I’m getting ready to do a sermon series on the Ten Commandments and have been thinking quite a bit about the current controversy surrounding them. I received an e-mail recently with an angry poem authored by Judge Roy Moore, the former Chief Justice for the State of Alabama.

Judge Moore became controversial for erecting a monument of the 10 Commandments on the rotunda of the state judicial building. When ordered by the state Court of the Judiciary, Moore refused. On 11/14/2003 he was declares to be in contempt of the court and was removed from his position. Judge Moore has announced that he will run for governor of Alabama in 2006.

The poem can be read on-line at http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/r/roymoorepoem.htm The website also affirms that Judge Moore wrote the poem (it’s hard to be sure with e-mails .)

As a Christian and a pastor I share Judge Moore’s high regard for the 10 Commandments. I am also bothered by the idea that religious speech cannot be allowed in public places. However, I find I disagree with his cause and the bitter sentiments of his poem.

Judge Moore blames America’s social problems on a permissive government and a 'godless' judiciary. He believes bringing Christianity (specifically the 10 Commandments) back into public life is the way to counteract this.

There’s too much here to discuss fairly in one posting. I’ll limit myself today to talking about why, as a Christian, I have some difficulties with posting the 10 Commandments in public schools and courtrooms.

There are several different ways of numbering the commandments. The system that my tradition (and most Protestant traditions) uses is…

1. No other gods but God.
2. Do not make or worship graven images.
3. Don’t misuse God’s name.
4. Keep the Sabbath.
5. Honor your parents.
6. Don’t murder.
7. Don’t commit adultery.
8. Don’t steal.
9. Don’t give false testimony.
10. Don’t covet the things that belong to your neighbor.

Commandments 5-10 are moral imperatives that are pretty universally held. I am not aware of any major religion or and secular group that would object to them. It’s commandments 1-4, which all focus on the worship of God, that cause the controversy. Posting these commandments suggests that the government endorses the worship of the God who set the Hebrew people free from Egypt and (see commandments 1-2) no other god.

That’s great if you’re a Christian, or a Jew, or a Muslim, all of whom count these commandments as an essential part of worship. It’s not so great if you’re a Buddhist, or a Hindu, or a Wiccan because those commandments aren’t very friendly to your way of worshipping. It’s also not so great if you’re an Atheist.

As a Christian I believe that all religions must be treated equally by the government. If the government were to declare that my faith was the only acceptable religion, that would be oppressing to anyone who was different. I can;t be a part of that. Christ came to set people free of all forms of oppression, creating oppression is irreconsilable with this mission. To follow Christ is to stand up for the people that society marginalizes, even if that means standing up for those who are religiously different.

So, if the right thing to do is to allow religious equality, how do we do that? There are two ways that I am aware of. The standard (and less attractive to me) way is to remove all religious speech from the public arena. This makes all religions equal by making them equally irrelevant in the public arena. That is a terrible thing because so much of our (and not just in Christian cultures) most profound wisdom and moral guidance comes from faith traditions.

The other way is to give equal time to all religious speech. I’d love to see the schools, courts, and other public forums welcome the posting of the 10 Commandments alongside the tenets of Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Atheist writers, etc. It would be difficult to do, but the right things are often difficult. That is not a sufficient excuse for ignoring them.

Equal expression would affirm the moral traditions of each faith and would promote understanding of all faiths. I think the public discourse could only benefit from this, especially in an age when religious ignorance has caused so much hatred and fear in the world.

There is a group called CoNexus that has taken a teriffic first step in this direction. They have created a poster based on the “Golden Rule” which is central to most of the world’s great faiths. The poster quoted this principal from the sacred writings of 13 different religious and spiritual traditions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Taoism. IMO it is exactly the sort of thing that can be used in a public/government setting and I hope to see more things like it in the future.

The poster can be viewed at http://www.conexuspress.com/catalog/golden_rule_poster.htm