All Comments for: Appeals Court Declares Ten Commandments Monument Unconstitutional | Christianity Today

Free Newsletters:

RSS Feeds |

Audio |

Twitter

Home > 2009 > June (Web-only)

Christianity Today, June (Web-only), 2009 |

Appeals Court Declares Ten Commandments Monument Unconstitutional

Judges say the Oklahoma monument would reflect a government endorsement of religion.

Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service | posted 6/11/2009 09:24AM

...

In its Monday ruling, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted statements by county commissioners about the monument, including one who said, "I'm a Christian and I believe in this."

The court ...

[Reader Reviews]

Average User Rating:

Rate and Comment on this article

Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 comments.

Page: 1

Show All

homebuilding

Posted: June 14, 2009 1:02 PM

Thank you, CT for covering this item. The last entity that I want promoting ANY religion is the government heirarchy of any nation. It's so obvious that "the crazies" in the Middle East see NO distinction--hence they bring their "god preoccupation" to every dispute (and they are willing to die or be killed on each count). I'm happy for a secular state that allows for ALL religions (or no religion), carefully NOT promoting any one group over another. The last place I want to live is where the limbaughs/coulters/malkins/hannities/becks decide on belief for all.

Salero21

Posted: June 13, 2009 11:24 AM

Believers in Jesus Christ as the one and only Son of God. Are NOT under the Law but under Grace. Anyone trying to justify themselves by the Law is fallen from Grace. Is funny if not phony, to hear "christians" like the one quoted. Saying they believe in something they don't practice, not even fully understand. Even Paul reprimanded Peter for trying to impose the Law upon the gentiles. This actions on the part of county officials is nothing more than one example among many. Of a people who think they are the ones that have replaced Israel in God's plans. Well there are bad, very bad news for them, Not even the Church replaces Israel. Much less a gentile Nation. The Church is the the Church, Israel is Israel. The Law was given to Israel, Grace was imparted to the Church. In reality, we even have a better deal than Israel; So why would anyone would want to go back to the Law? Not even those to whom the Law was given. Foolishness in the extreme degree.

Ted Voth Jr

Posted: June 12, 2009 1:49 PM

Hurrah! For once something good out of Nazareth– I mean, Oklahoma, my home state. Bart Campolo says 'Mixing Church and state is like mixing horse manure and ice cream; it doesn't do much to the manure, but it sure spoils the ice cream!' He's wrong: it's destructive to the state as well. Is LAH aware of what happened in England when Roman Catholic Mary Tudor came to the throne and tried to rverse her father's 'reformation?' 'Bloody Mary's'' her nick-name. Or for that matter what happened to the Catholics after her sister Elizabeth came to the throne? Is LAH a Baptist? is he aware of what the Romans and the Lutherans and the Anglicans and the Calvinists did to us Anabaptists? Furthermore if we are not under the Law of Moses but inder Grace, then in a very real sense the 10 Commandments are passé, irrelevant. They are the Top 10 capital crimes under the Law of Moses.

John Hardy

Posted: June 12, 2009 3:06 AM


As an outside observer it seems to me ironic (regardless of whether the supreme court's decision was right or wrong) that it was triggered by a "Civil Liberties" group. Is this liberty for anyone who doesn't have a religious viewpoint? For the Ten commandments aren''t specifically Christian: Jews and Muslims honour them too

Claire

Posted: June 12, 2009 12:49 AM

The meaning of the word slave has altered over the years. A person would become a slave when they had a debt they could not pay. Someone in kindness would pay their debt and allow them to work for them while they fed and took care of them till the debt was paid. They were instructed by God to treat them like family, therefore like the commandment states they also were not to work on the sabbath. It was the other nations like in most everything, that used it to their own advantage and the word slave, became something other than what was intended.

Chan Kuhn

Posted: June 11, 2009 10:26 PM

I wonder how far we can move from the understanding of separation of church and state when I was growing up 50's and 60's). It was taught in school history classes that the separation of church and state(government) meant that the State (government) could not impose a particular religion or denomination upon the nation. It was plain and simple. I have seen this simple part of the constitution turned into a travesty! It has kept Christmas creches off public property, removed the Ten Commandments posters and monuments from public property, and made public schools redefine Christmas to "Winter Holiday." Ridiculous! Just because The Ten Commandments come from the Bible doesn't mean it's religious. It is the basis for understanding civil and moral rights and as stated in the article the bedrock of our legal system.

LAH	Posted: June 11, 2009 10:21 PM

Professing to be wise they once again become fools. If you want to be like big cities & express big city opinions expect big city problems. We want to write thousands of ambiguous laws that are hard to enforce because the writting of them is to hard to interperate. Our civic leaders run in fear of promoting anything that people might actually believe. The unfortunate thing about this is that the average Christian cannot defend the commands or know if they are unconstitutional or not because they themselves do not even know what they say. Most I would dare to say could not quote half of them. We lack both biblical & cultural literacy and have become so open minded that our brains have fallen out. Our nation needs a 2nd Chronicles 7:14 intervention.

Gregory Peterson

Posted: June 11, 2009 7:32 PM

Considering that the 10th Commandment explicitly condones slavery and treating women like property, I'm surprised that any person would want a pro-slavery monument in government buildings or on courthouse lawns... Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor... But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.

AngryBoy

Posted: June 11, 2009 5:15 PM


Larry: Close, but the issue was not that the commissioners were Christian, the issue is that they said that they were putting it up because they were Christian. That's using the government to promote a religion and that is what is explicitly forbidden by the establishment clause of the first amendment.

RBarryYoung

Posted: June 11, 2009 5:07 PM


Refreshingly balanced and complete in your coverage, keep up the good work.

Larry

Posted: June 11, 2009 4:23 PM


So if the county commissioners were not Christians then the monument would be OK? Huh?

Page: 1

E-mail this page

Write CT

Print this article

Post a comment