I'm still slightly speechless over Governor Palin's insistence (see Quote of the Day below) that somehow America's founding documents usher in law that is "based on the God of the Bible and the Ten Commandments." In fact, of course, what our Founders did was craft a framework of laws that were specifically and purposefully not based on a particular religious viewpoint (much less a particular sacred text or deity), insisting that no faith will be promoted by government, and in so doing they protected the religious conscience and expression of all Americans, both those who worship the God of the Bible and those who do not.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Read the Ten Commandments for yourself and notice that: a) most of them couldn't possibly be made into laws in the United States (Should we be fined or jailed for failing to remember the Sabbath? Refusing to honor our father and mother?); and b) the ones that are laws (no murder, stealing, etc.) the Founders probably didn't need much religious encouragement to figure out.
For a much better enunciation of this point, though, read from #7 of Brent Walker's excellent piece, "Answering the Top Ten Lies About Church and State."
[M]any have asserted that [The Ten Commandments]are not just Holy Scripture but actually the basis for our legal system. Thus, the argument goes, there is sufficient secular justification for government to endorse them. This misses the mark completely.
…Only three of the Commandments—killing, stealing and bearing false witness—are the proper subjects of secular law. The others are religious. Remember American law is based on the common law of England. But these prohibitions were already a part of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence before England was Christianized. The fundamental notions that it is wrong to murder, steal another's property or bear false witness were already well ensconced among the Saxons before they ever heard of the Ten Commandments.
Moreover, documents that have directly influenced our legal system—the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers—say very little about religion and nothing about the Ten Commandments. Most importantly, our Constitution—the civil compact that governs our public life together—mentions religion only once… to disallow a religious test for public office. And the First Amendment makes clear that the federal government is not permitted to advance or inhibit religion.
It's one thing to argue that the National Day of Prayer is not unconstitutional. She has some support, at least, for that legal view, whether I agree or not. But why make such broad and indefensible pronouncements about US law being based on Holy Scripture?
