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The Ten Commandments - Are They Required Today?
Section 1
The Dignity and Importance of History
Daniel Webster
If we and our posterity shall be true to the Christian religion—if we and they shall live always in the fear of God and shall respect His commandments—if we and they shall maintain just moral sentiments, and such conscientious convictions of duty as shall control the heart and life—we may have the highest hopes of the future fortunes of our country… But if we and our posterity neglect religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity.
To the Historical Society of New York
February 23, 1852
Introduction
There is a growing movement in our civilization—one that is undermining the future of the United States, and will ultimately affect the entire world. Ominous forces are at work removing all evidence of God from our society.
Bible reading and prayer have already been prohibited in public schools. At the same time, our neighbor Canada set a dangerous precedent when a Saskatchewan court ruled that parts of the Bible are hate literature. As a result, it is now a crime in that country to proclaim certain verses of holy writ.
What these lawmakers don’t understand is that, by disregarding parts of the Bible, they are actually committing a hate crime against God! They are openly attacking His value system, and by so doing are rejecting and persecuting Him! Tragically, this trend is certain to result in the same devastating consequences that were experienced by the ungodly ancient empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
One of the most serious and protracted of these attacks upon God’s Word has been directed at the Ten Commandments. Not long ago, Americans stood by and watched as government officials forcibly removed an Alabama courthouse monument that boldly displayed an engraving of these sacred laws.
This violation of our human rights was carried out in blatant disregard of a survey proving that the majority of Americans favored keeping the 5,280-pound monument on display. Judge Roy Moore, who refused to banish the memorial from his court of law, was also officially removed from office as a result of his courageous decision.
As offensive as this act may be to believers, ironically the greatest assault upon the Almighty’s Ten Commandments has come from the professing Christian community itself. While giving lip service to the value of the God’s Word, the vast majority of professing Christians have failed to recognize our personal need and obligation to literally obey the Eternal’s laws!
As a result, our nation has evolved into what has primarily become a secular society. We have pushed God out of our government, business organizations, entertainment, education, and personal lives. Consequently, industrial corporations, political leaders, and even many religious groups are choosing the way that leads to ethical, financial and sexual corruption.
While this is occurring, most of America’s churches are of little help. They may put on elaborate religious productions, create uplifting music, and build fancy stages, but they provide only superficial sermons. They present a gospel of prosperity while refraining from moral or ethical correction. Sin is no longer considered the evil that God declares it to be. Almost any behavior seems acceptable as long as members claim to love God.
At the same time, morals and integrity continue to plummet in our nation. Our economy is collapsing. National disasters of every sort are on the rise while our ability to maintain peace in the world is waning.
As a result of our greed, our society is suffering terribly. We are outsourcing manufacturing and farming. As we strive to avoid the costs of food production, alerts of contaminated food products have become more common. New strains of illness and disease are on the rise. Governmental and corporate institutions that people once had faith in have failed. In the process they have bilked hundreds of thousands of people out of their savings.
Our once common motivation to be a respected, well educated, and principled society is quickly fading. As it does, crime and violence are spinning out of control. Adultery and divorce is rampant and with it the commitment to rear wholesome, upright progeny has been traded for personal gain. As a result, we now find ourselves faced with horrible curses such as adolescents becoming addicted to drugs, teenagers birthing or aborting babies, and children murdering one another.
Once we were a God fearing country, and our nation was richly blessed by the Almighty. However, as a result of our rejection of God, the United States is beginning to experience these and other devastating events that are certain to change the face of our land and the structure of our society.
We are following the same catastrophic history of ancient Israel. Due to their sins, they were forced into foreign captivity, and the current path we are pursuing is destined to lead to a similar fate (2 Kgs. 17:5-20).
Like an infected boil, this anti-God movement has swelled to such a point that many no longer fear to aggressively propagate a belief that God does not exist. These individuals now brazenly publicize the view that the Bible is simply a book of fables or legends, and we are not required to keep the Ten Commandments. As Alderson Warm-Fork states in his diatribe:
…the Ten Commandments actually seem a very good example of an immoral document, one that gives very bad moral advice. Indeed, I think society would be much improved if they ceased to be anybody’s ‘moral basics’ (The Ten Commandments are Deeply Immoral, 7/6/2009, http://directionlessbones.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/the-ten-commandments-are-deeply-immoral/).
This erroneous thinking has had a profound effect on our society. Even among those who profess to believe in the Bible, many are half hearted in their faith. The values by which they direct their lives promote the idea that God’s law does not need to be taken seriously.
In the tradition of Adam and Eve, who were the first to make the fatal mistake of ignoring God’s Word, those who hold such beliefs are utterly deceived. They have erroneously been convinced that human beings inherently posses the ability to determine the difference between right and wrong.
As a result, vast portions of our society have been persuaded that they no longer need the God of the Bible. Consequently, Gnostics, agnostics, atheists, Muslim, pagan and eastern religions abound today in the midst of what was once considered “Christian America.” Even more shocking is the fact that the rapid growth of these heretical movements has primarily developed as a result of the hypocrisy propagated by the majority of professing Christian churches.