Jul 25 2008
Which Ten Commandments?
In the US, there has been a great deal of controversy over the Ten Commandments. I remember just a few years ago seeing many yards with signs of the Ten Commandments, supporting their public display. Much of this centered around the situation of the monument of the Ten Commandments in the Alabama State Courthouse. For the moment, the controversy in the US seems to have subsided.
Here in Brazil, the controversy we face over the Ten Commandments is not publicized and does not center around their public display. Rather, the controversy is over which Ten Commandments are the actual Ten Commandments. That may strike you as odd, but that really is one of the barriers we face in presenting the gospel in a way that Catholics in Brazil can understand.
Let me explain. Most Catholics in Brazil learn their belief system from the practice of the church and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They rarely read the Bible. They certainly do not study the Bible the way they are required to study the catechism. Therefore, the catechism is considered a source of authoritative teaching and is, in practice, placed in a position of authority over the Bible.
The Portuguese translation of the Latin Catechism of the Catholic Church has a formulation of the Ten Commandments. It is more of a summary, rather than presenting the full text of the Ten Commandments as they appear in Exodus 20.2-17 and Deuteronomy 5.6-21. I’ll translate the formulation for you:
First: Worship God and love Him above all things.
Second: Do not invoke the holy name of God in Vain.
Third: Sanctify Sundays and the observed festivals.
Fourth: Honor your father and mother (and other legitimate superiors).
Fifth: Do not kill (nor cause other damage, in body or soul, to yourself or to your neighbor).
Sixth: Keep chastity in word and deed.
Seventh: Do not steal (not keeping unjustly, nor damaging the goods of your neighbor).
Eighth: Do not raise false witness (nor in any other fashion slight the truth or defame your neighbor).
Ninth: Keep chastity in thoughts and desires.
Tenth: Do not covet/envy the things of others.
If you grew up in or have been discipled in a Protestant church, you will quickly see that this list of Ten Commandments is somewhat different from the Ten Commandments in the Bible. It is even different from the authorized Catholic Bible used by Catholics here in Brazil. It is quite shocking for the folks to whom we witness when they read the Ten Commandments in the Catholic Bible. They can not believe that the Bible actually says, “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 (Exodus 20.4 NIV).” They do not want to believe the Bible actually says that. Most Brazilian Catholics have statues of Mary and many of the saints in their homes and in their churches. Some homes have 100 or more statues, idols.
I could go on, but I won’t for now. Perhaps I’ll continue this subject in a future post. Suffice it to say, we have a huge challenge before us as we share the gospel with the lost of Brazil.
I would like to ask you to pray for Prof. M. He is not yet a follower of Christ, but has been attending one of our house churches for quite some time. God has been doing a lot to grab his attention. Those of you who heard me speak in the US may recall me telling you about a dream that this man’s wife had and how God fulfilled that dream. He e-mailed me with two questions. One of those questions was, “What are God’s laws for man today?” That is a huge question and will take a lot of time to answer. Please pray for Prof. M and me as we walk through the Bible together searching for the answer to this question. Please pray that God will open his eyes to the truth, that he will become a follower of the way of Jesus Christ.