Do the 10 Commandments belong in the church, synagogue or mosque?
Of course they do — they are God’s commands, found in His Holy Word. They show us the way God would have us live. And Christians believe, as Paul wrote in Galatians 3:24, “the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” When we read the high standards required by God’s Law, we should recognize that we as sinners cannot meet that standard, and therefore the Law drives us to the foot of the Cross, showing us our need for His grace and salvation.
But the Ten Commandments also have a place in courthouses and schoolhouses. God has established two kingdoms, the church and the state, and He is Lord of both. The Ten Commandments are the moral foundation of law because they set forth the basic principles of our legal system. This should not be surprising. Law is based on morality, and morality has its roots in religion.
One moral principle underlying our law is respect for life, which we see in the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Some translations render this passage, “Thou shalt not murder,” because the Hebrew word ratsach denotes an intentional and unjustified killing, and the Hebrew has different words for killing in war, executions and accidental killings.
So what’s wrong with murder? It destroys a person who was created in the image of God and is, therefore, of infinite value. Because man is created in God’s image, he has human dignity, and with that human dignity are human rights. God has therefore given man dominion over nature (Genesis 1:29-30), but that dominion mandate also includes a stewardship mandate that we are to take good care of God’s creation (Genesis 2:15). Psalm 139:14 says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and Psalm 8:5 says, “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.” That’s why the crime of murder is punished severely. As we read in Genesis 9:6, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”
That’s why every state protects human life by prohibiting homicide. Different types of homicide are treated differently. Generally, one who kills “in cold blood,” that is, with premeditation, is guilty of first-degree murder. One who kills deliberately but without premeditation (sometimes called “malice aforethought”) may be guilty of second-degree murder. Killing in “heat of passion” when provoked by the other person is usually considered voluntary manslaughter, while killing unintentionally, but with gross negligence, such as a fatality resulting from drunk driving, is involuntary manslaughter. And these definitions vary from state to state.
The civil laws of every state also protect human life. If you negligently cause a person’s death by an accident caused by simple negligence such as speeding, you can be liable for damages. Manufacturers can be held liable if they produce unsafe products, and even doctors can be sued for medical malpractice causing a patient’s death.
Our Declaration of Independence recognizes our God-given right to life, proclaiming that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Fifth and 14th Amendments to our Constitution also protect the right to “life, liberty, and property.” Article I, Section 1 of the Alabama Constitution likewise provides that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The current debate over whether abortion should be legal or illegal is ultimately a right-to-life issue. Many call themselves “pro-choice,” even though the baby does not get a choice in the abortion decision. But Article I, Sec. 35 of the Alabama Constitution provides, “That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression.” If the legitimate end of government is to protect human life, then government must determine when that protection begins – at conception, at viability or at birth.
I believe the appropriate place to begin the protection of life is the point at which life begins – conception. But that is the subject for another column. My point, however, is that we are debating abortion today because nearly all of us respect the right to life; we disagree on when human personhood begins and when the protection of life should begin.
The Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” is also relevant to end-of-life decisions. The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, upheld the decision of a mother who wanted to decline further treatment for her profoundly retarded and terminally ill son (Matter of Storar (1980)). But Judge Cardamone dissented and invoked the Decalogue:
The circumstances here transcend mere statutory and constitutional views and lead inexorably back to the Author of the natural law from whose foundation all law is derived. The imperative of the Fifth Commandment – Thou shalt not kill [note that the judge used the Catholic/Lutheran numbering of the Commandments) – is reflected in the beginnings of the common law. As Blackstone observed: ‘The law of England wisely and religiously considers, that no man hath a power to destroy life but by Commission from God, the author of it.’ Our founding fathers enshrined the doctrine that life is an unalienable right in the Declaration of Independence….
There is but a short step from a mentally defective patient’s ‘right to die’ to his duty to die.
In Gilbert v. Florida (1986), a case in which a man killed his wife, calling it a mercy killing, the Florida Court of Appeals ruled that euthanasia was not a defense to first-degree murder in the state. Judge Glickstein wrote:
The Decalogue states categorically, ‘Thou shalt not murder.’ It draws no distinction between murder by members of the middle class and murder by members of an underclass. It draws no distinction between murder by a family member and murder by a stranger. It draws no distinction between murder out of a misguided notion of compassion and murder for hire.
In so many different ways, government officials, lawyers and judges, doctors and hospitals, and family members are faced with life-and-death decisions. Unlike in Marxist empires in which individual lives do not matter, or in utilitarian societies in which individual lives may be sacrificed for the greater good, Judeo-Christian societies like ours consider these questions with the underlying premise that life is precious because man is created in the image of God. And that premise finds its best expression in the Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org), as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy (obcl.edu), and as a Board member of Lutherans for Life (Lutheransforlife.org). He may be contacted for speaking engagements at eidsmoeja@juno.com.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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