Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ Exodus

[Fun in the Sun]

Why are these two commandments consistent with Christian teachings?

Norm Chomsky writes:

It’s also worth noting the hypocrisy. The same newspaper stories showed pictures of the Ten Commandments posted on walls of classrooms (a version of them, at least). Apart from the obvious questions of establishing a particular choice of religious doctrine within the public school system, have a look at what children are to be taught to believe — on the (admittedly weak) assumption that anyone is expected to take the words seriously. Thus the self-designated chief of the gods orders them not to worship any of the other gods before him: in this polytheistic system, he is top dog. They are told not to make “graven images” (which means statues, pictures, etc.) — that is, they are taught that all the priests, ministers, teachers, and other authority figures are liars and hypocrites.

The two commandments that are supposedly "hypocritical" are the one that establishes polytheism ("no other gods before me") and the one about graven images. The Christian authority figures should be (a) teaching polytheism and (b) not making graven images, if they want to be consistent with these two commandments.

[jimwalton]

Norm Chomsky isn't exactly what I'd call the go-to scholar here. Let's talk about these two commandments.

Exodus 20.3: "You shall have no other gods before me." The commandment is ruling out the concept that YHWH operates within a pantheon or a divine assembly or with a consort, all of which were common beliefs in the ancient Near East. The Israelites were not to imagine any other deities in the presence of YHWH. YHWH's power is absolute; He is not one of many who share in the distribution of divine authority.

He isn't making a statement one way or another about whether or not other gods actually exist. What he's saying is that their other entities, whether real or imagined, are powerless. This command disenfranchises them. Not only should they not be worshipped, it leaves them with no status worthy of worship.

For the Israelites, no other deities are involved in their covenant relationship with YHWH. The covenant is not being made with a council of gods. YHWH was the ultimate power and authority in the cosmos, and there are no other gods in His presence. He is accountable to no one, and there is nothing over which He does not have jurisdiction.

Exodus 20.4-6: "You shall not make for yourself an idol..." The religions of the ancient world believed in the Great Symbiosis. The gods needed man to feed them and care for them, and man needed the gods for the same. Idols were the expression of that Great Symbiosis. They mediated the divine presence, and the temple lost its significance if the image was not installed. The idol functioned as the deity on earth. Much of its function entailed being able to receive the gifts of the people for the deity's survival. Through the images, the needs of the gods were met.

Israel was to have none of this nonsense. The Great Symbiosis was completely rejected. The ark of the covenant didn't contain the divine essence. It did't mediate revelation or worship. Mediation doesn't happen through a material form. The command is that no image is to be used as the mediator of revelation or presence from Deity to people, or as the mediator of worship from the people to Deity. The prohibition particularly excludes that sort of worship that is understood as meeting the needs of the Deity through the image. Israel was to be aniconic: no crafted cult image served as a receptacle for the divine presence. Instead, *people* are the only image that YHWH tolerates.

So saying, Chomsky's words are nonsense and a total misunderstanding. There's no "top dog in the polytheistic system," and there's no notion that all priests and ministers are liars and hypocrites. Yikes. He just has it ALLLLLL wrong.

So these two commands are consistent with Christianity. For us, nothing else has a status worthy of worship as does God. But truly for us, the command is not telling us that we shouldn't consider anything else as more important than YHWH. Instead, the takeaway for us is to recognize God's unique place, His authority, and His ultimate power to rule the world with wisdom.

As far as the second command, our takeaway is also not to think in terms of the Great Symbiosis. God doesn't need us; our allegiance to Him doesn't fill up a lack that He has. YHWH is self-contained, and we are not to lower Him to any kind of superhuman. It's not about sculpture, art, icons, or statues, but about who God is and how we are to perceive Him.