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 image 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 parents 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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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 male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (NIV)
Christians maintain that we should keep all the Ten Commandments but few do. Keeping the Sabbath for example or making graven images and bowing down to them. The Roman Catholic Church breaks this commandment when the priest genuflects toward the statue of Jesus on a cross that is a feature of every Catholic Church.
In short Christians should look at themselves first and make sure they are squeeky clean before criticising atheists.
I love the Sabbath.
It was difficult to keep for a long time – the funny thing is non Christians would accept me observing the Sabbath – it was Christians that would make stumbling blocks for me.
Most Christians think keeping the Sabbath is being legalistic.
That’s absolutely right, Mark. See here and here.
The reason I posted this is because I suddenly woke up to the fact that I’ve not been keeping the Sabbath. And for someone as slothful as me, there’s simply no excuse! From now on, I’m setting aside sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday for partying and Bible study. 🙂
It’s not a big ask to keep the Ten Commandments.