Topic: Displaying Ten Commandements in Public

[Elizabeth Rose]

Besides there is seperation of church and state. And anything relating to the church cannot be sponsered or displayed by the goverment.

Sorry, but no. Separation of church and state means there cannot be an established national religion. For example: The Church of England. Separation of church and state DOES NOT mean religious symbols can't be on government property.

[IZ]

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.

That says more than not being able to set up a state religion.

[Roger]

Wow.  I read the last couple of posts wrong...and typed my answer even worse...so just forget I posted.

[Elizabeth Rose]

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.

That says more than not being able to set up a state religion.

[snapback]209076[/snapback]

Wow, you are helping me out.

Let's be a little clearer. Separation of Church and State: The government cannot control the church.

[IZ]

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.

That says more than not being able to set up a state religion.

[snapback]209076[/snapback]

Wow, you are helping me out.

Let's be a little clearer. Separation of Church and State: The government cannot control the church.

[snapback]209087[/snapback]

and the church cannot control the government.

[Roger]

Let's be a little clearer. Separation of Church and State: The government cannot control the church.

[snapback]209087[/snapback]

Exactly.

I know someone is going to say that means the Ten Commandments can't be posted...but that's not what it means.

It means that the government can't say "We have a Church of the United States of America, and you must follow its practices."

[Elizabeth Rose]

Sorta. But considering a lot of the Founding Fathers were either Christians or God-fearing people....

[Roger]

Sorta. But considering a lot of the Founding Fathers were either Christians or God-fearing people....

[snapback]209093[/snapback]

My point exactly.  You have to look at the Constitution through the eyes of those who wrote it.

[Gideon Brown]

Okay, Lynne's coming out of hiding and getting back to debating. I haven't posted in here in over a month, because I had no time during the days, being I had a fulltime job. But now that I have a 25 hour a week job during evenings, I have more time.

First off, as most people who have frequented the debate den in the past year know, I am not Christian. And I enjoy debating if God is real or not, or if Christianity is the one true religion. But I have absolutely no problem with the displaying of the ten commandments. It is other Christian displays that tend to insult me. One billboard near my house once said something like 'repend your sins or suffer eternal ::Dolphin Noise::ation'. That is insulting. But, for the most part, the ten commandments do not insult other religions, except maybe the first.
Let's review them, shall we?
"You shall have no other gods before me"
Yes, this commandment appears to be insulting, but you can always take into context that it is YOUR God being spoke about.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments."
Now this one is very insulting, to anyone who is not Christian, and indeed to even some Christians. For what is a statue of the Virgin Mary but not an idol? And some Christians rever her to the highest degree, and God himself said no idols. So if it can insult a Christian, well...I'm okay with it, I guess.
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
Well, its true. Any God's name should not be taken in vain. But the Christian God's name is often taken in vain, by Christians themselves. This is only a reminder to Christians to stop saying "Jesus CHRIST THAT HURT!"
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
This can be seen as insulting to Jews or Muslims but it's not. For, not only do Christians have a Sabbath, but so do the other two religions (Judaism is Saturday and Islam is Friday). Other religions such as pagan religion might find this insulting, but honestly, this commandment isn't even followed anymore, so who cares?
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Well, you should definitely honour your parents. To a certain extent. It's just a law telling you to respect your elders.
"You shall not murder."
That's actually a law. You can't murder anyone, or you are either sentenced life or sentenced death. Depending where you live. It's good to have it printed places, just in case you're about to snap, and then you see it.
"You shall not commit adultery."
This affects more than just one religion. This affects morals. What does adultery actually stand for? Sex before marriage. Many Christians practice premarital sex.
"You shall not steal."
Thanks for the reminder. I really don't need those earrings THAT bad.
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
Don't lie. It's pretty simple. You were taught that in kindergarten.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Well, in my opinion this is a good thing. Don't want something you can't have. You'll never have it.

Just to let you know, I found this passage at Bible Gateway using the New International Version (NIV) Because I could not be bothered going downstairs to find one of my three Bibles. :|

[Elizabeth Rose]

Now this one is very insulting, to anyone who is not Christian, and indeed to even some Christians. For what is a statue of the Virgin Mary but not an idol? And some Christians rever her to the highest degree, and God himself said no idols. So if it can insult a Christian, well...I'm okay with it, I guess.

That's my problem with the Catholic church. And good Christians don't practise pre-marital sex. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that go to church that aren't truly saved. They just grew up going to church, so they keep going "because it's just what you do".

[Gideon Brown]

I know many very religious Christians who follow pretty much everything, and believe in God with a fervor, but are in a premarital sex relationship. I also know a very adamant Catholic who is gay, and in a commonlaw marriage (although they will be saying their vows in the near future, now that gay marriages are legal in Canada). I do not judge these people by their sex lives, nor by their religious beliefs. I'm just happy to be their friend. :]

And I also agree with you about the Catholic church. I can not understand how they are the 'original' Christian Church, and yet they themselves do not follow the whole ten commandments.

Oh, and Liz, I am in great respect for you standing up for your religion the way you do. You are very polite. :]

[Elizabeth Rose]

Thank you love! I do try to be kind and make a good point at the same time.

[SpongeBass GuitarPants]

As you know I have very strong feelings about this sort of thing and you should all know the go about this and I just get out of hand so al I will say is that I think the Ten Commandments should stay UP!

[Fink]

And I also agree with you about the Catholic church. I can not understand how they are the 'original' Christian Church, and yet they themselves do not follow the whole ten commandments.

[snapback]210419[/snapback]

Can you explain what you mean by that? I could tell you about Catholics being the original church, but I don't want to be accused of "shoving my religion down your throat." If you are talking about the Virgin Mary, I'll explain that one. Catholics don't pray to the statue, we pray through it. If you don't understand that one, then ask. The Catholic church is not stupid. I don't think they'd break one of the ten commandments like that.

[GIR]

Now this one is very insulting, to anyone who is not Christian, and indeed to even some Christians. For what is a statue of the Virgin Mary but not an idol? And some Christians rever her to the highest degree, and God himself said no idols. So if it can insult a Christian, well...I'm okay with it, I guess.

That's my problem with the Catholic church. And good Christians don't practise pre-marital sex. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that go to church that aren't truly saved. They just grew up going to church, so they keep going "because it's just what you do".

[snapback]210403[/snapback]

thats what alot of people call playing church.