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Ten Commandments the Answer to School Violence?

© Melissa Sztuczko-Payk

The US House of Representatives passed a bill allowing the Ten Commandments (from the Bible) to be posted in all public schools (as well as courts and public places). Congressmen voting in support of the bill seem to think this is at least part of the solution to juvenile crime. Check out MSNBC for more details.

While I do think the idea of creating some form of national rules for school behavior, I don't believe the Ten Commandments are the way to go. While I am a Christian who tries earnestly to follow these biblical precepts, I don't believe the Ten Commandments are the most appropriate means of instilling an ethical code in schools.

First, I wonder which Ten Commandments the House of Representatives was referring to? Those of the Jewish faith? Lutheran? Catholic? Other Christian religions? There are a number of different versions, which differ mainly in how the commandments are numbered. Then there is the matter of which biblical translation to follow; while my family attends the very same Lutheran church in which I was confirmed 22 years ago, my children are studying the New International Version and I learned the Revised Standard Version. There is also the King James Version, The Living Bible, The Good News Bible... need I go on?

Second, it seems to me that, while I believe all of the commandments are important to a healthy, happy life, I do not believe that all of them are applicable to K-12 public education. For instance, "You shall have no other gods." What about children of Muslim and Buddhist faith, for example? Are they rulebreakers from day one simply because they do indeed have a God of another name? Consider, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." Does this imply that students whose family do not follow the Sabbath are in violation of school rules. Do we even need to discuss the propriety of, "You shall not commit adultery?" Such rules are basically irrelevant in our schools.

Republican Congressman Robert Aderholt referred to the bill as the "Ten Commandments Defense Act", which left me wondering, "So who the heck is against the spirit of the Ten Commandments?" Any opposition I've seen is not to the Commandments themselves, but to references to them as the source of all law, as if nations which were not founded by followers of Moses have flawed legal and ethical systems. MSNBC quoted Aderholt as saying, "The bill doesn't force anyone to display the Ten Commandments, but by passing the

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