Craig von Buseck

Join Craig von Buseck weekdays as he shares his perspective on the major trends and news affecting the Body of Christ today.

october 11, 2007

Big Mac vs. the Ten Commandments

How many of the Ten Commandments can you name? That was the question posed in a recent survey of 1,000 Americans, which revealed that respondents were more familiar with the ingredients of a McDonald’s® hamburger than they were with the historical basis for our nation’s legal and moral code.

Done in conjunction with the upcoming nationwide theatrical release from Promenade Pictures of the animated feature film The Ten Commandments on Oct. 19, the study was commissioned by the Ten Commandments Commission and conducted by Kelton Research.

“Knowing and living the Ten Commandments empowers people and feeds their souls, while knowing the contents of a famous hamburger, at most, only feeds the stomach,” said Dr. Ron Wexler, president of the Ten Commandments Commission. “How empowered we would be as individuals and as a culture if we knew and lived by, the very foundation of our moral and ethical codes.”

Dr. Ted Baehr, president of the Christian Film and Television Commission and publisher of www.movieguide.org, adds that this is not just about knowledge. “We see the negative impact in culture today as people more and more consider these rules only ‘Ten Suggestions,’” Dr. Baehr said. “Crime is more rampant than ever, teenage pregnancies are on the rise, dishonesty in business continues to make headlines. We are seeing the results when society disregards these words from God.”

The random survey showed that respondents could recall both the Big Mac® ingredients and the members of the fictional TV series Brady Bunch family more easily than they could name the Ten Commandments:

80 percent surveyed know “two all beef patties” of the Big Mac®.
“Thou shalt not kill,” was known to fewer than six in ten respondents.
62 percent know that pickles are an ingredient of a McDonald’s® Big Mac® hamburger.
Less than half (45 %) can recall the commandment to “Honor thy father and mother.”
The vast majority of those surveyed could easily name the primary ingredients in a Big Mac®: two all beef patties (80%), lettuce (76%), sesame seed bun (75%), special sauce (66%) pickles (62%), and cheese (60%).
Seven of the Ten Commandments are familiar to less than half of the individuals polled, including the more commonly recited, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” and “Remember the Sabbath.”
Bobby and Peter, the least-recalled names from the Brady Bunch (43%), were more familiar to respondents than the least-recalled commandments, “Remember the Sabbath” (34 %) and “Do not make any false idols” (29 %).

Even those who attend a place of worship at least once a week had a bit of trouble naming all ten. “Thou shalt not kill” (70%) and “Thou shalt not steal” (69%) are still less top-of-mind with this group than the top two ingredients in a Big Mac® – two all beef patties (79%) and lettuce (76%).

Another dynamic of the studies done in connection with the film includes an online video of “man on the street” interviews that also tested the limited knowledge by individuals of the Ten Commandments against their ability to easily recite many trivial cultural facts. Respondents had no trouble recalling the four members of the classic rock group “The Beatles,” but many times couldn’t name even one commandment.

Promenade Pictures sees this as a critical time to release the feature film, The Ten Commandments, starring the voice talent of Ben Kingsley as narrator, Christian Slater (Moses), Alfred Molina (Ramses) and Elliott Gould (voice of God).

“We selected The Ten Commandments as our first film in the ‘Epic Stories of the Bible’ series because it is a pivotal story in the history of the Bible and one that the three major religions on earth respect,” said Cindy Bond, president and COO of Promenade Pictures, producer and distributor of the film. “We are delighted to work with Motive Entertainment to use our film as a basis for the ‘Ten Commandments Challenge,’ to help increase everyone’s familiarity with this important story.”

The Ten Commandments Commission has teamed up with Promenade Pictures and Motive Entertainment, to encourage public participation in the “Ten Commandments Challenge” in conjunction with the theatrical release. The extensive grass roots campaign for The Ten Commandments film release, spearheaded by Motive Entertainment, will include nationwide screenings, endorsements from key leaders, promotional materials, publicity, radio promotions and Internet. Individuals and groups can visit www.10commandmentschallenge.org to see how they measure up against the national average and to download materials for their uses.

Related story from The 700 Club: The 10 Commandments Movie -- Thou Shall Not Miss It

Where and When is The Ten Commandments playing in your area?

Official Ten Commandments Movie Site

The Ten Commandments Trailer

Jeremy Camp: Ten Commandments Music Video

Invite Friends, Family and Groups to the Movie

E-mail Craig with your comments on this Blog

ChurchWatch Front Page