1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house…thy neighbor’s wife…nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Epilogue:
There will be, I’m sure, those who take issue with the choice of images I have made here. That is certainly your right. Some may feel they see in my choices a certain partisan bias. While I do not deny that I have partisan opinions, I have made an effort to be bipartisan in my critique here. Nevertheless let me state clearly: I believe not only the ten commandments, but the Bible as a whole contains plenty of basis upon which to condemn both “right wing” and “left wing.” While the two “wings” may choose different of the commandments, or different facets of each, to break, they are both resoundingly guilty. It is my observation that the only really material difference between the “wings” here in the United States, is that one is more likely to make the (false) claim that they abide by the Commandments, while the other makes no such pretensions.
Any offense given in this graphic essay is entirely intentional…and be assured it’s nothing compared to the offense God takes at those who “draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13)
Amazing! wow.. power in matching images with the 10…
Two things.
1. Along with Fox I would include MSNBC and CNN
2. Come on! Football! Whats wrong with football!?
But seriously, Amen! especially with the first two and 7.
I thought about those other outlets, Ian. But remember the command is against false witness, not conservative or liberal bias. My judgment is based on my observation of the willingness to make wild allegations unencumbered by any obligation to check facts. I’ve seen that with MJ and Fox. It may be true of others, but I have to be careful not to bear false witness myself.
Football…chuckle…can you think of anything else that we do that sucks up both the emotions and money of football during our purported sabbath?
Beautifully done, Dan. Overall it’s so true (even if some disagree with one or two points). Thanks.
Pictures really do drive the point home! Number 5 is especially poignant. Our culture is afraid of growing old and lives in denial of death. While nursing homes are certainly not evil and can play a vital role in helping families care for their loved ones, we as a society do not expend much effort to include our elders in our community life. Great post.
I think the image for #4 is quite appropriate for #1. What causes the euphoria of a win, other than the demonstration of the superiority of our team and, by extension, us. Like nationalism, it is a form of collective self-worship.
As a baseball fan, I believe football embodies two of the worst aspects of our culture:
1) Short outbursts of violence, followed by…
2) committee meetings.
But seriously, I agree with E.A. about number 5. One of the biggest problem in most local congregations is the segmentation of the population. It almost seems as if we don’t want the youth of the church having anything to do with senior citizens. We’re in a heap of trouble when we don’t see inter-generational community as an ideal.
Also, number 6 is an enduring point of complete blindness for the evangelical church. I believe abortion is horrific; but I also believe that life at all stages and junctures is precious and fleeting ans should be honored. The flippant and casual way we talk about taking the lives of individuals via capital punishment is, to me, sub-Christian. We hold an unborn child in high esteem, but we have no problem talking about “frying the no-good sack of crap who commits crime.
Or, even worse, celebrating the loss of other image-bearers via military action.
God help us.
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