Bishop Tobin on the Relevance of the Ten Commandments

"So, a well-known, formerly powerful local politician is arrested and pleads guilty to various acts of political corruption including bribery, misuse of campaign funds and filing a false tax return.

"A prominent professional athlete rails against the rude, tasteless and obscene things written on the Internet about his daughter, a senior in high school, after it was announced that she had been accepted into college. . . .

"A twenty-five-year-old man is arrested and charged with felony assault after severely beating another man unconscious in a broad-daylight attack.

"The local Islamic School is vandalized when someone spray-paints racial slurs and expletives around the main entrance of the school.

"There are many other recent news stories I could add to the list and, without a doubt, by the time this column appears there will be.

"But, what do all of these events have in common? In each and every case, the offenses being reported involve the breaking of one or more of the Ten Commandments. For example - Thou shall not steal; Thou shall not bear false witness; Thou shall not kill.

"Regrettably, we don't hear much about the Ten Commandments any more. Is it just a coincidence that as the Commandments have been scrubbed from our classrooms, courtrooms and public squares they have also disappeared from the public discourse? We shouldn't be surprised, then, that there's so much corruption, violence and vulgarity in our society today. After all, we've ignored God's law that serves as the foundation of the criminal law; we've deleted the rules of engagement that regulate our life together.

"But the Ten Commandments are over 3,000 years old. They were given to a foreign nation in a distant land. They addressed the specific needs of the time. So, are they still relevant? Do they still apply to our age?"

In a recent commentary, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence (RI), reflected on why the Ten Commandments are still relevant, including how they help us to fulfill our potential as children of God, how they keep us from getting hurt and regulate our daily interactions with one another, and how they help to build a just society.

To access Bishop Tobin's complete essay, please visit:

Without A Doubt: The Ten Commandments, as Relevant as Ever (19 MAR 15)