Last month, as many of our readers likely know, the U.S. state of Louisiana enacted a law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in all public schools within its territory, from kindergarten to state-funded universities [1]. One online report noted as follows:

Opponents questioned the law’s constitutionality and vowed to challenge it in court. Proponents said the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. In the language of the law, the Ten Commandments are “foundational documents of our state and national government” [2].

However, the report goes on to note the inconsistency of the law relative to other historical documents:

The law also “authorizes” but does not require the display of other items in K-12 public schools, including: The Mayflower Compact, which was signed by religious pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and is often referred to as America’s “First Constitution"; the Declaration of Independence; and the Northwest Ordinance, which established a government in the Northwest Territory — in the present day Midwest — and created a pathway for admitting new states to the Union [3].

Thus, while other historical documents relative to American jurisprudence are simply “authorized” by this new law for display in taxpayer-funded settings, the display of the Ten Commandments is “required” by the law in question.

Challenges to the law’s constitutionality have already been filed by such organizations as the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State [4].

The Protestant Version

Years ago, when the U.S. House of Representatives was debating whether the Ten Commandments should be posted on public property, one Congressman asked:

Which version of the Ten Commandments will be posted? The Catholic version? The Protestant version? They're different, you know [##5|Congressman Jerrold Nadler, quoted by Rob Boston, “House of Horrors,” Church and State, July-August 1999, p. 5.##].

One is interested that in the state of Louisiana, where the majority of the population is Roman Catholic [6], the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments is the one now mandated for posting, though the various versions of the commandments seen by the present writer in the context of this debate all have some abbreviation of the original Decalogue. According to another report: “A specified Protestant version of the Ten Commandments must be displayed in all public schools in Louisiana by January 2025, the mandate of a bill Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law June 19” [7].

The same report observes:

The law applies to all public elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools, from kindergarten through college and mandates a version of the Ten Commandments contrary to that used by Catholics, the largest religious group in the state. But the law does not apply to Catholic schools [8].

Relevant Inspired Counsel

Long ago, Ellen White wrote a letter to A.T. Jones regarding a proposed law during that time which mandated Bible reading in the public schools. The modern prophet’s counsel is most instructive in our present context, threading the needle on this issue with insightful wisdom:

There is a subject which greatly troubles my mind. While I do not see the justice nor right in enforcing by law the bringing of the Bible to be read in the public schools, yet there are some things which burden my mind in regard to our people making prominent their ideas on this point. These things I am sure will place us in a wrong light before the world. Cautions were given me on this point. There were some things shown me in reference to the words of Christ, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s,” placing the matter where the church have no right to enforce anything of a religious character upon the world.

Yet, in connection with this were given words of caution. If such a law were to go into effect the Lord would overrule it for good, that an argument should be placed in the hands of those who keep the Sabbath, in their favor, to stand on the Bible foundation in reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. And this book which the state and Christian world have forced upon the notice of the people to be read in the schools, shall it not speak, and shall not the words be interpreted just as they are read?

My brother, this objecting to the passing of a law to bring the Bible into the schools will work against us, those of our faith who are making so much of the Bible. A year ago there was something presented before me in reference to these things, and we shall have to use the Bible for our evidence to show the foundation of our faith. We shall be exceedingly cautious in every particular lest we shut out a single ray of light from those who are in darkness. I remember particularly this point, “That anything that should give the knowledge of God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, should not be obstructed at all.” Some things I cannot present in distinct lines, but enough is clear to me that I want you to be very careful on what ground you tread, for our enemies will make a decided argument against us if we shall give them a semblance of a chance. I think the lawmaking powers will carry their point in this particular, if not now, a short period ahead. And it is very essential, as a people, we take the greatest care that no provocation be given our enemies which they will make capital of against us as a people, in a future crisis, in the matter of opposing so good a work as the introduction of the Bible into the public schools [##9|Ellen G. White, 1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.##].

Analysis

Several points stand out in the above testimony:

1. Neither justice nor right exist in mandating Bible reading in the public schools. Ellen White understood the breadth and depth of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She wrote pointedly of the need for “the subject of religious legislation” to be “judiciously and intelligently laid before the people” [##10|——1888 Materials, vol. 2, p. 503; Review and Herald Extra, Dec. 24, 1889; Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, p. 80.##], of the peril of “any religious observance [being] enforced by secular authority” [##11|——The Great Controversy, p. 442.##], and that when the principle is established that “religious observances may be enforced by secular laws” that “the triumph of Rome in this country is assured” [##12|——The Great Controversy, p. 581.##].

It should be noted carefully that in none of these statements is it specified that only unscriptural religion (such as laws enforcing Sunday observance) cannot be thus enforced. Ellen White is clear in her prohibition against “any religious observance [being] enforced by secular authority” [##13|——The Great Controversy, p. 442 (italics supplied).##]. Those seeking to coerce the conscience relative to any consensual choice stand in violation of the principles articulated in the above inspired passages.

Thus, regardless of the cautions Ellen White proceeds to offer Brother Jones as to the danger of opposing the mandating of Bible reading in the public schools, Ellen White is clear from the outset that such actions by the state are neither just nor right [##14|——1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.##].

2. Public education can rightly include the reading of the Bible, together with writings held sacred by other religious faiths. The Bible, the Jewish Talmud, the Muslim Koran, the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, or other religious texts, can all be required reading in a public school setting for mere educational, informative purposes. The problem with the new Louisiana law is that it mandates the posting of the Ten Commandments while only allowing the posting of such historical documents as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance [15]. The law in question says nothing about required reading in the sacred texts of any other of the world’s great religions.

The bottom line is that while Ellen White saw no right or justice in requiring Bible reading in the public schools [##16|White, 1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.##], such a requirement does not breach the wall between church and state in the way, for example, that the inclusion of prayer in the public school curriculum does.

3. The respective issues of mandatory Bible reading and mandatory school prayer were addressed separately by the United States Supreme Court. In 1962, in the case of Engel v. Vitale, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 6-1 margin that for school officials to compose official prayers for recitation as part of a public school curriculum was unconstitutional [17]. In a separate case the following year, in a case known as Abington School District v. Schempp, the High Court made a similar ruling with regard to school-mandated Bible reading [18].

One can agree as to the unconstitutionality of mandated Bible reading while still concurring with Ellen White’s cautions to A.T. Jones as to the peril of public opposition by Seventh-day Adventists to this practice. But mandatory school prayer and mandatory Bible reading are two very different issues. The Bible can be read either as a historical document or a work of literature. Prayer, by contrast, arises from a doctrinally oriented conscience. Christians pray in Jesus’ name; Jews and Muslims don’t. Catholics pray to Mary and the saints; Protestants don’t. To choose any one format for prayer in a public school setting involves a theological judgment by an arm of a secular government, thus violating the separation between church and state.

4. Ellen White’s counsel to Jones about God overruling for good the introduction of the Bible into the public schools applies perhaps more strongly to the present issue of Ten Commandments posting. It will likely soon become evident in Louisiana that more than one version of the Ten Commandments exists in Christian circles. As we noted earlier, Catholic schools (and presumably other private schools) will not be required to post the Ten Commandments [19]; the law in question applies only to public schools. The truth of the Congressman’s words cited earlier will likely be underscored in many discussions, public and private:

Which version of the Ten Commandments will be posted? The Catholic version? The Protestant version? They're different, you know [20].

That’s just the point—people don’t know. Not long after the above statement was made by Congressman Nadler, George W. Bush said he had “no problem with the Ten Commandments posted on the walls of every public space” [21]. When he was then asked which version of the Ten Commandments he favored for posting, he replied, “the standard version” [22]. (No one bothered to ask whether he meant the Revised Standard Version, the New American Standard Version, or perhaps the English Standard Version!)

Conclusion

Ellen White is clear, as indicated in her counsel to A.T. Jones, that such mandates from a secular government are neither just nor right [23]. But it is equally clear from her counsel that exposing the public to the Bible for any reason will be overruled for good by divine providence. Seventh-day Adventist evangelists and pastors in Louisiana and elsewhere can point their listeners to the contrast between what students in Catholic schools are learning about the Ten Commandments and the Protestant version of these commandments required for posting in the Louisiana public schools. It will become clear that the Roman Catholic Church has indeed presumed “to change times and laws” (Dan. 7:25), as Bible prophecy foretold twenty-five hundred years ago.

Ellen White’s counsel to Jones underscores the imperative of choosing our public battles wisely. A wise course relative to the new Louisiana law might well be that other sacred writings from other religious faiths also be required reading in the public schools, simply for the purpose of education and giving other religions comparable exposure. But as the final conflict will focus on God’s Ten Commandments (James 2:10-12; Rev. 12:17; 14:12), increased awareness as to what has been done through the centuries to tamper with those commandments will surely aid in the task of proclaiming the three angels’ messages (Rev. 14:6-12), even while not quite breaching the boundary between religion and the secular state envisioned by the Founders of this Republic.

Most importantly, let us bear in mind God’s ultimate purpose in writing His law, not on the walls of some taxpayer-funded facility, but within the willing hearts of believers. From the earliest Old Testament times, this new covenant principle was articulated by God’s servants (Deut. 30:14; Psalm 119:11). The apostle Paul repeats the words of the prophet Jeremiah relative to this covenant (Jer. 31:33) in the following passage from the book of Hebrews:

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people (Heb. 8:10).

REFERENCES

1. Sara Cline, “New law requires all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments,” Associated Press, June 20, 2024 https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-ten-commandments-displayed-classrooms-571a2447906f7bbd5a166d53db005a62

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, quoted by Rob Boston, “House of Horrors,” Church and State, July-August 1999, p. 5.

6. Diana Chandler, “Louisiana Mandates Ten Commandments Be Displayed In All Public Schools,” Religion Unplugged, June 21, 2024 https://religionunplugged.com/news/2024/6/21/louisiana-mandates-ten-commandments-be-displayed-in-all-public-schools#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20A%20specified%20Protestant%20version%20of,signed%20into%20law%20June%2019.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ellen G. White, 1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.

10. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 503; Review and Herald Extra, Dec. 24, 1889; Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, p. 80.

11. ----The Great Controversy, p. 442.

12. Ibid, p. 581.

13. Ibid, p. 442 (italics supplied).

14. ----1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.

15. Cline, “New law requires all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments,” Associated Press, June 20, 2024 https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-ten-commandments-displayed-classrooms-571a2447906f7bbd5a166d53db005a62

16. White, 1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.

17. “Engel v. Vitale,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engel_v._Vitale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engel_v._Vitale

18. “Abington School District v. Schempp,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp

19. Cline, “New law requires all Louisiana public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments,” Associated Press, June 20, 2024 https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-ten-commandments-displayed-classrooms-571a2447906f7bbd5a166d53db005a62

20. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, quoted by Rob Boston, “House of Horrors,” Church and State, July-August 1999, p. 5.

21. “George W. Bush and the Bible,” https://mustbeguida.com/academics/george-w-bush-and-the-bible/

22. Ibid.

23. White, 1888 Materials, vol. 3, p. 1164.

Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan