Written in Stone or on the Heart?
The Controversy Over the Ten Commandments

Over 80 percent of Americans surveyed in one poll said they favored keeping the Ten Commandments on display in the Alabama Judicial Building. That's good. Whether they would want to see Alabamans—or all Americans—truly living under the moral dictates of all God's commandments is another question entirely.

by Darris McNeely

The controversy that erupted last month in Alabama sparked a nationwide debate about the public display of the Ten Commandments. A federal court ruled that a 5,280-pound monument had to be removed from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building. Alabama's attorney general, Bill Pryor, ordered it removed on Aug. 28, saying that the rule of law must be upheld.

About 100 protestors, who had been keeping vigil outside the building, watched as the granite shrine was removed. Some yelled, "Put it back!" One red-faced and obviously angry man yelled, "Get your hands off our God, God haters!" Others watched quietly with tears streaming down their faces, silently praying.

The issue raises once again the deep cultural battle raging within America. Those holding deep religious convictions feel that a mixture of liberal media, educators, entertainment moguls and courts is eroding the moral underpinnings of the nation. The courts are at the heart of this current battle.

Why would a federal court order the removal of the monument? It is ironic that on the facade of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington is a representation of Moses holding the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. On the currency of the country is the saying, "In God We Trust." Yet a court has issued a ruling to remove this Alabama monument.

In the Alabama case, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the monument's removal on the grounds that it is an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." For years, the argument in legal circles has been whether the framers of the Constitution intended freedom of religion or freedom from religion.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0309/index.htm

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