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by
Herbert W. Armstrong
Are the Ten Commandments negative and t herefore a wrong form of law?
O
FTEN we hear the basic
Mora l Law impugned
by t heo log ia ns a nd
educators as negative
and therefore outdated. l ts
Giver is often conceived as a
stern, wrathful God, who
a ngrily says to us: "THOU
SHALT NOT!" lt
ÍS
sometimes
looked upon as undes irable
fo r modern, advanced, en–
l ig ht ened man. The Ten
Commandments ough t to be
positive, t hey say, not nega–
tive.
Modern humanity looks
upon itself as elevated to a
plane of rational thinking, and
with knowledge higher than
God or God's law. Of course,
when we understand , God's
truth is the most positive rel i–
gion or ph ilosophy there is- it
eradicates fear! l t is the way of
faith!
But is the negative form, "Thou
shalt not," wrong for society
today? ls it outmoded in building
character? Should a perfect law
be permissive, containing only dos
and no don'ts?
January 1984
Consider for a moment what is
meant by true character.
Character- that is, true charac–
ter-has been defined as: l ) com–
ing to the knowledge of the true, as
opposed to the false values-the
r ight, instead of the wrong way; 2)
making, of one's own free will and
vol ition , the choice to do the right
instead of the wrong; 3) the exer–
cise of the will in actually doing the
right instead of the wrong.
Character, then, once the true
knowledge is acquired and the right
decision made, involves self-disci–
pline. The truly educated person is
a self-disciplined person.
What, then, does this self-disci–
pline involve?
Two things: 1) self-restraint to
resist the lower impulses and pulls
in human nature- to restrain the
self from desires, impulses, habits
or customs that are contrary to the
right way; and 2) self-propulsion or
determined initiat ive to drive the
self todo those things that ougbt to
be done. In other words, in true
character in action there is the pos–
itive and the negative.
Suppose one rejects the negative
as faulty and something to be dis–
carded a ltogether. Suppose one
appli es the positive only and
impels the self to do those positive
things to be done, but exercises no
restraint to resist those things of
habit, impulse, desire or custom of
others that ought not to be done.
Because human nature is what it
is, the very nature in such a one
will pull constantly in the wrong
direction. Thus character is de–
stroyed. That person is out of bal–
ance, living in a hopeless world of
permissiveness.
We find present in nature both
the positive and the negative and
the principie of opposites. Electrici–
ty functions and performs its work
by use of both the positive and the
negative. Sorne elements are alka–
line; sorne are acid. Living things
and beings in this world of matter
are male and female. There are si ns
of both omission and commission.
Frequently we read the pitiful,
feeble efforts of one who fancies in
ignorant egotism that he or she is
wiser than God, setting forth an
idea of 1O positive commandments.
Ten dos, and no don'ts. And what
do we find? How much character
would such a list of "command–
ments" produce?
Just about as much character as
an electric light bulb would pro–
duce light with merely the one pos–
itive wire leading into it. Just about
as much character as the male
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