May we ever break any of the 10 commandments?
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
posted by Daniel Hill | 5/29/2006 03:32:00 pm
8 Comments:
Daniel
Interesting question. I think you'd have to demonstrate that the 10 commandments are universally binding though - some people would argue that the Sabbath commandment has no force in the new covenant age. That would put our Lord's actions on the Sabbath day in a different category from someone else stealing, e.g.
Thanks for this, Crawford. I don't think the explanation you provide can avail for our Lord's actions. Consider how he justifies the actions of his disciples (Matthew 12):
1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?
Jesus refers to justify what his disciples were doing to the example of David and the high priest in the days of the temple. Clearly the example was one in which all of the ten commandments were in force.
Hmmm ...
Hierarchy of authority is an important point. Daniel and Co. disobeyed the King, but it was because God's authority superseded it.
Also I think that Rahab's lying sets a precedent where lying is allowed to protect life. See Gary's North's appendix "The Biblical Case for Bribery"(?!) in Rushdoony's "Institutes of Biblical Law".
I think it is significant that the commandment is not to bear false witness against our neighbour.
I disagree that Rahab's lying was permissible, but I'll have to post a main entry on this . . . . Thanks for the reference, though, Tim.
Actually this wasn't the best article. I'm thinking of another one, which I can't find.
North's article was actually "In Defense of Biblical Bribery" by the way.
I used to think that Rahab was wrong too. I'm now convinced otherwise. I remain to be unconvinced though.
For what it's worth, Aquinas argues that one may steal to save one's life:
`It is not theft, properly speaking, to take secretly and use another's property in a case of extreme need: because that which he takes for the support of his life becomes his own property by reason of that need.'
_Summa Theologiae_2a2ae.66.7
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/306607.htm
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