Fox News: “The Ten Commandments Should Not Just Be Posted in Schools—They Should Be Taught in Every Public School System”

The controversy over posting the Ten Commandments in public schools by various Christian groups is based upon the idea of merging religious and national identities into one. The ultimate goal is to create a society in which church doctrine and Christian ideas govern both private and public life. Although the idea may seem good on the surface, this measure actually undermines religious freedom and the constitutional principle that the government should be neutral in religious matters.

On September 1, 2024, Fox News escalated the debate over religious instruction in public schools by stating that instead of simply displaying the Ten Commandments, educators should teach students the meaning of each commandment, including the Sabbath.

Fox News expressed the following:

• “The Ten Commandments should not just be posted in schools. They should be taught in every public school system. Fortunately, the Ten Commandments very much do exist – and are tailored-made for educating, deepening, growing and uplifting every student who is taught them.” [1]

• “A teacher’s guide for teaching the Ten Commandments could easily be constructed by educators and scholars, regardless of their faith. Indeed, a guide constructed by people with different perspectives and from different traditions would make it even richer and more fulfilling.” [1]

• “A well-constructed teacher’s guide would yield life lessons and existential questions, unavailable elsewhere, that would invigorate all seekers and make seekers out of all of our children. Here are just a few examples.” [1]

• “In the First Commandment, God introduces himself.” [1]

• “The Second Commandment prohibits idolatry. This commandment warns against, most broadly, giving too much allegiance or devotion to things that do not deserve it.” [1]

• “The Third Commandment prohibits taking the name of the Lord in vain. This is, as the Israeli-American scholar David Hazony writes, a prohibition on making false oaths – and a commandment to act truthfully and represent ourselves honestly.” [1]

• “The Fourth Commandment separates the Sabbath from the rest of the week, and distinguishes it as a day of rest. This means, in the Torah’s understanding, that work ceases and electronics are shut off. The Sabbath is, as the Ten Commandments continues, a day to be ‘sanctified.’ One does not sanctify a day by lounging on the couch. How might one sanctify a day each week? Is there a value, independent of any religious claim, to having one day every week to devote to family, friends, books, contemplation and other activities designed not for creation but re-creation? If so, how might such a day be lived?” [1]

• “In just 250 words, the Ten Commandments offers its students deep access into the three universal and always relevant domains of life: personal character, social relationships and societal systems.” [1]

The problem with what Fox News is proposing is this: how long before students are told that Sunday is the new biblical Sabbath and the day of rest and worship? The danger is that we are opening the door to teaching church doctrines to the children and pushing a distorted form of Christianity upon society through the public schools. The goal is to use powerful state infrastructures to advance Christianity. These kinds of policies bridge the gap between Christian faith and government policies.

There are movements in America advocating for traditional Christian ideals to be reflected in all laws. This calls for a revision of the US Constitution that does not uphold the principle of complete separation of church and state. Our political and religious landscape would be dominated by a perverted version of Christianity if this system were to be put in place. Our media, education, and politics would have to reflect whatever the popular churches believe, including any laws that promote Sunday as the official day of rest.

In our public schools, the drive to reinstate the Ten Commandments is entwined with the Sunday campaign. This movement is gaining momentum. Presently, efforts are underway to portray Sunday, the counterfeit Sabbath, as an essential good in our world. This will lead people away from the truth that God has for this time. False prophets are attempting to deceive the very elect (Matthew 24:24). Satan has transformed himself into an angel of light to push his idol Sabbath (2 Corinthians 11:14). And the entire world is wondering after the beast to worship him through Sunday rest, and soon they will be compelled to receive his mark (Revelation 13:3, 8, 16).

“As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand, will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the State, ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness” (Great Controversy, p. 615).

Sources

[1] https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ten-commandments-important-children-learn-from-not-just-see