King James
Ex 20:1-20
And God spake all these words, saying,
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
NIV
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
To quote from ‘Wikipedia’, “Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 album musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, on which the 1971 rock opera of the same name was based. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as an album, the success of which led to stage productions. The album musical is a musical dramatization of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ, beginning with his entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. It was originally banned by the BBC on grounds of being “sacrilegious”] By 1983, the album had sold over seven million copies worldwide.” I happen to have one of those first two-album sets! And, yes, it’s release and subsequent popularity at that time cause quite a stir in many of the so-called ‘organized religions’ of the day.
I have spoken before about how I had used quotes from it during my very first time in the pulpit of the Very Fundamental church that I had grown-up in in Hartford, IL when I was some 17 years old, and gave it again at two even More ‘conservative’ congregations during that next year. So you might say that, in my own small way, I was well-versed in that ‘controversy’ at that time!
I have also spoken about how during this same time I was quite involved with various phases of building, repairing, and, more importantly, setting up and using the various electronic and recording equipment available at the time. I had some small amount of my own, and still had access to borrowing any of the available equipment at the local high school, and so could, when needed, set-up a fair resemblance of a recording studio… Nothing resembling Anything ‘professional’, you understand, but more-so than most people of the day might have had! So when the elders at the church that a friend of mine belonged to decided to hold a special meeting to discuss the controversy surrounding ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and asked him to put together a small-ish sample of the opera for them to listen to, he selected what he thought were the most pertinent songs, wrote a small dialog to give background and connect them, then came to me to put it all together, record it, and set-up a stereo PA system in their church to play it on!
I have also written before about how their final decision was that ‘anything that got people to hear and/or think about Christ was a good thing’, how I agreed with that at the time, but have had occasion to rethink that ‘agreeing with’ during the years since!
At one time ‘Toller Cranston’ was a well-known Canadian skating figure, and during the mid ‘80’s had a hand in putting together a skating Christmas special called ‘True Gift of Christmas’ which consisted of a storyline that connected many of the various Christmas legends from around the European continent. I chanced to see and record it when it appeared on the local PBS station sometime in the early ‘90’s, and have Always enjoyed watching it whenever I can find it.
Growing-up in the ‘Church of Christ’, Christmas was Never a part of any service, though many of us Did celebrate it at home. I came to be aware, however, of many other congregations who refused to have Any Part of it! Still, when I became a ‘pastor’ in a Methodist church Christmas was Such an Important time of the year and a celebration of Christ’s birth! So when I watched the part of ‘Toller Cranston’s True Gift of Christmas’ that showed Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers marching through the countryside seeking to arrest anyone caught celebrating Christmas, I couldn’t understand why!
These days I seem to spent some time each day just scrolling through various YouTube videos at random, and some months back started watching a number of clips from the 1970 movie ‘Cromwell’, with ‘Richard Harris’ in the lead role. I had no recollection of it at all, though it had been nominated for a number of awards during it’s run, and even won some of them! And the clips piqued my interest enough to cause me to look for and purchase the DVD of the full movie.
Having been educated in the United States, I knew absolutely Nothing about Oliver Cromwell, so much of the content of the movie was unknown to me. Oh, I had heard of ‘Guy Fawkes Day’ through reading various fictional sources (such as the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ radio show!), and, of course, the short bit included in the ‘True Gift of Christmas’, but had never had any reason to connect any of it together. To quote, again, from ‘Wikipedia, “Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in British and Irish history, considered a regicidal dictator by historians such as David Sharp, a military dictator by Winston Churchill, a bourgeois revolutionary by Leon Trotsky, and a hero of liberty by John Milton, Thomas Carlyle, and Samuel Rawson Gardiner.” So when I watched Cromwell in one of the opening scenes storm up to the front during his Puritan Sunday service and attack the three crosses standing on the alter there (The minister protested that they had been a ‘gift’… from their new Catholic queen!), I didn’t understand why… at first!
Most people will recognize the verses that I read today as containing what is commonly referred to as the ‘Ten Commandments’. This was the list of the ten most important things God expected of His people! And what does number two say? “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God…”
Now, I do Not mean to infer that I support the way Cromwell went about doing it… Yes, it is true that Jesus got upset with the moneylenders in the temple an threw them out… and Yes, Paul gave us some very specific methods to use when a member of the congregation refuses to obey the ‘Breathed Word of God’… But you cannot Force someone to believe any particular way! Still, in regards to obeying the Ten Commandments, and the 2nd Commandment in particular…
Cromwell had the right of it!!
Some years ago I had the great privilege to go on a ‘Walk to Emmaus’. And as a part of that I was given a small pewter cross with the words ‘Christ is Counting on You’ cast into one side of it. I wore this many years, even when I had gone back to and preached at the little ‘fundamental’ church I grew-up in in Hartford… where I was reminded, on occasion, that I ‘really didn’t need to be wearing it’… But, I told myself that I wore it as an emblem, or reminder, of my having gone on the ‘Walk’, nothing more…
But… after watching that movie I hung it on a peg under one of my hats and have not worn it since!
The 2nd Commandment is VERY Clear!
Cromwell had the right of it!
And, YES, that includes NOT celebrating Christmas as the birth of Christ! Most people have always been aware that ‘religious authorities’ had usurped a ‘Pagan’ holiday and assigned it as the time to ‘worship’ Jesus’ birth to Mary… But NOWHERE are we ever Instructed to do so, nor even told when it might have actually been! I have no issue with celebrating Peace, Love, Joy, and Fellowship at that time of year. And if it helps people to think more about Christ and God I see no problem in that either! But as I have said innumerable times, it is Not by the Birth of Christ that we are saved but by His Death… AND Resurrection!
Cromwell had the right of it!
I have always maintained that the ‘Ten Commandments’, as we have learned them, are the building blocks of any successful civilization… But they are Also the Commandments of God!! His Son, Jesus, condensed them down to two. In the 12th chapter of Mark we read how, “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
What about all of the other commandments that God gave us through Moses? If we obey these two commandments from Jesus we obey ALL of the others by default!
Yes, Cromwell had the right of it! We MUST return to the simple but thorough truths given us by God and His Son, Jesus through all of the many prophets and peoples that both have worked through over the centuries! To attempt to add to or detract from these truths is to go against the Word… and the Will… of God!
scluebbert 