Culture Shock

The recent announcement of Louisiana’s newly passed law requiring the Ten Commandments has sent a shockwave throughout the nation. Interestingly, I’m finding more resistance to this move from Christians who, at the same time hold fast to the idea that this nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian values, believe that reintegrating the display of the Ten Commandments as an affront to the culture at large.  

Others believe that it is a violation of Church and State. Interestingly, this one statement has become a rallying cry for many in our country, yet I’ve not found one person who makes this claim to have an actual understanding of what that means. To begin with, it’s an egregious misquote. It’s akin to how people misquote the Bible when they say that money is to root of all evil.  

The truth is that it is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. The separation of Church and State was meant to assure that our nation would be one wherein there was no governmental sponsored religion requiring all the citizens to be a part of as other nations made a requirement. In other nations, you had to worship whatever religion the king said. The separation of church and state assured Americans that they were free to worship in whatever way they saw fit as a free people.  

While the nation’s founding was understood to be based on Judeo-Christian values, there was no requirement that everyone must be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or anything along those lines.  

Many of our nation’s documents, from the Constitution to the Bill of Rights, are in one way or another rooted in biblical truths. The Ten Commandments were displayed throughout most, if not all government institutions. For generations, they were as much a part of the public educational landscape as the American Flag. Over the last sixty years, they have been stripped from public display in schools and the evidence of how much schools have changed can be seen. 

According to CNN, Jeff Landry, one of the legislators who sponsored the bill was quoted as saying, “If you want to respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original law given which was Moses. … He got his commandments from God.” This is not an uncommon sentiment. As I stated earlier, many of the founding fathers held a strong belief that there had to be a standard and much of the standard for our nation’s laws was based on the Bible. It was even a requirement in many universities that educated lawyers and those who went into politics have a rudimentary understanding of the Bible. 

Are we that far removed from the knowledge that before there was a national education system, many schools in America were once run by the church and long after that, the Bible was even taught? Yet, the display of the Ten Commandments is not an attempt to proselytize or coerce children into becoming Christians. That was never the reason previously. It should however be a reminder that ours is a nation of laws. As part of the educational process, we’ve lost that part of education that establishes an understanding of civics, respect for laws, and history.

You cannot miss the degree of cultural erosion that has occurred in the wake of its removal. In the last few years, we've seen the tearing down of historical monuments. We've seen college campuses become the breeding ground for anti-American and anti-Jewish sentiment. Now, one state has seen fit to reestablish the foundations by restoring the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Former president Trump has commended Louisiana for this landmark decision. I agree that this will stir a great debate nationally about what kind of nation we want. When Roe vs Wade was overturned, it presented each state with the responsibility of determining for its citizens, what they deemed fit. Once again, each state will be presented with a decision on whether to reestablish the foundations or continue to let them erode. 

Some feel this will create a fight among other religions for equal treatment under the law. I would expect nothing less. The real question is whether Christians have the wherewithal to stand for a standard that seeks to be a bulwark against cultural decay, or step aside and permit that decay to devour the generations that are following the path they’re being set upon. If Christians are to be salt and light to the nations, how can they preserve the culture from decay if they refuse to become a barrier from the outside forces that seek to further that erosion?

If only the Church could appreciate this decision for what it is and not live in fear. The world is being shaken and the Church should not be shocked by this. Now is not the time to run or hide. Now is the time to stand fast. Let's see how God uses and works through this moment.