Supreme court to hear case on Ten Commandments

(insert sound of Drew's head smacking his desk here)

I have said this before, and I will say it again. I have nothing whatsoever against religion in any form. I have no issue with people of strong faith. I have no issue with faith in general, provided that faith isn't blind.

At the same time, I firmly believe that faith and government should be separate entities. No one faith has any right to force their beliefs on those who do not believe in that faith, and likewise, the government should not demonstrate any form of favortism towards one faith in particular.

In short, faith should be a private thing, not a public one.

Right now, the US supreme court is hearing a case wherein the question is whether a state courthouse should be permitted to display stone tablets listing the ten commandments.

I find it very depresing that this is even being debated.

The argument being made in favor of keeping the tablets in place is that "the Ten Commandments are the moral foundation for American law."

Let's consider this for a moment:

The ten commandments, translated from the original Hebrew:

1. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

Let's start here, shall we? This is a direct contradiction to the first amendment to the bill of rights which 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."

Not a good start for the argument that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of American law.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

Graven image is not terribly well defined. It could be argued that a monument displaying the ten commandments would directly contradict this commandment.

At any rate, there is no law in the US which prohibits this.

Zero for two.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.

No law exists in the United States which prohibits this. In fact, prohibition of such speech could be construed (within reason) as a violation of free speech; in direct contradiction to the bill of rights.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath in honour of the Lord thy God; on it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

First off, we don't know when the Sabbath day is, exactly. Ask the seventh day adventists, and you'll get a different answer than when you ask the Catholics.

Second, no law exists which prohibits working seven days a week.

Zero for four.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother; in order that thy days may be prolonged upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

No law exists which states that you have to honour your father and mother. No law exists which states that you have to even like them. In fact, you can legally divorce your parents and declare your independence from them.

Zero for five.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

Okay, we now officially have one commandment which is actually supported by US law. Of course, the commandment not to kill is not original from the Ten Commandments. Actually, it's been a law pretty much as long as human beings have had laws.

One for six.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultry.

Generally frowned upon, but not illegal in any juristiction.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

two for eight.

Of course, not stealing has also been a law pretty much as long as human beings have had laws, so it's hardly original with the ten commandments.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

May or may not be illegal, depending upon the context.

False witness, when placed upon the witness stand is perjury; when printed (only in public, and only if it serves to defame the character of an identifiable individual), is libel; when spoken (only in public, and again, only if it can be shown to defame the character of an identifiable individual), is slander.

Otherwise, false witness is pretty much legal within the US.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

As of this date, no person has ever been successfully prosecuted for coveting.

So, as of today, recapping, a total of three of the ten commandments are actually endorsed by American law. One of those is only supported in very specific cases (9th) and the other two (6th and 8th) are not exactly original with the ten commandments.

Not exactly a stellar argument.

--Drew