RELIGION & ITS ALTERNATIVES

WHY YOU DON'T WANT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS POSTED AT YOUR STATE CAPITOL

PETER ECKSTEIN, MICHIGAN PROSPECT - The Michigan House of
Representatives has passed a resolution seeking to have the Ten
Commandments displayed in or around the State Capitol. State
Representative Casperson sees this as an important way to restore "a
moral compass to our society." Rep. Gosselin calls the Commandments the
"bedrock of Michigan law," while Rep. Hoogendyk calls them "the
foundation for the freedoms we hold dear." None of these assertions is
valid.

The First Commandment begins, "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought
thee out of the land of Egypt." Many of our citizens are Moslems,
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Taoists, Shintoists, Jains, Confucians, and
adherents of Native American religions. . .

The Second Commandment forbids making any "graven," or carved, image -
or bowing down to one. Does the legislature wish to display this warning
in front of the noble statue of Michigan's Civil War governor, Austin
Blair? . . . The Second Commandment also threatens to visit "the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation." Should a child visiting the capital start to become fearful
because long ago a great grandfather may have struck his thumb with a
hammer and impulsively used the name of the Lord in vain? Does any
American law seek to punish children, let along grandchildren and great
grandchildren, for the sins of the fathers? . . .

The Fourth Commandment forbids any work on the Sabbath. Does the
Legislature wish to reinstate "blue laws" that forbid working on Sunday
(and presumably on Friday for Muslims and Saturday for Jews)? Does it
wish to ban all shopping malls, golf courses, television stations,
restaurants, football teams, backyard gardeners and flood harvesters
from operating on the Sabbath?. . .

The Third forbids taking "the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Courts
have held that the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech protects
even blasphemy.

The Fifth enjoins us to "honor thy father and thy mother." Most parents
deserve to be honored, though no law requires it. In 2003 the state
found 26,700 Michigan children to have been victims of abuse or neglect.
Are all of them required to honor their parents?

The Seventh says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." This was the
foundation for some laws in the past, but there have been no
prosecutions for adultery for several decades. Has the practice
disappeared in Michigan? If so, it has happened without the Commandments
being posted in the state capitol.

The Tenth forbids coveting not only "thy neighbor's house" but also his
wife, servants, ass and "anything that is thy neighbor's." Frank Loesser
once enunciated a clear principle of American law - "Brother, you can't
go to jail for what you're thinking." More important, isn't it a trifle
quaint today to be listing a man's wife among his possessions? Consider
too, that the "maid servant" in the Commandment was commonly a concubine
- often purchased from her own father. . .

"Thou shalt not kill" is a powerful statement, but violation of eight of
the Ten Commandments is subject to the death penalty. One is murder,
still subject to the death penalty in many other states. But others are
cursing one's parent, sacrificing for the wrong god, idolatry, adultery,
blasphemy, working on the Sabbath, and bearing false witness. Would the
Legislature ask us to emulate these archaic and brutal standards?

http://www.michiganprospect.org/articles_html/10commandments.html