It's interesting that any catholic would be OK with posting the protestant/evangelical (or Jewish, for that matter) version of the decalogue. What would they do if forced to give up their creepy graven images?!
In all seriousness, all (primarily) christian attempts and successes at tearing down the Wall of Separation are horrific and unAmerican.
Whenever the Ten Commandments thing arises, I always rebut it with, perhaps we should require The Beatitudes instead.
3Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the Earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called the Sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you...
(Of course they should be posted in the original Aramaic.)
Having just moved from Texas to Louisiana, I have standing in this controversy. I find Gov. Landry as a competent version of Greg Abbott or maybe even Ron DeSantis. Competent in that he gets his way with the legislature. I view this whole matter as performative. Will even one prospective gang-banger turn away from that life because of things posted on their classroom wall? (Especially, as the law dictates, the posting must be in KJV English, replete with the “Thees” and “Thous.”
There is no more evidence of the performative nature of this than the fact the Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick now wants this requirement in his state.
There is and probably could be no document more opposed to the American ideal of religious freedom than the Old Testament. The recurrent theme through book after book was the apostasy of Israel in worshipping Ba'al and other gods, and its vehement, often violent suppression in the name of Yahwist religion. The prophets inveighed against other religious practice in the harshest, most scurrilous terms. Atrocity and massacre are praised and approved by The Lord. II Kings 10:18-28 describes how King Jehu gathered all the priests and worshippers of Ba'al and then murdered them all. Freedom of religion is an absolutely foreign concept to the Bible. Absolutely nowhere is there any scintilla of recognition that might be a right to worship another deity.
It's interesting that any catholic would be OK with posting the protestant/evangelical (or Jewish, for that matter) version of the decalogue. What would they do if forced to give up their creepy graven images?!
In all seriousness, all (primarily) christian attempts and successes at tearing down the Wall of Separation are horrific and unAmerican.
Whenever the Ten Commandments thing arises, I always rebut it with, perhaps we should require The Beatitudes instead.
3Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the Earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called the Sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you...
(Of course they should be posted in the original Aramaic.)
Having just moved from Texas to Louisiana, I have standing in this controversy. I find Gov. Landry as a competent version of Greg Abbott or maybe even Ron DeSantis. Competent in that he gets his way with the legislature. I view this whole matter as performative. Will even one prospective gang-banger turn away from that life because of things posted on their classroom wall? (Especially, as the law dictates, the posting must be in KJV English, replete with the “Thees” and “Thous.”
There is no more evidence of the performative nature of this than the fact the Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick now wants this requirement in his state.
There is and probably could be no document more opposed to the American ideal of religious freedom than the Old Testament. The recurrent theme through book after book was the apostasy of Israel in worshipping Ba'al and other gods, and its vehement, often violent suppression in the name of Yahwist religion. The prophets inveighed against other religious practice in the harshest, most scurrilous terms. Atrocity and massacre are praised and approved by The Lord. II Kings 10:18-28 describes how King Jehu gathered all the priests and worshippers of Ba'al and then murdered them all. Freedom of religion is an absolutely foreign concept to the Bible. Absolutely nowhere is there any scintilla of recognition that might be a right to worship another deity.