Post by Jennifer AfalavaLilio

1 day agoWeek 3

· Choose one of the Ten Commandments and summarize its explanation from the “Decalogue” article.

· Note any surprises, questions, or new insights. As a class, work to provide at least one summary of each of the commandments.

I loved reading the “Decalogue” article and how it broke down the Ten Commandments. The one that I chose to elaborate on is, the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12 NIV).  The way this was explained in the Decalogue, “Honor is a translation of kabod, which means glory and interestingly enough, weighty”, which is the meaning of how much value or worth someone is. I am a Polynesian, which culturally it is strongly taught from a very young age to honor your parents and how this is shared is more than just obeying your parents when you are young but taking care of them when they are old. Also, this doesn’t just apply to your parents but to your “elders”, meaning grandparents, elderly aunts or uncles. This resonates for me because I’ve seen this my whole life. Long discusses this idea that sermons that were observed from the 1960-1980’s were taught different than from 2000-present, he states, “ a time when the large baby boomer generation is increasingly assuming care for aging parents, the sermons typically presented the fifth commandment as addressed not to youth but rather to adults charged with the responsibility to care for the elderly”. This idea is closer to what the Israelites were living since, they did have to care for the elders once they got to the “Promise land”, which leads to the blessing that follows this commandment. I love that this is the commandment that is followed with a blessing, because this is where we are able to truly come full circle. 

Post by Nune Vardanyan

1 day agoRe: Week 3 | Discussion – What are the Ten Commandments?

The ten commandments are rules to live by and are provided to us by God. The purpose of the rules is to give us direction in life, help avoid committing sins and leading a wrong life. For today’s discussion, I chose the fifth commandment which says, “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may belong in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12, NSRV). 

This commandant always stood out to me. When I would start acting up my mother would always reply to me by saying the fifth commandment out loud. I remember it always impacting me severely and making me get my act together. It was such a powerful sentence to me. Reason being that I would recognize how important it must have been to God to put it in the ten commandments. As I grew older I made sure to also make my daughter understand the severity of this commandment. Of course all the commandments, but when it came to respecting elders I made sure this commandment was seen and heard. As a child, I took it literally and thought it only applied to my mother and father. But as I grew older and began to think deeper into it, God is also our Father. Therefore this commandment must not only imply to my parents but also God and every other elder. I have always told my daughter that one must respect to be respected, and vice versa. Yet at times you must know when to hold back and control your words and actions, especially when it comes to those who are older than you.