Don't Know Much About the Bible - Kenneth C. Davis [56]
2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth….”
This was clearly another rule reflecting the time and place in which Moses delivered the commandments. Idol worship, household gods, and magic amulets were all in widespread use at the presumed time of the Exodus and for centuries after, especially in Canaan.
In a modern context, few people worship “idols” in the sense given in Exodus. In his insightful book, Biblical Literacy, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin offers a useful insight on this commandment:
From Judaism’s perspective, idolatry occurs when one holds any value (for instance, nationalism) higher than God. Thus, a person who, on the basis of “my country right or wrong,” performs acts that God designates as wrong is an idolater; his behavior makes it clear that he regards his country’s demand to do evil as more binding than God’s demand to do good. Such a person’s claim to worship God—an assertion that was actually made by S.S. officers who worked in concentration camps—is plainly false; the person is an idolater, not a follower of God. (p. 425)
That still leaves open the problem posed by Michelangelo or the University of Notre Dame’s “Touchdown Jesus.” Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, with its God reaching out to give Adam life, and the Pietá, a statue of Mary and the dead Jesus, are clearly “images” of God. There can be little question that Notre Dame’s famed statue of Jesus, hands upraised like a football referee, is a “sculptured image.” Taking the commandment literally, what do we make of highly venerated Christian status honoring saints or the Mother of Jesus or even a medallion of the crucified Jesus?
The commandment is quite clear—“You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens.” (Ex. 20:4 JPS) The best case to be made for all the great religious artworks of the past few centuries is that they might break the letter of the law but not the spirit. Michelangelo surely expected the Pope who commissioned him to appreciate his artwork without worshiping it. On the other hand, many devout believers fervently kneel before status in hopeful prayer. Are they “worshiping” graven images?
Some Christians, particularly those Protestant denominations that emerged during the Reformation, rejected elaborate church buildings and certain religious practices in favor of a “purer” religion devoid of symbols and statuary—that’s how the “Puritans” got their name. To them, the religious status and the magnificent cathedrals built to display these artistic works contradicted the commandment and the spirit of Jesus’ teachings. One of the clearest themes in the ministry of Jesus is his contempt for outward expressions of empty piety in favor of the importance of inner, spiritual “wealth.” He also railed against material riches on a number of occasions, telling one would-be disciple to sell all his belongings if he wanted to follow him. It is difficult to imagine that the Jesus who counseled that the rich would have a hard time getting into the kingdom of heaven would be pleased with the earthly treasures piled up by churches in his name during the past two thousand years.
3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
Taught to most of us when we were children as an injunction against shouting “G—-t” when you bang your finger with a hammer, this commandment is another that has slipped a few notches in terms of universal acceptance.
In Jewish tradition, the commandment came to be viewed as a prohibition against saying or writing the