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The Ten Commandments “became an integral part of our culture by appearing in verse form in one of McGuffey’s famous Readers.”
–D. Elton Trueblood
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Above all else love God alone;
Bow down to neither wood nor stone.
God’s name refuse to take in vain;
The Sabbath rest with care maintain.
Respect your parents all your days;
Hold sacred human life always.
Be loyal to your chosen mate;
Steal nothing neither small nor great.
Report, with truth, your neighbor’s deed;
And rid your mind of selfish greed.
This is an easy way for children to begin to learn them. As they grow, read them the text itself, Exodus 20.
See: God’s Assignment: Teach Your Children His Word
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“Bow down to neither wood nor stone” is seriously anachronistic and pretty meaningless to adults and children alike today.
I recommend thinking about what people have as God’s today. One example OTOMH is the god of success with the cult of celebrities. People would rather pay homage to Dancing with the Stars than worship God;
or see the rich and powerful as “saints” to be emulated – viz prosperity Christianity;
and read magazines about the lives of celebrities rather than the stories of serving God.
No doubt there are other and better examples, but this will do as a start.
Yes, the phrase will be meaningless to those unfamiliar with the Bible. And we do need to do more than memorize…we need to explain.
(anachronistic is the wrong word)
Funny, as I sit here writing, I’m looking at the Ten Commandments my wife has handwritten in red ink taped to our refrigerator… It’s been there on and off for four or five years… Even I finally memorized them!
[...] Teaching Children the Ten Commandments (textsincontext.wordpress.com) [...]
Obviously, this is just a starting point, one easy way for children to learn. Go on to other familiar Scriptures like the 23rd Psalm and the Beatitudes; favorite verses; and build on these. Parents are told to “diligently teach” their children (Deu. 6).
Unlike yesteryear a la Trueblood’s quote, above, the Ten Commandment are no longer an integral part of children’s lives nor of our culture. If we truly seek to be salt and light in our world, we have much work to do. Find a place to start. Share this poem with others and point them forward.
John Calvin:
. “Some unskilful persons, from not attending to this, boldly discard the whole law of Moses, and do away with both its Tables, imagining it unchristian to adhere to a doctrine which contains the ministration of death. Far from our thoughts be this profane notion.”
John Wesley:
“In the highest rank of the enemies of the gospel of Christ, are they who openly and explicitly ‘judge the law’ itself, and ‘speak evil of the law;’ who teach men to break (to dissolve, to loose, to untie the obligation of) not one only, whether of the least or of the greatest, but all the commandments at a stroke. . . . The most surprising of all the circumstances that attend this strong delusion, is that they who are given up to it, really believe that they honor Christ by overthrowing His law, and that they are magnifying His office while they are destroying His doctrine! Yea, they honor Him just as Judas did when he said, ‘Hail, Master, and kissed Him.’ And He may as justly say to every one of them, ‘Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? It is no other than betraying Him with a kiss, to talk of His blood, and take away His crown; to set light by any part of His law, under pretense of advancing His gospel. Nor indeed can anyone escape this charge, who preaches faith in any such a manner as either directly or indirectly tends to set aside any branch of obedience: who preaches Christ so as to disannul, or weaken in any wise, the least of the commandments of God.”
Martin Luther:
“Nowadays there is a novel idea afoot! According to the promoters of this idea, the Law (that is, the 10 Commandments) should be completely removed from the Church. This is nothing else but deplorable and irreverent.
“The entire Bible teaches that it is the Law which must initiate repentance…..Sin and death are not exposed by a Word of grace and comfort, but only by the Law.”
“Exhort your household to learn them word for word, that they should obey God…For if you teach and urge your families things will go forward.”