Unit 6, Assignment 4

Unit 6, Assignment 4; Ten Commandments

Start with a prayer:
Dear God, my Confirmation is getting near. Guide and help me in my preparation; give me courage for that day so that I can enjoy the Confirmation service.
Of this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.


The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives which are very important in Judaism and Christianity.

The Ten Commandments are given in two passages of the Bible: Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

According to the Bible, the commandments are spoken by God on Mount Sinai. There are biblical passages that also refer to ten commandments being written by God on stone, and it is widely held that these were the ten commandments we are speaking about. These are called "tables of stone”, also referred to as "tables of testimony" or "tables of the covenant", which he gave to Moses. Moses then gave them to the people of Israel in the third month after their Exodus, their departure, from Egypt. Israel's receipt of the commandments occurred on the third day of preparations at the foot of the mount.

The arrangement of the commandments on the two tablets is interpreted in different ways. Some say five on each, some say all ten commandments on both tablets. We don’t know for sure.

The tablets "were written on both their sides," with the carving going through the full thickness of the tablets. The stones in the center part of letters were not connected to the rest of the tablet, but they did not fall out. The writing could also be read from both sides; it was not a mirror image on the back.

After receiving the commandments and returning to Mount Sinai, Moses saw that the Israelites had "defiled themselves", and that his brother, Aaron, had made a Golden Calf and an altar in front of it. Moses, in terrible anger, broke the tablets. God later had Moses carve two other tablets, to replace the ones he smashed. God himself appears as the writer. This second set, brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses, was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, hence designated as the "Ark of the Testimony."

The Bible also makes other references to the commandments. References to them and the consequences for not following them are found throughout the book of Deuteronomy.

Jesus refers to the commandments in several places, and summarizes them into two general commands:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like unto it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

The Anglican, Lutheran and Roman Catholic division of the commandments both follow the one established by St. Augustine. The first three commandments govern the relationship between God and humans, the fourth through eighth govern public relationships between people, and the last two govern private thoughts. Here is the text from Deuteronomy:

1. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments."

2. "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name."
(This commandment prohibits not just swearing but the misappropriation of religious language in order to commit a crime, participating in occult practices, and blaspheming against places or people that are holy to God.)

3. "Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day."

4. "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you."
(This commandment emphasizes the family as part of God's design, as well as Gods relationship with his creation.)

5. "You shall not murder."
(But what about death sentences, war and abortion, for example? There are different views about the meaning of this commandment.)

6. "Neither shall you commit adultery."
(Adultery is the breaking of the holy bond between husband and wife, and is thus a sacrilege. This commandment includes not just the act of adultery, but lust as well.)

7. "Neither shall you steal."

8. "Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor."
(This commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in relations with others. This also forbids lying.)

9. "Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife."

10. "Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Anglicans teach the validity of the commandments, and call it a summation of the "moral law", binding on all people. However, we emphasize the union of the believer with Christ - so that the will and power to perform the commandments does not arise from the commandment itself, but from the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Assignments:
* Do you think that the Ten Commandments are still valid today?
* Try to think of a couple of situations when you think it’s ok NOT to obey the commandments.

Unit 6, Assignment 3

Unit 6, Assignment 3 – Lord’s Prayer

The Lord's Prayer, known also as the Our Father or Pater noster (“our Father” in Latin), is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages in houses of worship of all shapes and sizes. Although many theological differences and various modes and manners of worship divide Christians, there is a sense of solidarity in knowing that Christians around the globe are praying together, and that these words always unite us.

Two versions of it occur in the New Testament, one in the Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13 as a section of the Sermon on the Mount, and the other in the Gospel of Luke 11:2-4.

The prayer in Matthew is a part of a speech by Jesus attacking people who pray simply for the purpose of being seen to pray. Matthew describes Jesus as instructing people to pray after the manner of this prayer. Taking into account the prayer's structure, flow of subject matter and emphases, many interpret the Lord's Prayer as a guideline on how to pray rather than something to be learned and repeated by rote. Some disagree, suggesting that the prayer was intended as a specific prayer to be used. The New Testament reports Jesus and the disciples praying on several occasions; but as it never describes them actually using this prayer, it is uncertain how important it was originally viewed as being.

Here is the text from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:

Matthew 6:9-13
Pray then like this: Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Luke 11:2-4
And he said to them, When you pray, say: Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.

Written originally in Greek, the Lord’s Prayer was first translated to English already around year 650! Here is one of the translations that we use today:

Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.


Assignment:
* Find the Lord’s Prayer in your Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (see above), and read the circumstances around the prayer.

* Pray with the words of the Lord’s Prayer.