Breaking the Ten Commandments

By Curtis Rittenour | Posted October 27, 2014

A 6-foot-tall granite monument of the Ten Commandments, erected in 2012, now lay knocked over and smashed by a man who says the devil made him do it. He subsequently made threats against the U.S. President and the federal government. The man has admitted he is mentally ill and had stopped taking his medications.

For many years, certain Christian groups have worked to have the Ten Commandments displayed at the statehouse as a commemoration to a document that influenced the nation’s history. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said the monument will be rebuilt since it has “historical significance … in guiding our own laws and lives.” [1]

Soon after the monument’s debut, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit that the giant stone violates the separation of church and state. Additionally, while the local Satanic Temple has condemned the man’s actions, it wants a monument of its own set up near the Ten Commandments.

“If our monument stands at the state Capitol, we want it to complement and contrast the Ten Commandments, with both standing unmolested as a testament to American religious freedom and tolerance.” [2]

The Bible describes Satan’s ongoing effort to destroy God’s law since before our world was created. From his seducing lie to Eve in Eden to the very end of time, the devil speaks “pompous words” against God’s government “and shall intend to change times and law” (Daniel 7:25). It has always been his strategy to deceive the whole world about God’s law (Revelation 12:9).

Yet those who await the second coming of Jesus are described as keeping “the commandments of God” (Revelation 12:17). They live in harmony with Christ who said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). They obey Jesus’ call, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Even though thousands condemn in their hearts the actions of the deranged man who drove his car into the Ten Commandments monument, millions more quietly walk over God’s law and say that it is no longer binding. The apostle Paul predicts that before Christ’s coming the “man of sin” will come. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9, emphasis added).

Are you driving over God’s commandments with your own life?

If you’d like to learn more about what the Bible says
about the Ten Commandments, click here.

Curtis Rittenour
Curtis J. Rittenour is the senior writer at Amazing Facts International. He pastored for 25 years and has authored books, magazine articles, blogs, and seminars.
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11 years ago
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Anonymous
The amendment was written because in England you had to join the Church of England. Our forefathers wanted us to have the freedom to join whatever religion we want. Separation of church and state is fine, but NOT separation of God and state.
11 years ago
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Anonymous
I am an SDA and having read the history of protestantism, especially during the Protestation of Spires in 1529, I strongly agree with the ACLU that placing the 10 commandments at the statehouse by the Christian groups is a gross violation of religious liberty. This principle of total separation of church (or any religious entity) from state was deeply cherished by the founding fathers of the USA.
The Tripoli treaty of 1797 explicitly stated: "As the Government of the United States of America IS NOT, IN ANY SENSE, FOUNDED ON THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION;"
Thomas Jefferson, speaking about the first amendment to the American constitution stated: "... legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."
James Madison, in his "Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments" clearly outlines the doctrine of separation of church and state. In his third point in his remonstrance, Madison stated: "Because it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of Citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The free men of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much soon to forget it. Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects? that the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?"
Bear in mind that James Madison was a Christian and yet he did not support the intrusion of the the civil powers in religious matters. Among the reasons for this is clearly outlined in his remonstrance' sixth point: "Because the establishment proposed by the Bill is not requisite for the support of the Christian Religion. To say that it is, is a contradiction to the Christian Religion itself, for every page of it disavows a dependence on the powers of this world: it is a contradiction to fact; for it is known that this Religion both existed and flourished, not only without the support of human laws, but in spite of every opposition from them, and not only during the period of miraculous aid, but long after it had been left to its own evidence and the ordinary care of Providence. Nay, it is a contradiction in terms; for a Religion not invented by human policy, must have pre-existed and been supported, before it was established by human policy. It is moreover to weaken in those who profess this Religion a pious confidence in its innate excellence and the patronage of its Author; and to foster in those who still reject it, a suspicion that its friends are too conscious of its fallacies to trust it to its own merits."
I conclude by quoting from the Spirit of Prophecy. The Great Controversy (1911) 203.4, ““The principles contained in this celebrated Protest … constitute the very essence of Protestantism. Now this Protest opposes two abuses of man in matters of faith: the first is the intrusion of the civil magistrate, and the second the arbitrary authority of the church. Instead of these abuses, Protestantism sets the power of conscience above the magistrate, and the authority of the word of God above the visible church. In the first place, it rejects the civil power in divine things, and says with the prophets and apostles, ‘We must obey God rather than man.’ In presence of the crown of Charles the Fifth, it uplifts the crown of Jesus Christ. But it goes farther: it lays down the principle that all human teaching should be subordinate to the oracles of God.”—Ibid., b. 13, ch. 6. The protesters had moreover affirmed their right to utter freely their convictions of truth. They would not only believe and obey, but teach what the word of God presents, and they denied the right of priest or magistrate to interfere. The Protest of Spires was a solemn witness against religious intolerance, and an assertion of the right of all men to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.”
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.
[Letter objecting to the use of government land for churches, 1803]” ― James Madison
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11 years ago
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Anonymous
America was build upon religion ...look at the pilgrams and all of the othwr early settlers..they all left Europe to this new land to worship Our maker the way they see fit..The seperation of Church and State is so that the Church cant tell Our Goverment what to do as it has fer years in europe and The Goverement cant tell the Church in what to preach..But there will be a day when the Goverenments of this world will tell us when to go to church and what to preach these are Blue laws that have been in our law books for a long long time and its by the Grace of god that they havent been inacted yet for the man of sin has not been shown yet. and the aclu'ers are nothing but trouble makers
11 years ago
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rippedcurtain
. . . I suppose the Presidential prayer event was in violation of that as well, huh? And any mention of God publicly by a politician would be another violation, ...oh, and the Pledge of Allegiace. . . And our money . . . Or maybe my Godly actions are offensive and well. After all, actions speak louder than "monuments", right?
11 years ago
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Anonymous
"After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, what the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree." Revelation 7:1
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…" 2 Timothy 3:1, 2.
We should not be surprise at what this man did. Look at all the other evil happening in our world today. What we are witnessing is the fruit of humanity's disregard for God's law. What that man did publicly--walking or running down the law of God, many today do the same thing as demonstrated by their actions and how they live their lives. More and more, the world has come to disregard the commandments of God--resulting in disobedience not only to God's law, but to man-made laws as well. These are but signs of the times--the last days of earth's history.
We are reminded to reflect on what happened during the days of Noah and Lot, in that Jesus tells us, "Remember Lot's wife" Luke 17:32
11 years ago
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MiguelArvelo01
There's so many people out there saying they don't need the law because they have the Spirit... I wonder if this holds to the test of Bible Truth. Let's see, they use verses like Romans 7:6
" But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
However, what does Christ say about the relation between law and Spirit?
John 14:15-16
"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
The Bible, in more than one occasion talks about this. There is no true love without obedience and there is no Spirit without this love.
11 years ago
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Anonymous
May God help us love Him, keep His commandments and not destroy His commandments.
11 years ago
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pppppjlkjkl
This article is great! However, I still see people focusing on this man instead of the MAIN MESSAGE in this article! First of all, this man may be possesed, yet, there were many possesed in the Bible that were healed by Jesus. And what happened after they were healed? They became His followers. Instead of looking what you could fix in your life by hearing what this article is saying to you (some) people, you focus on that man, exactly what pharisees did! Every time we come upon this subject, people are uncomfortable talking about it.
11 years ago
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sabrit
If people TRULY Love The L-rd, they would be studying The WORD. Messiah IS the WORD, He IS The Law. Develop a relationship with Him, as we CANNOT do anything in and of our selves, We NEED to lean on Him, and He will do it through us!
11 years ago
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Anonymous
I want to see a comprehensive list of all the rules we are expected to follow today - for instance there is no "thou shalt not eat pork and shrimp" in the 10 commandments. Things like mixed fabrics I'd assume were abolished long ago.
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11 years ago
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sabrit
Why are you worried about "rules"? They will take care of them selves when you develop a relationship with Him. Start with the Gospel of John, it is easiest to get to know Messiah. He knows we are weak, fail, not even interested in 'dry' portions of the Bible, so start with the gospels, but John fist, a little every day. Just ask for Him to give you His Spirit as you do this. He is a Gentleman and will NOT abandon you!
11 years ago
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pppppjlkjkl
Many things aren't mentioned in the 10 commandments, rather throughout the Bible! It is mentioned! And jews were forbidden to eat it! But the real expectation of God today, is much more different. 2000 years ago, people would be happy if they had 1 meal a day or 2 and if you told them to be vegetarian, they would die. Today, we are more than just capable of being a vegetarian/vegan. If you take a better look at all the commandments, all that Jesus said, all the laws, you can see that they are extremely healthy for a person, both mentally and physically. This also sets us apart from other religions that are the opposite. Only people who are distanced from God see these laws as something bad. I have to admit, I used to think that, until I started reading the Bible and watching Doug's videos. Also, God said we need to take care of our bodies, keep them healthy, because it was a gift from Him. Imagine your parent gave you a car, and you were destroying it little by little in front of their eyes, saying it's your car. His laws are healthy, and He wants us to keep being healthy.
11 years ago
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Anonymous
Rules?? God dosnt have rules he has laws that help us have a better life with our fellow man. A husband dosnt cheat on his wife because its a rule he dosnt cheat on her cause he loves her. The pork and shrimp comment, there is no law or rule God nows what is good for us, this animals are unclean for a reason they serve a purpose . Many say that these are rules for moses time, but how did noah know what was clean and unclean. The Bible says 2 by 2 unclean and the clean came in by 7.Noah knew what those animals where so since the beginning God had health suggestions for us
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11 years ago
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Anonymous
I was thinking of commands like Leviticus 19:19 not the food laws. Curious about what was just for the Israelites. And how we know what was temporary ceremonial and what is for us today?
11 years ago
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sabrit
He is the Maker, so He knows what "fuel" is best!
11 years ago
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Anonymous
I REALLY DON'T THINK YOU CAN COMPARE THE TWO - OF SINNING & BLATANTLY RUNNING OVER THE TEN COMMANDMENTS & THEN URINATING ON IT BECAUSE satan TOLD YOU TO DO SO. THE DEMONIC IS ALIVE & WELL IN THE WORLD & MANIFESTING MORE GROSSLY EVERY DAY. GOD.JESUS.HOLY SPIRIT KNOW THAT MAN/WOMAN DOES NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE PERFECTLY FREE FROM SIN BUT SHOULD CONTINUE TO STRIVE IN THAT DIRECTION. SO NOT KEEPING A COMMANDMENT IS A DIFFERENT THING THAT ADMITTING YOU ARE ON A MISSION FOR satan. ONE IS A PROBLEM OF A REDEEMED SINNER WALKING IN THE FLESH INSTEAD OF THE SPIRIT & THE OTHER IS A demonic possesses person DOING THE COMMANDS OF THE FATHER OF LIES. BIG DIFFERENCE HERE...
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11 years ago
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pppppjlkjkl
And isn't "sinning = working for Satan"? In fact, sinning is even worse because you pretend you work for God, yet you work for satan. Remember all the people posessed by demons in the Bible? This man was obviously either posessed, either had mental problems (similar) and if he was healed, you'd see a different person. Now, I'm not saying we can be sinless, but every time we sin, this means we were weak. And we ARE weak! And every time you sin, you just worked for satan. But if we sin, not caring about it or not aware of it, that's a problem. The healed possesed people in the Bible were always above the pharisees that were never even aware of their state of mind, yet hated other people.
11 years ago
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Anonymous
Exactly. Many wonderful Christians don't even realize they don't fully observe all the laws that God commands us. They have eliminated one in particular, or I should say changed one with traditions, thinking it's ok, when the fact of the matter is that it's still part of the 10 and needs to be kept as it's written "in stone". So really if the government likes the foundation of the 10 commandments should stand by and enforce all 10 strictly. Otherwise maybe there really shouldn't be a monument on the courthouse grounds at all, because they themselves don't observe or enforce them as it's precisely written.
11 years ago
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shawnM7
I saw this on the news and it's quiet evident this guy is being led my satan. All through the Bible those with a weaker mind(will) usually are more susceptible to being demon possessed. In our post modern society we regularly label such symptoms as schizophrenia and other mental illness and treat it with a life long supply of prescription drugs!
11 years ago
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sdinges
Dear God,
There are many demons out there that deceive people! I was also deceive at Coldwell Banker in Carlsbad and lead out too the 5 freeway! These foolish God given demons! I also notice a Black lady on the East Coast drove her car into the Atlantic ocean with her kids! This is blessed because after this happen you will never be the same! The Bad thing about this is Lucifer gets the credit even if it's some other demon! I blamed Lucifer, although it might of been suicide the demon that impersonated the Angel Gabriel at my brothers house in Sacramento! God bless with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and please forgive the sins of everyone of Planet earth!