The Ten Commandments and Roy Moore Revisited by Susan Sieweke, D. Min.
One day while keeping my finger on the pulse of the culture wars in July of 2006, I came upon an invitation from Diana Crews, radio host from City on A Hill, to travel to Montgomery, Alabama to assist her in interviewing the Hon. Judge Roy Moore.
This invitation I readily accepted, for I had just been through a season of persecution resulting from using prayer at a state university and I was anxious to meet the man who had taken on an issue of international importance—the right to publicly acknowledge God as the foundation of moral law by upholding the public display of the Ten Commandments. I had followed the saga in countless televised and printed articles since 2003 and it seemed to me that few commentators had really captured the essence of the conflict, discounting the deeper religious and moral implications effecting our country. For this reason, I was eager to compare and contrast what I had been reading about Judge Moore against the real person, up close and personal. Vehemently hating all forms of abuse of authority, i.e. gender bias, bigotry and Christian fanaticism, I was going to Montgomery with three purposes in mind: 1) to meet someone I thought that I may admire, 2) to find out the truth about who Roy Moore really is what he really stands for, and 3) to scrutinize Roy Moore’s personality, beliefs and character for the traits that both liberals and Christians have criticized - namely arrogance, defiance, and fanaticism in regards to religious beliefs and how they play out in religion and politics.
With a Bible in one hand and Moore’s book, So Help me God, in the other (I had read it just two days prior to the interview), I was determined to see for myself who this man was and what he stood for apart from what the media had presented about his person and character. An hour with Roy Moore and his staff proved to be enlightening on many levels. I found out exactly what Roy Moore stood for and got a good look at his personality and character which I found to be down to earth, humble and jealous for God, His Word and His laws. Moore and his staff were most gracious in hosting us, eager to answer our questions and validate us as like-minded individuals who were sharing the same concerns for our country. After the interview, I returned home and reflected on the time spent with Moore and his staff and began to clarify on paper the issues that catapulted Roy Moore into international prominence and established him as a man with a prophetic voice.
Roy Moore: A Prophetic Voice
When the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court defied a federal order to remove the monument containing the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama State Supreme Court building, public awareness was heightened surrounding the issues of freedom of religion, the abuse of power of federal judiciary and the right to acknowledge God as the foundation of moral law. In response to Moore’s courageous stand, America had become polarized . Those who held a Christian world view were found to be in the minority, labeled as fanatics or rebellious to civil authority while those who supported the removal of the monument were applauded by those who viewed the world from a secular/humanistic perspective and were against those who supported the public acknowledgement of God as the foundation of moral law.
The removal of the Ten Commands from the Alabama State supreme court building did not initiate a movement towards lawlessness in Alabama and the United States but rather exposed the preexisting rebellion in the hearts of men, previously obscured by civil service, business as usual, and political correctness. Almighty God, sovereign in the affairs of men, permitted this act of defiance on the part of the civil rulers so that men worldwide could see the “line drawn in the sand” - the “polarization of morals and philosophies” and could “choose this day whom they would serve: God or Man?”. (Joshua 24:15) The Ten Commandments are foremost about the concept of separation; the good from the bad, the secular from the Holy, righteous from the unrighteous.
To those outside the Covenant, the removal of the Ten Commandments revealed the spirit of anti-Christ at work in the world today. This ruling principality that advocates lawlessness is the same spirit that comes against the Church of Jesus Christ and its members who dare to stand for truth in the face of ridiculous criticism and persecution. Humanists, in their foolish attempts to shame and degrade Christians describe them as “barbarian”, “ignorant”, and “simple minded”, comparing Christian culture to the unenlightened third world countries who practice witchcraft. This the Humanists do systematically in order to poison the minds of the masses against a Christian world view and sound morality and law as contained in the Ten Commandments. Why? Because Humanists are offended by the God of the Bible , the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Jesus Christ, and have made up their own god to worship—a system of thought and beliefs that exalts man above the true and Living God. (Matthew 11:6) They don’t like the Christian God, His will and His ways. They prefer darkness instead. The scriptures testify:
"because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man..." . ( Romans 1:21-23)
The comparable image today in these post-modern times is HUMANISM carved not in stone but written in books, disseminated on the internet, taught in your school systems and present in the minds of men who take offense to Judeo-Christian values and morality. Paul Kurtz, in the preface of the book The Humanist Manifesto I (1933) and The Humanist Manifesto II (1973), sets forth an explanation of Humanism:
"Humanism is a philosophical, religious and moral point of view as old as human civilization itself. It has its roots in classical China, Greece, and Rome; it is expressed in the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, in the scientific revolution, and in the twentieth century."
Most studious Christians know that the religion of all these nations generally was the worship of ancestors and demons. He says again:
"In 1933 a group of 34 liberal humanists in the United States defined and enunciated the philosophical and religious principles that seemed to them fundamental. They drafted the Humanist Manifesto I, which for its time was a radical document. It was concerned with expressing a general religious and philosophical outlook that rejected orthodox and dogmatic positions..."
Additionally, Roy Moore and the Ten Commandments issue exposed the ignorance, idolatry and hypocrisy in Christians who have been seduced into the secular humanistic mindset which exalts the laws of men above the laws of God. The Bible states "There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy". ( James 4:12) Sadly, many Christians just do not know or live the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the Gospel of the Kingdom. (Mark 1:14) What is the hallmark of this Gospel, this good news? That all authority is subject to the authority of God as expressed in Jesus Christ - even secular governmental authority.
Most Christians were taught as children in Sunday school about the Christian martyrs of the Bible who defied ungodly authority and paid a costly price. Men like Stephen, Philip, Matthew, Matthias, Andrew, Mark, Peter, Paul, Jude, and John the Baptist were often the topic of weekly lessons. Assuming that most Christians had exposure to this basic discipleship, why did Roy Moore’s stance with the Ten Commandments cause such controversy even among Christians? Why did some people of the faith find the stand he took so shocking? Defiant? Rebellious? What kept Christians from seeing the obvious, that Moore was being martyred (stoned by humanistic thought, political correctness, words, lies, slander) because he defied a wordly authority by refusing to remove the Ten Commandment monument? He may not have literally died, but as to reputation, image, position and prestige, he was a “dead man walking.”
At the same time why wasn't it clear to Christians that even as the deceived were demoting Moore, God used this very test and trial to usher in a divine promotion? Moore once stood in the office as King, influencing government as an insider, but on that day in Montgomery as they pronounced the verdict and relinquished him from his position as Chief Justice of Alabama supreme court, he was promoted by God to the office of prophet, one who would keep government in check from the outside through the Foundation for Moral Law, [1] much like the workings of Nathan’s relationship to King David.
Again, why did’t Christians recognize the stand of a modern day martyr such as Moore? The reason is this—Americans are blind, decieved and keeping company with foreign wives. The theme of the book of Nehemiah gets to the root of the matter. Recall how the prophet Nehemiah, the royal cup-bearer in the palace of the Persian king Artaxerxes and later the civil governor of Jerusalem, rebuked the Israelites for their spiritual adultery? “ Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? ” ( Nehemiah 13:27)
It's no different today. We the people of God have married humanistic, new age and secular thought with orthodox Christianity and have created an impure mixture. We no longer hold a unadulterated Christian world view. We have allowed the philosophies of godless men to influence our thought so much so that we no longer recognize basic Christian doctrine and discipleship that, at it's essence, calls for “a radical departure from all systems of thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ.” (Corinthians 10:5)
The Charge Against Christians:
Who are the foreign wives of our day? None other than secular humanism, its tenets and philosophies.
This system of thought has defiled, polluted and adulterated Christian thought and practice to such a great extent that most Christians are not aware of its gross infiltration and defilement of their belief system. Christians are (to borrow a song title from the late Keith Green) Asleep in the Light , believing anything that sounds humanitarian, tolerant and politically correct because they have more in common with secular humanist than they even know—the idolization and preservation of SELF. Humanism is an easy sell because it strokes the ego of man.
But Christians, those who can know the will of God as revealed in his logos (written) and rhema word (spirit spoken), shame on us! More and more, we are marrying foreign wives and becoming captive to their (humanistic) demands. We are allowing godless humanistic thought to influence every area of our lives. Sad to say, some of us call ourselves Christians but we think and conduct our lives like humanists, breaking commandments of God and violating scriptural principles because it "seems right to us." Breaking and violating the commandments of God because we don’t want to end up like Roy Moore, persecuted and, God forbid, fired from our jobs. The prophets in the Old Testament laid a serious charge against the nation of Israel because every man did what was right in his own eyes. Today, we as Christians are guilty of doing what is right in our own eyes by not rejecting the totality of the Gospel, but by incorporating humanism into the mix.
- We are marrying the act of abortion (child sacrifice to the god of self) with the Gospel. (A loving God would not want unwanted children to suffer.)
- We are marrying the principles and mind set of secular education with the Gospel. (The government knows better than parents how to educate their children.)
- We are marrying psychological, New Age, mental and physical healing practices with the gospel (psychobabble, drugs and the crystals for healing).
- We are marrying the principle of “tolerance” with scripture and perverting the concept to mean that a loving God would not want anyone to be offended.
Perhaps most of us in the Church today are not Christians but Christian Humanists. Christian humanism is a philosophical union of Christian and humanist principles. It is imperative in these perilous times, that all Christians stop and examine their world view to see if it is consistent with Christian doctrine. Humanism at it's core is the idolatry of man. The idolatry of man is the idolatry of self. Self does not like the Commandments because they dethrone self and exalt God. The Commandments set things in order - God's order. God is supreme. Man is subordinate. All things are under the rule and laws of God. Humanistic desire is that all things be under the rule and authority of man because in their twisted thinking they believe that this will secure freedom - political, religious and otherwise. Humanists constantly fear oppression. But, when God’s laws are rejected, you have men imparting laws to men - men ruling over men. And when men rule over men there can never be real freedom. You have, in fact, the greatest oppression because man without divine protection and guidance is subject to anarchy. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but one who keeps the law is blessed. ” ( Proverbs 29:18, the World English Translation Bible)
Consequences of Rejecting the Ten Commandments: The Earth is Defiled
Tragically, both camps (Christians and Secular Humanists) fail to see and understand the spiritual dynamics behind the removal of the Ten Commandments monument and the corresponding spiritual, social and personal consequences that follow when a society or individual shakes a fist in the face of the very spiritual laws of the universe that God has set in place as a channel of blessing and healing to the earth and HIS People. Most rational people who set out to defy the law of gravity expect to have hurtful consequences, but men and women in the world system set out to defy spiritual laws that God has placed into the universe and expect no ill effects. While most Christians and humanists look around at the ills of society and wonder why the world is increasingly headed towards destruction, it seems that not many in either camp stop to consider that the answer to this question may be more simplistic than the intelligencia, politicians and social commentators have led us to believe.
The answers to all of societies ills are found in the ancient words of the Bible which testify to the principle of defilement coming from transgressing the laws of God: “ The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant .” ( Isaiah 24:5)
Defiled means, tainted, dishonored, corrupted and diseased.
According to the Bible, people who act in lawlessness bring defilement to the earth and this defilement extends to all areas of life. The Apostle Paul wrote about this defilement: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power." ( 2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Can it be any plainer? The earth is defiled because man has forsaken the commandments of God. Ah, but we enlightened people have sweetened the term “defilement”, sugar coated it as they say. Our modern word for defilement is "problems", "issues". So be it. All of the problems and issues that we as individuals and as a society face can be traced back to the disregarding of the Commandments of God. Noah Webster, lexicographer , author, political writer wrote the following: "All the miseries and evils which men suffer from: vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." [2]
Would humanists ever come to this conclusion? Not likely. In an article written by Richard Howard, president of the Humanist Society of New South Wales, the author writes: “humanism traces it’s roots to the ancient Greeks who saw in man the measure of all things, and who saw in reason the solution to all human problems.” [3]
Man in his pride exalts the reason of man above the reason of God. But God’s reason is this: “ Come let us reason to together, though your sins are scarlet they shall be as white as snow.” ( Isaiah 1:18) God points us to the cross, which, of course, is foolishness to those who are perishing. (I Corinthians 1:18) Foolishness because man is required to humble himself and receive a higher wisdom which is found through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Yet it seems to me that truly intelligent human beings would want to avail themselves of this divine wisdom .
A prick to the Conscience
One of the main reasons that those under the influence of humanism wanted to shut up Roy Moore had to do with the convicting power of the Commandments. The principle is this: If you can shut up the messenger then perhaps the truth that is staring you in the face will go away and cease to trouble the conscience. Let me explain. The Commandments speak to the conscience, the common ground of all humanity. Even those who are not Christian can become convicted by breaking the Ten Commandments. God designed it to be this way. The Bible says that the law is a school master that leads us to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) No wonder that the spiritual forces of darkness were intent on working through those who wanted to remove the Ten Commandments from public display in our nation. Without a public display of the Ten Commandments society will be without a visible prick to the conscience and therefore will be more able to practice lawlessness without feeling the appropriate guilt and shame. Furthermore, without the Ten Commandments as a guide, society would have no unchangeable standards that spell out the spiritual, moral and social boundaries.
Moore , rising up as a prophetic voice in 2003, forced the American people and particularly those in government to come face to face with the unchangeable laws of God. Because of Moore’s stance, the Church and the heathen were presented a choice. Will you consent to allow America to reject the laws of God as its foundation of law or will you choose to uphold the right to publicly acknowledge God and His laws via the display of the Ten Commandments?
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live.” ( Deuteronomy 30:9)
In 1778, James Madison, in his speech to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia, connected the sustaining of a country to its capacity to uphold the Commandments of God:
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” [4]
On the day that The Commandments were removed from the rotunda of the Alabama State Supreme Court building, the American people decided that their political institutions would no longer be sustained by the laws of Almighty God, but by the dictates and desires of the ACLU, the humanists, and those who find God and His laws offensive. Since that day, the moral and political foundations America continue to crumble and soon we shall all see what kind of sustaining power the spirit of anti-Christ has to offer. As it was when the Old Testament prophets continued to speak out against the idolatry of the people of Israel, even though they were a rebellious people and did not listen, there will be others like Roy Moore who will risk position, reputation and their lives to cry out with a prophetic voice concerning the laws and the ways of God.
God have mercy upon the people of God as we reap the consequences of being Asleep in the Light.
References
All scripture references taken from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
1. Foundation for Moral Law: http://www.morallaw.org/
2. http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/noah_webster / .
3. Article: Truth as the Ground of Freedom: A Theme from John Paul II, Avery Dulles, S.J.
4. James Madison , 1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia