The first commandment, as every American should know is: “Thou Shalt Separate Church and State.”
However in Louisiana, separate but equal is no longer the law.
Public classrooms in that state are now required to display the Ten Commandments.
The new law endorsed by Republicans describes them as “foundational to state and national governance” and these tablets handed down to Moses are considered a historical document alongside the Declaration of Independence, and the Mayflower Compact.
The law requires that a poster include the sacred text in a “large easily readable font” on a poster that is 11”x 14” and the Commandments be the central focus of the display.
Give Me That Old Time Religion
And do we even have to guess which version of the Commandments they are using: The Jews, Catholics, and Protestants have different versions from one another. The numerical designation and wording are different.
“I AM the LORD thy God” is an enforcement of a very specific brand of Christianity and the government has no business telling students what religious rules to follow.
And do kindergarteners really need to be told not to commit adultery? If that line were in a library book you know the same Christians would try to get it banned.
And speaking of “Though shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife,” when the presumptive Republican nominee for President is someone who has broken nearly half the commandments, how seriously can we take all this?
I think Moe got out of Louisiana none too soon!
Envisioning The American Dream 
Another reason Moe is so happy in his NY home! The crazy thing is that SCOTUS ruled against this 40 years ago in Stone v. Graham. When challenged, the Louisiana law should not pass the laugh test. Thanks for calling out the masterminds behind this nonsense.
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This should be a no brainer as it has been ruled on. I guess no brainer is the operative word.
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The Ten Commandments is a political document. It is about the founding of a nation and the rules upon which a nation would abide by. It represents the beginning of the notion of egalitarianism in government. The Bible itself involves massive portions concerning governance.
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I do respect that but it is a Judaeo-Christian document and in separation of church and state it is not appropriate. The Bible and the Jewish Torah do outline many laws of governance but it is not secular.
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Yes. I pose you the following question: when did the judaism become a religion? Before or after the Ten Commandments? One can argue that as moral guidance alone- without governance- it began after the first exile. Realistically speaking, a huge portion of the Hebrew Bible is politics. What is important to America is how the Bible addresses populace participation. In the case of Ezra, laws were read to all that could understand. Further, there were additional individuals present to help explain the rules. The goal of an entire population knowledgeable about the law (and presumably good behavior) is dream for a great society. Even without the specific content of the commandments, the ideas surrounding the decalogue are things that are non- religious and worthy of being embraced by a secular society. Take care!!
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I believe it began as a belief system with Abraham who posed monotheism vs the multiple God worship at the time.
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it is not an easy question to answer. this is actually the fun and cause for intellectual debate. the status of god of israel moves from monolatry to monotheism. the book of isaiah is perhaps where this is best expressed. also, the torah does not exist until moses. the people of the book, until then, had no book. take care!!
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And the pendulum swings again. It’s difficult to make progress when so many want to regress.
Thankfully Moe has been ‘saved’ lol.
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We seem to keep taking so many steps backwards. And yes I’m glad my red state dog is in the comforts of a blue state.
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