Once again the courts, the public, and the news media are embroiled in controversy over the display of the Ten Commandments. This time it's the words of the Decalogue inscribed on a 5,200 pound monument that Alabama Supreme Court Justice, Roy Moore, placed in the rotunda of the State Judicial Building two years ago.
The monument is controversial for several reasons, not the least of which is a series of court decisions holding that the display of the Ten Commandments in this fashion on government property is unconstitutional.
As I have written elsewhere, the courts have good reason to question the constitutionality of Justice Moore's monument. The Ten Commandments are, quite clearly, a sacred text for both Christians and Jews, so that placing this text at taxpayer's expense on government property involves the state in the support of a particular religion, or in this case two particular religions: Christianity and Judaism. As a Christian, I happen to believe it is the church's responsibility to promote faith. I don't want the government interfering with, interpreting, or promoting the doctrines of any faith system, even my own. For if politicians, guided by the whim of public opinion, promote beliefs I agree with today, the precedent is established for promoting beliefs that are utterly dangerous and repugnant tomorrow. It's my responsibility to teach the Bible; let the government take care of the power grid. Clearly the federal government has enough on its hands, simply attending to the public's security and safety, without assuming the additional responsibility for the care and nurture of the soul.
The irony in all this is that fighting over the Ten Commandments is a huge waster of energy, particularly when there is another "sacred text" that could accomplish all that Ten Commandments promoters want to accomplish while at the same time avoiding the problems associated with a government agency getting involved in the the promotion of a particular religion.
The Golden Rule, which appears in slightly different versions in both the Old and the New Testaments, is clearly as much a part of the Judeo-Christian tradition as the Ten Commandments. But unlike the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule is a nearly universal principle, recognized by all the major world religions as well as humanist and secular philosophies. Rather than dividing people, as the highly politicized commandments do, the Golden Rule could literally bring people together around a constellation of values that nearly everyone shares. Below are just a few of the references in different traditions to teachings that run parallel to what westerners refer to as the Golden Rule.
Still, one suspects that those promoting the Ten Commandments will not be convinced to change tactics on this one, as scoring partisan political points seems to be far more satisfying than actually bringing consensus around shared ideals and values that are appropriate in a religiously diverse democracy such as our own.
Charles Henderson