by Giuseppe Monno
Protestants accuse Catholics of omitting the second commandment, namely the one that forbids the worship of images. They maintain that the prohibition against worshipping other gods and that against making and worshipping images (Exodus 20:3–5; Deuteronomy 5:7–9) are two distinct commandments.
One may reasonably ask: where in Scripture is it stated that these two prohibitions must be divided into separate commandments? In Exodus (20:3–5), as in Deuteronomy (5:7–9), we find a single commandment—the prohibition of idolatry.
Let us consider the Deuteronomic Decalogue:
6 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the place of slave-labour.
7 You shall have no other gods to rival me.
8 You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth;
9 you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and I punish the parents’ fault in the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren of those who hate me,
10 but I show faithful love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
In the introduction, the Lord presents himself as the God who freed his people from slavery in Egypt (v. 6). This is followed by the prohibition of idolatry, together with the punishment for transgressors (vv. 7–9) and the promise of mercy for those who remain faithful (v. 10).
The same structure appears in Exodus 20: an introduction (v. 2), followed by the prohibition of idolatry with punishment for transgressors (vv. 3–5) and mercy for those who obey (v. 6).
The Catholic Church has adopted the division of the commandments proposed by Saint Augustine (Quaestiones in Heptateuchum, II, 71; De doctrina christiana). The prohibition in Exodus (20:3–5) and Deuteronomy (5:7–9) concerns idolatry as a single commandment.
Accordingly, the Catholic Church—following Saint Augustine—teaches that the prohibition against worshipping other gods and that against worshipping images form one commandment. Martin Luther himself also accepted this Augustinian division.
A further confirmation of the soundness of this division is found in the Deuteronomic Decalogue itself. Let us now consider the remaining commandments:
11 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.
12 Keep the Sabbath day holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.
13 Labour for six days, doing all your work,
14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath for the Lord your God. You must do no work on that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servant nor your servant-girl nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your animals nor the stranger who lives with you; so that your servant and your servant-girl may rest as well as you.
15 Remember that you were once a slave in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out from there with mighty hand and outstretched arm; that is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 Honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may have long life and prosper in the country which the Lord your God is giving you.
17 You shall not kill.
18 You shall not commit adultery.
19 You shall not steal.
20 You shall not give false evidence against your neighbour.
21 You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.
You shall not set your heart on your neighbour’s house or land, his servant or his servant-girl, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Protestants, following the Decalogue in Exodus, not only separate into two commandments the prohibition against worshipping other gods and that against images, but also maintain that the prohibition against coveting another’s wife and that against coveting another’s goods constitute a single commandment.
The Catholic Church, however, has always affirmed that the dignity of the woman is equal to that of the man. She cannot therefore be listed among a man’s possessions, alongside his house or livestock.
For this reason, following the Deuteronomic Decalogue (which represents a later formulation than that of Exodus), the Catholic Church distinguishes between the prohibition against coveting another’s wife and that against coveting another’s goods as two separate commandments.
Now, if the two prohibitions regarding covetousness are to be distinguished as two commandments, then the two prohibitions regarding idolatry must be understood as a single commandment. Indeed, the commandments are ten.
The Catholic Church has formulated the Decalogue in a more concise and schematic way, without altering its substance:
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day and the holy days.
4. Honour your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit unchaste acts.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness.
9. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.
Nevertheless, in Bible translations and in catechisms, the Catholic Church has preserved the Decalogue exactly as it appears in Scripture. Therefore, the accusations made by Protestants that the Catholic Church omits the prohibition against the worship of images are unfounded.
Indeed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (CCC 2083–2084)
As for Catholic Bible translations, it is sufficient to consult any of them to verify that the prohibition against the idolatry of images has not been omitted.
Protestants also accuse the Catholic Church of changing “keep the Sabbath day holy” into “remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day and the holy days.” However, it should be noted that the Jewish people themselves observed, in addition to the Sabbath, other feasts: Sukkot, Pesach, Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah.
Similarly, the Catholic Church has established additional holy days to nourish the faith of the faithful. Moreover, it has replaced the observance of Saturday with Sunday, since this is the Lord’s Day and the day of his victory over death (Mark 16:9). Already the first Christians gathered on this day to celebrate the Eucharist (Acts 20:7).
Finally, Protestants accuse the Catholic Church of modifying “you shall not commit adultery” into “you shall not commit unchaste acts.” This reflects the fact that the Bible sets forth many other prohibitions concerning sins of the flesh, which the Church rightly includes within that commandment (Leviticus 20:12–22; Deuteronomy 5:18; Mark 7:20–23; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, 18; Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8).