Americans Admit Nation Sinking … Time to Reconsider Ten Commandments in American Culture? pt. 2

By Rev. Mark Creech
Christian Action League

Striker Summary: The Ten Commandments have played a substantial, historic role in developing American law and culture. As society ignores or violates these mandates, a personal and corporate price is paid. Below: How disregarding the first five of the Ten Commandments exacts grim consequences.

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by Rev. Mark Creech
Christian Action League

(This is part 2 of a series on the Ten Commandments and U.S. history and society. Read part one here.)

Carefully consider how either the neglect or violation of the Ten Commandments is very much related to so many of the major issues tearing away at the fabric of this nation’s strength.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.”

This commandment is grossly disobeyed in contemporary American culture through the rise of humanism, secularism, and materialism. Humanism elevates the usefulness and agency of human reasoning, critical thinking, and purely scientific inquiry, individually and collectively, often rejecting the importance of belief in the supernatural. Secularism seeks to cleanse governmental institutions from any religious influence, most importantly Christianity, and thereby ensure religious beliefs do not influence public policies and laws. Materialism is the philosophical belief that only physical matter and its interactions constitute reality, and everything, including consciousness and human thought, can always be explained in terms of material phenomena.

What’s the effect?  The effect is what we have today, which includes a diminished appreciation for absolute moral and ethical frameworks, an erosion of communal values that advance social cohesion, and a reduction of human experiences to nothing more than meaningless physical interactions that lead to a more relativistic approach to ethics.

In other words, the result is a time of unsurpassed confusion and chaos.

“You shall not make for yourself any grave image.”

The first commandment and the second hang together. This commandment is often disobeyed in modern contexts through various forms of idolatry. Statues of deities are still objects that are venerated in various religious practices.

However, there are other applications. In contemporary culture the pursuit of money, luxury items, and material wealth has unquestionably become a primary focus, something that figuratively speaking people bow down to in devotion, overshadowing spiritual values and piety.

This includes expensive cars and large homes. Obsession with smartphones, social media, video games, and online streaming services that dominate attention and severely reduce time spent on prayer, meditation, or religious activities such as reading the Bible or going to church.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

Today, it appears nothing is considered sacred due to a general lack of reverence for the sacred name of God and the concepts that flow from that reverence. Everyday speech is filled with casual and dishonorable use of phrases like “Oh my God” and “Jesus Christ,” which dilutes the purity of these expressions. Worse still, God’s name is often attributed to things He did not say or endorse, which He may even oppose. This broader understanding of using the Lord’s name in vain underscores the severity of such misuse.

Widespread violations of the third commandment produce a profane society where respect for what should be deemed holy is lost, moral and ethical standards are weakened, and communication coarsened.

A vulgar society experiences higher levels of incivility and disrespect in interactions, resulting in more conflict and eroding the quality of public discourse and social relations. This normalization of rudeness and aggressive behavior in our country desensitizes people to violence and insensitivity, further degrading the beauty and harmony of life.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Driven by consumer demand and various economic factors, most people today treat the Lord’s Day like any other. Businesses remain open, farmers work the fields, and homeowners mow their lawns and trim their sidewalks and driveways. People often use the time for household chores and errands, while sports enthusiasts attend sporting events. Hunters hunt on Sundays, and fishermen fish, too. Although these activities are not inherently wrong, they become improper when they reduce the Lord’s Day to just another busy routine or self-indulgence rather than a time for rest and spiritual reflection.

Pervasive violations of the fourth commandment contribute to the secularization of society, undermining essential values such as rest, family bonding, community service, and worship. The emphasis on economic gain, productivity, and leisure over these indispensable observances leads to a spiritually and emotionally empty, stressed, depressed, mentally ill, self-obsessed, and overworked society. This results in widespread dependence on alcohol, drugs (including prescription drug addiction), tobacco, and vaping, as well as various forms of therapy and counseling to cope. It is not an oversimplification to say that for many, the remedy would be regular observance of the Lord’s Day.

“Honor your father and your mother.”

Currently, many parents are extremely concerned that their rights are being undermined in several key areas, particularly in education and healthcare. Schools introduce curricula on sensitive topics such as sex and gender identity without sufficient parental involvement and transparency. In many cases, parents find it difficult to opt their children out of programs that they deem harmful. In healthcare, minors are allowed to access certain treatments, such as vaccinations and reproductive health services, without parental consent, and confidentiality issues leave lots of parents unaware of critical health decisions that will impact their children for a lifetime.

Additionally, legal and social services often intervene in family matters without ample cause, and parents’ rights in custody and visitation cases are not properly honored.

This expanding role of government challenges the authority God has given parents over their children, diminishing parental rights in favor of government control over a child’s upbringing and welfare. This trend should deeply concern Americans. It has arisen due to the wanton violation of the fifth commandment—to show respect for parenthood—and the general disrespect children show to their parents.

Children who do not honor their parents are unlikely to respect any authority figure. This lack of reverence for parental authority, no doubt, contributes to the fact that 14% of the incarcerated population in the U.S. is comprised of individuals aged 18 to 24.

 (To be continued …)

The views here are those of the author and not necessarily Striker Journal.

Originally posted here.

Image: Adapted from: Claude Covo-Farchi from Paris, France – Number ten, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3942773

Dr. Mark Creech serves as the esteemed Executive Director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina.