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.ucg.org/doctrinal-beliefs/written-stone-or-heart-controversy-over-ten-commandments/
Related Information:
Table of Contents that includes "Written in Stone or on the Heart? The Controversy Over the Ten Commandments"
Other Articles by Darris McNeely
Keywords: ten commandments
Ten commandments:
- Which Commandments Did Jesus Break?
- Were the Ten Commandments Known Before Mount Sinai?
- Did Jesus Christ Abolish the Law?
- Does It Really Matter What You Believe?
- An Overview of Conditions Around the World - May/Jun 1997
- Covetousness is Idolatry
- Is God's Law Bondage?
- Adultery: No Longer Sinful or Shameful
- How Can You Find the Right Church?
- If Everyone Kept God's Commandments
- Posting the Ten Commandments Is Not Enough
- Profiles of Faith: Matthew - From Serving Mammon to Serving God
- Could Jesus Christ Be Elected President?
- An Overview of Conditions Around the World - Jul/Aug 2001
- Written by the Finger of God
- Partitioning Morality
- Questions and Answers - Jul/Aug 2002
- The Sabbath in the Scriptures
- God's Test Commandment
- Only 17: Broken Laws--Broken Dreams
- Who Determines Right From Wrong?
- Don't Worry, You Won't Miss the Parade
- Connecting the Dots
- Is the United States Still a Moral Nation?
- Is It Anti-American to Criticize the Moral Conduct of the United States?
- How Did Jesus Treat His Parents?
- The Spread of Freedom: Foretaste for the Entire World?
- Are Things Really Better Than We Think?
- What's at the Heart of National Problems?
- Is Liberty a God-Given Right?
- The Law - God's Design for Our Lives
- Broken Laws, Broken Dreams
- The Lesson of the Brown Paper Bag
- First, Do Some Good
- The Church of God Today
- Promises to Abraham
- What Is 'Corban'?
- How Can We Obey God's Commandments?
- Does the New Covenant Abolish the Commandments?
- The Ten Commandments: Keys in a Law of Love
- Jesus and His Apostles Affirm the Need to Obey God's Commandments
- Jesus Christ and the Sabbath
- Was God's Law Abolished in the New Testament?
- The Eighth Commandment: Practice Giving Rather Than Getting
- The Fifth Commandment: A Foundation for Success
- How Should We Treat Parents Who Are Difficult to Honor?
- The First Commandment: What Is Our Greatest Priority?
- The Fourth Commandment: Key to a Relationship With Our Creator
- The Ninth Commandment: Truth as a Way of Life
- A Royal Law of Love
- The Second Commandment: What Is God Like?
- The Sixth Commandment: Life Is a Precious Gift
- The Ten Commandments in the New Testament
- Christ's New Commandment
- Grace, Faith and Law (Ten Commandments)
- The Tenth Commandment: True Righteousness Comes From the Heart
- Must We Obey God's Commandments?
- God's Law and the New Covenant
- Preaching the Gospel
- The Foundation of True Values
- The Letter and the Spirit of Law
- Is Your Life "Good Enough" for God?
- You Can Walk With God
- Posting the Ten Commandments - A Law for the Future
- Were the Ten Commandments Known Before Mount Sinai?
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