Posted on 04/28/2005 2:28:43 PM PDT by sionnsar
The Ten Commandments has had a place in Anglican catechesis since the first Book of Common Prayer (1549). Here is a portion of the form found in that Book:
Question: You sayde that your Godfathers and Godmothers dyd promiyse for you that ye should kepe Goddes commaundementes. Tell me how many there bee.
Aunswere: Tenne.
Question: Whiche be they?
Aunswere: Thou shalte haue none other Gods but me.
II. Thou shalte not make to thyselfe anye grauen image, nor the likenesse of any thing that is in heaven aboue, or in the earth beneath, nor in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bowe downe to them, nor wurship them.
III. Thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy God in vayne.
IV. Remember that thou kepe holy the Sabboth day.
V. Honor thy father and they mother.
VI. Thou shalt doe no murdre.
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultry.
VIII. Thou shalt not steale.
IX. Thous shalt not beare false witnes against thy neighbour.
X. Thou shalt not couet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his seruaunt, nor his mayde, nor his Oxe, nor his Asse, nor any thing that is his.
Question: What dooest thou chiefly learne by these commaundements?
Aunswere: I learne two thinges: My duetie towards god, and my duetie towards my neighbour.
Question: What is thy duetie towards god?
Aunswere: my duetie towarde God is, to beleue in him. To feare him. And to loue him with al my hart, with al my mind, with al my soule, and with all my strength. To wurship him. To geue him thankes. To put my whole truste in hym. To call upon him. To honor his holy name and his word, and to serue him truly all the daies of my life.
Traditionally the Ten Commandments and the duties of which they speak, were memorized by the person preparing for Confirmation. This instruction was to become spiritual ballast for the person’s entire life. The 1979 Catechism requires no memorization to weight a person for life and does not present the Ten Commandments in any recognizable form. Instead it interprets them so that they present the revisionist social agenda. Consider the following:
First Commandment
Traditional: “I am the Lord thy God… Thou shalt have none other gods but me.” (1662)
Revisionist: Our duty is “to love and obey God and to bring others to know him.”
Second Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image.”
Revisionist: Our duty is “to put nothing in the place of God.”
Third Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
Revisionist: Our duty is “to show God respect in thought, word and deed.”
Fourth Commandment
Traditional: “Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.”
Revisionist: Our duty is “to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God’s ways.”
Fifth Commandment
Traditional: “Honor thy father and thy mother.”
Revisionist: Our duty to our neighbors is “to love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands.”
Sixth Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not murder.”
Revisionist: Our duty to our neighbors is “to show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God.”
Seventh Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Revisionist: Our duty toward our neighbors is “to use all our bodily desires as God intended.”
Eighth Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not steal.”
Revisionist: Our duty toward our neighbors is “to be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God.”
Ninth Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
Revisionist: Our duty toward our neighbors is “to speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence.”
Tenth Commandment
Traditional: “Thou shalt not covet.”
Revisionist: Our duty toward our neighbors is “to resist the temptation to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people’s gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.”
The 1979 Catechism fragments and reframes the Ten Commandments, paraphrasing them in revisionist language. So our duty toward our neighbors is “to use all our bodily desires as God intended.” There are also echoes of the 1960’s social justice concerns, but there is no instruction in how to please God by believing him, fearing him, giving him thanks, putting one’s whole trust in him, calling upon him, honoring his holy name, and serving him truly all the days of one’s life.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. In other words, when the state takes control of the kids, as it has in Cuba, the kids will not know who to listen too (their parents or their instructors).
Our duty to our neighbors is "to love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands."
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