The 10 Commandments, or Decalogue, have been at the center of the human understanding of law. They have been incorporated into our society so much so that until recently they were not only welcome but expected to be seen in our federal buildings and our court houses. The Decalogue is also central to the Jewish faith and an understanding of how the people of Israel relate to their God. The following prompt and rubrics will help you to explore the relationship between the commandment, the people of Israel, and your own society. You will choose ONE commandment from the 10 Commandments found in Exodus 20 and write a paper that will discuss various important topics of the commandment.
The paper you will write will contain answers, in paragraph form of all the below question:
1. An explanation of what the commandment actually commands
2. A discussion of the historical context of the commandment, that is, how the people of Israel understood it.
3. One example of how the commandment was broken in the Bible.
4. A discussion of how Christianity understood the commandment.
5. A discussion of how our current society understands the commandment.
6. A discussion of how you understand the commandment to speak to your own life. Is the commandment still relevant?
7. A discussion of how we can help to keep the commandment in 21st century America
You will be required to use several different sources for your paper. You will cite the Bible, chapter and verse, for the source of your commandment as well as for your example of the commandment as its broken. You will use at least one theological dictionary or lexicon. You will use Luthers Small Catechism and/or Luthers Large Catechism. You will use at least two scholarly journal articles which you will print out and staple to the back of your paper. You will consult at least one Old Testament commentary for your paper. You will find at least one internet source that is NOT Wikipedia. You will end your paper with a works cited. Ideally your paper will be 4-6 pages not including the works cited.Your paper will be brought to class with you on the due date listed in the syllabus. Your paper will conform to Chicago style, using footnotes and will be printed in Times New Roman 12 pt. font with one inch margins.