He loves you so much that He sent His only Son for you.”

2. Christ's Kingdom Doesn't Need Political Power

Time and time again, Jesus made it clear that His Kingdom cannot be built through the world's systems of power and political dominance. Whether it was in His scathing response in Mark 10 to James and John, who unashamedly asked for Christ to give them positions of power in His Kingdom, or in Matthew 26 to Peter when He said “all who draw the sword will die by the sword,” Christ was very clear that His Kingdom does not operate by the rules of the world.

I believe that when Christians use political power to regulate society, it flies in the face of Christ’s teaching. This is borne out time and time again in Christian history. The church would curry favor with politicians, emperors, and kings, only to see incredible damage done to the church. As the saying goes, “when you mix the church and politics, you are left with politics.” The Kingdom of God is not built through legislation. It is built through self-giving love, humble service, and the proclamation of the good news of salvation through Christ. This is not to say that the church should not do what it can to support lawmakers and laws that are representative of the Christian way, but that we should tread lightly when trying to enforce our personal beliefs on others. Which leads me to my third concern: the threat to religious freedom.

3. The Cost of a Compromised Wall

This concern may sound counterintuitive. “Pastor John,” you may say, “How could a law that promotes the Bible possibly endanger religious freedom?” Well, I’m glad you asked. You see, one of the things that makes America such a unique and wonderful country is that our constitution states that there is no established government religion. This means that people of all faiths are welcome to practice their faiths according to conscience, and that all citizens are free from pressure to conform to spiritual beliefs and practices with which they do not agree. This part of the law protects all of us who hold to any kind of faith.

Laws like this, while not threatening to us as Christians who hold a Judeo-Christian worldview and believe in the Bible as the source of ultimate truth, are in fact threatening to those who don’t want their children exposed to Christian teachings. I believe that if we allow this “crack in the wall” of the separation of church and state, we open ourselves and future generations to being forced to take part in religious activities with which we don’t agree. Just as those who live by the sword will die by the sword, those who try to legislate faith through political means eventually find politics used against them.

Final Thoughts

I want to conclude with the acknowledgement that you might not agree with me on this issue, and that’s okay. Living as Christians in a pluralistic society can often be challenging, especially when we are presented with what seem to be “easy wins” for our side. My goal in writing this is just to share some of the pastoral concerns I have about this particular law. I’m not suggesting we organize campaigns or flood politicians’ offices with calls or doing anything to fight the law. Again, politics often reflects the world’s way of pursuing influence, which stands in contrast to the way of Christ. But my challenge to each of us is to reflect on what this means for our children, our teachers, and our society as a whole, and to react in your specific context however the Holy Spirit might lead.