10 Commandments

Which Ten Commandments?
By Jim Myers

There is a great deal of talk going on now about putting the Ten Commandments in our public schools. The only question is -- "Whose Ten Commandments are they wanting to put up - Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant?"

We should keep in mind that these were not products of the same time period. The Jewish Ten Commandments were around many centuries before the Roman Catholic Church came into being in the late 4th century CE (AD). In Christianity the Roman Catholic version was the only version for over 1000 years. Remember, it wasn't until the 16th century CE (AD) that the first Protestant churches were established.

As you examine the three different versions of the Ten Commandments ask yourself the following questions:

(1) What are the differences between them?

(2) What changes did the Catholic Church make to the Jewish version?

(3) Why would the Catholic Church make those changes?

(4) What changes to the Catholic version did the Protestants make?

(5) Why would they have made them?

(6) Is the Protestant version more similar to the Catholic or Jewish version?

(7) Which version would Jesus have known?

	Jewish	Catholic	Protestant*
I	I am the Lord your G-d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.	I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.	You shall have no other gods but me.
II	You shall have no other gods but me.	You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.	You shall not make unto you any graven images.
III	You shall not take the name of the Lord your G-d in vain.	Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.	You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
IV	You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.	Honor your father and your mother.	You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
V	Honor your mother and father.	You shall not kill.	Honor your mother and father.
VI	You shall not murder.	You shall not commit adultery.	You shall not murder.
VII	You shall not commit adultery.	You shall not steal.	You shall not commit adultery.
VIII	You shall not steal.	You shall not bear false witness.	You shall not steal.
IX	You shall not bear false witness.	You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.	You shall not bear false witness.
X	You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.	You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.	You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Pay close attention to the newspaper articles or news reports about this issue. See which set of Ten Commandments they want to put up. Are they supporting the Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant version?

Whose version should be displayed? By the way, what do you think about the way that the words of the Bible can be manipulated by theologians? The words are the same, it's just how they are combined. Of course the problem is that the different religious authorities tell their followers that their version is "God's word - God's will."

Feel free to make copies of this article and share it with your friends. Why not take it to your church or synagogue and make it a discussion topic? E-mail your online friends and share it with them too!

By the way, you may want to check out more than just the differences between the Ten Commandments - make sure you add the other Bibles to your collection.

*"Lutherans, oldest of the protestant denominations, agree with the Roman Catholic version, and NOT the
"Protestant" version." [E-mail from Mr. Hellmers received on 08/27/03] If you have additional information please send it to us -- "Our beliefs are large enough to include all the facts."]

If the Ten Commandments are so different -
how many more differences are there?
Maybe you need to add one or two more Bibles to your collection.
Order them today!

Click on pictures for more info or to order.

*Jewish*	*Catholic*	*Protestant*

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