The Ten Commandments have existed for centuries. Early on, people realized that there should be a set of common-sense rules to guide civilization. The basis of our Constitution and public laws are found in those guiding principles.
For people to coexist in harmony they must become familiar with them at an early age.
Some states, like Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, are beginning to adopt policies that place the Ten Commandments in public schools. Apparently, critics like the ACLU who have joined others in a lawsuit against the new policy, have found justification in a provision in the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” to oppose the policy.
Using this pretext, they argue that simply placing the Ten Commandments on public view somehow violates this constitutional duty. I suppose that they ignore the fact that there are no laws that require anyone to attend any religious services in any state in the United States. Apparently, they prefer that our youth not be exposed to any messages that suggest they have a strong moral compass.
Besides, separation of church and state was not to keep the church out of the state; instead, it was to keep the state or government out of the church.
The earliest mention of it comes from Roger Williams, a Puritan minister who founded a new form of government based on this idea. In his mid-1600 writings, Williams, according to the Smithsonian magazine, says he “concluded that government must remove itself from anything that touched upon human beings’ relationship with God. A society built on the principles Massachusetts espoused would lead at best to hypocrisy, because forced worship, he wrote, “stincks in God’s nostrils. At worst, such a society would lead to a foul corruption—not of the state, which was already corrupt, but of the church.”
If you examine the commandments literally and try to accept them as common sense “rules for living” then I think that we may agree that if we all practiced these teachings in our daily lives, the world would be a better place.
Let’s examine these commandments one by one.
1. “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me.” This commandment may create an issue with the non-Christians in our population. If, however, you accept that each religious group has a point of moral leadership and substitute the title of that moral leader, then this shouldn’t cause alarm. Exception: Atheists who do not believe in the existence of God or gods.
2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” In other words, cars, clothes, sports, even our jobs are dangerous things to worship because they can go away. But the God you worship will always be there for you.
3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Our conversation has been coarsened by abuses of every language, specifically the routine use of expletives to describe our feelings and emotions. Following the guidance of this commandment would lower the level of rhetoric and contribute to a more peaceful society.
4. “Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day.” Not all religions are celebrated on Sunday, the traditional Sabbath, but each has a period set aside for deliberation. Setting time aside to meditate helps you become a better citizen.
5. “Honor thy father and thy mother.” Can anyone argue with this?
The Penal and Civil Codes of the state of California (and every other state in the United States) embrace commandments Six through Ten.
6. “Thou shalt not kill.”
7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
8. “Thou shalt not steal.”
9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
10. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”
So, what’s wrong with the Ten Commandments? Why are atheists, liberals, and the ACLU so upset when they appear in public places? Could it be that their core beliefs are contrary to the teachings embodied in these 10 common-sense rules of life?
Personally, I think that every school, library, courthouse, and city hall in the United States should proudly display the Ten Commandments and similar teachings in the scripture of other religions for all to see so that we can compare and learn from the experience. The public has a right to be exposed to the positive message provided by these tenets.
Haven’t we vested “the government” with the duty to teach our children? Shouldn’t positive reinforcement such as the Ten Commandments be given the same emphasis as birth control, creating new gender identities, or pacifist viewpoints in public schools?
I guess I am getting tired of liberals enforcing their concept of morality on the rest of us. What’s next? Are they going to demand that Commandments Six through Ten be stricken from public law to maintain the separation of church and state?
What Roger Williams, the Puritan minister, said about the separation of church and state in the mid 1600s is still valid today: “At worst, such a society would lead to a foul corruption—not of the state, which was already corrupt, but of the church.”
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a response for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 25 – Aug 4, 2024.
Because the “Ten Commandments” are integral to a particular religion, the mandate to post them in public spaces goes against the First Amendment which reads, “Congress shall make no law establishing a religion.” It sure sounds like the Louisiana legislature is attempting to establish Christianity as the dominant religion by requiring that its most fundamental document be promoted by schools. I sure hope the Supreme Court gets a case related to this because it will definitely challenge the integrity of justices such as Alito and Thomas who proclaim to follow the textualist legacy of Scalia.