2Bwacco
07-20-2010, 03:18 PM
from The Press Democrat - Saturday, September 6, 2003
Commentary by Steve Gushee - Cox News Service
Alabama judge's logic devious
Usually, the devil is in the details. In this case, specifics about God may be lurking in the fine print.
That's the reason Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's feeble argument to acknowledge God was both devious and disingenuous.
The 5,300-pound idol of the Ten Commandments planted by Moore in the Alabama state judicial building has been removed by the federal courts because it promotes a particular religion in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
But last week, Moore tried to justify violating the law claiming he has a sworn duty to uphold his state's constitution and acknowledge God in the public sector.
The problem is that by using the Ten Commandments to acknowledge God, Moore recognizes a specific God, condemns all other expressions of God and calls Alabama citizens to obey a sectarian religious code. That's illegal.
The Ten Commandments are Jewish. Christians adopted them as moral guidelines because the roots of Christianity are Jewish. Moore uses them as a Christian symbol to acknowledge Jesus Christ.
The first commandment specifically identifies God as the one who brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and insists that there be no other Gods.
Such a rule denies all religious faiths except Judaism and Christianity and condemns many creeds that American citizens embrace. It simply ignores atheists and agnostics.
The fourth commandment requires that all people observe the Sabbath -- Saturday -- to honor God. Most Christians who insist they follow the commandments routinely desecrate the Sabbath, keeping Sunday as the weekly holy day.
Moore knows he is promoting his specific God to the exclusion of all others. His behavior is more than illegal. It is immoral. The spirit, if not the letter, of the very commandments he commends condemns him.
Commentary by Steve Gushee - Cox News Service
Alabama judge's logic devious
Usually, the devil is in the details. In this case, specifics about God may be lurking in the fine print.
That's the reason Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's feeble argument to acknowledge God was both devious and disingenuous.
The 5,300-pound idol of the Ten Commandments planted by Moore in the Alabama state judicial building has been removed by the federal courts because it promotes a particular religion in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
But last week, Moore tried to justify violating the law claiming he has a sworn duty to uphold his state's constitution and acknowledge God in the public sector.
The problem is that by using the Ten Commandments to acknowledge God, Moore recognizes a specific God, condemns all other expressions of God and calls Alabama citizens to obey a sectarian religious code. That's illegal.
The Ten Commandments are Jewish. Christians adopted them as moral guidelines because the roots of Christianity are Jewish. Moore uses them as a Christian symbol to acknowledge Jesus Christ.
The first commandment specifically identifies God as the one who brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and insists that there be no other Gods.
Such a rule denies all religious faiths except Judaism and Christianity and condemns many creeds that American citizens embrace. It simply ignores atheists and agnostics.
The fourth commandment requires that all people observe the Sabbath -- Saturday -- to honor God. Most Christians who insist they follow the commandments routinely desecrate the Sabbath, keeping Sunday as the weekly holy day.
Moore knows he is promoting his specific God to the exclusion of all others. His behavior is more than illegal. It is immoral. The spirit, if not the letter, of the very commandments he commends condemns him.