Written by Don Byrd
The Georgia State House last week approved a bill that would allow Ten Commandments postings in public schools as part of a historical documents display. Currently such displays are already allowed in judicial buildings; HB 766 would expand that to include all government buildings, including schools. Associated Press reports:
[Sponsor Tommy Benton’s] latest bill passed by a vote of 161-0 and now heads to the state Senate. It has few vocal opponents and a strong chance of passing in the Legislature.
“If you look at the law of the United States, we have a lot of laws that are based on the Christian and Jewish Ten Commandments, so I felt that was a very appropriate item to be put in there,” Benton said.
His opponents argue the bill would allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in school buildings, an area where courts typically draw a sharper line in favor of the secular in disputes over church and state.
Historical context or not, The Ten Commandments is an undoubtedly religious text. It should not need government promotion or the government’s endorsement of its position, and people of faith should be wary of that brand of official support. Sacred teachings should be presented to children by parents and clergy in homes, houses of worship and other religious gatherings. The cause of faith is imperiled, not helped, by such a close association with state power. The message of The Ten Commandments is fundamentally different from our judicial system of civic laws. Shouldn’t we look for ways to embrace and uplift that distinction, rather than ways to erase it?
