10C (part 2) - First Commandment: God and Liberty

Liberty Bell/wikipedia.com

I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.

Exodus 20:2 (NIV)

So begins the First Statement of the First of the Ten Commandments.

And nothing illustrates this First Statement of the Ten Commandments better than this scene from the classic movie,  The Ten Commandments (1956) :

(reference: https://youtu.be/j3CANELyPo0 )

This First Statement lays the foundation of Ethical Monotheism

(1) God exists: "I am the Lord your God..."

And without faith
it is impossible to please God, 
because anyone who comes to him 
must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those
who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6  (NIV)

 (2) God delivered slaves from bondage into freedom: "brought you out...of the land of slavery."

So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.

John 8:36 (NIV)

This video examine this First Statement in light of ethical monotheism:

(reference: https://youtu.be/7TRQfei7JoI )

This first statement, the Creator liberating people from slavery, is echoed in the Founding documents of the United States of America, such:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, 

that all men are created equal, 

that they are endowed by their Creator 

with certain unalienable Rights, 

that among these are 

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence

As well as our sacred monuments such as the inscription of the Liberty Bell:

"Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land 

Unto All the Inhabitants thereof."

Leviticus 25:10 (KJV)

Most of all, the Ten Commandments provide a foundation of how free people are to treat each other.

And this will be examined further in this series.

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Previous post in series:

10C (part 1) - The Ten Commandments  (2019)

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Photo: Liberty Bell/wikipedia.com

America's Story (part 5) - Amazing Grace

January 16, 2012 marks Martin Luther King Day.

This relatively recent federal holiday celebrates the achievements of its namesake, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , as an influential American civil rights leader. And rightly so. Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech given at the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963 is one the top speeches in America's story.

And I can still remember, as a young school girl, that terrible day in April of 1968 when Dr. King was assassinated and the nation went into mourning.

In the tumultuous 1960s, We Shall Overcome was the anthem of the southern civil rights anthem. Yet, Amazing Grace, one of the most beloved songs in American history, was also used by Civil Rights marchers at that time.

In the clip below, Pastor Wintley Phipps gives the moving story behind Amazing Grace.  The lyrics were written by a former slave ship captain, John Newton. The composer of the melody is unknown, but bears the fingerprints of a West African sorrow chant.

For history of the song Amazing Grace, here is the timeline.

In the 18th century, the United States of America declared her independence from Great Britain, fought a long war for freedom, and won. Among the founding documents, Thomas Jefferson wrote these words, often quoted in the cause of civil rights:

We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

(from the Declaration of Independence)

Yet ironically, after the American Revolution, Great Britain was ahead of the United States in some areas of civil rights.

The story of William Wilberforce and the prime minister William Pitt, the younger struggle to abolish slavery is told in Amazing Grace (2006):


 
 The Amazing Grace story and America's struggle for civil rights can be summed up here: American Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights: A Timeline in Context

If we had only learned from England ... at least on this issue ... we may have averted the Civil War and the deep wounds that have divided our nation. Yet, in our history (as well as others), Amazing Grace speaks to our souls as shown in the clip -


Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost and now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.


* It was used as a requiem by the Cherokee Indians on The Trail of Tears (1838)

* It was sung on both sides of the American Civil War (1861-1865)

* It was sung during gatherings of the Civil Rights movement (1950s, 1960s)

* It was sung for comfort after September 11 (2001)


And the song will endure for ages to come ....

In the world of science fiction, Amazing Grace made it to the 23rd century, such as in this scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), after Captain Kirk delivers his eulogy for Mr. Spock:

The impact of Amazing Grace and the struggle for Civil Rights ... to right the wrongs ... are part of America's Story, which is

to be continued ...

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For other posts in the America's Story series:
 
America's Story (part 1) - The Speech that redefined us, November 19, 1863   (2011)

America's Story (part 2) - Savages!  (2011)

America's Story (part 3) - Over There - 1917, 1941  (2011)

America's Story (part 4) - Christmas 1944, when we said NUTS to the enemy  (2011)

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For other posts on Civil Rights:

July 1776 & July 1863 (2009)

MLK, Malcolm X & Epiphany (2010)

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Photo from Wikipedia Commons:  I Have a Dream