Article July 26, 1952 Issue

The Letter and the Spirit of the Mosaic Decalogue

In her writings our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, enjoins obedience to the Ten Commandments, given in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, in both the letter and the spirit. And it is thus the Decalogue is to be taught in Christian Science Sunday Schools. The spiritual import of the Commandments is indispensable to progress in Christian Science. But if the Commandments are presented to pupils only in their spiritual significance without regard to their literal application, the pupils are likely to get a superficial sense of Christian Science, becoming hearers only of the Word; and this would rob them of the rich reward that comes with the doing of the Word.

Children need to understand that failure to practice in daily life any of the Ten Commandments obscures their spiritual understanding. For example, according to the fourth commandment, Christian Science stands for an observed Sabbath. Yet occasionally we hear a pupil say, "Oh, Sunday is just like any other day, for in Christian Science every day is a Sabbath." Such superficial thinking, if not corrected, would tend to deprive mankind of a Christian institution that is of utmost importance to the well-being of nations and individuals. If one ignores that which promotes humanity's spiritual welfare, how can one expect to grasp the spiritual realities of being represented in the book of Genesis by the seventh day?

Again, in discussing the fifth commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee," we sometimes find a pupil who speaks only of our duty to God without any regard to our duty to our earthly parents. In the fifteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for their neglect of this "commandment of God" in their human experience. Occasionally we find a pupil—and sometimes a teacher—who regards the commandment in its human application as pertaining only to young children and their obligation of obedience to parents. Yet the abovementioned incident indicates that Jesus did not so regard it. Also when a certain ruler asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus pointed to the Mosaic Decalogue and mentioned the fifth commandment along with others. So we see that the commandment applies alike to children and adults. And children should understand this.

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