"My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing: Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrim’s pride, From every mountainside Let Freedom Ring; let freedom ring."
Judge Roy Moore refused to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom wall in Alabama and was subsequently removed from office after being sued by the ACLU. He echoes the sentiments of many sincere Christians who decry the decay of moral values in our nation. He implores an angry God to heal our sickly land and make America beautiful again. Is he right in calling for our government to require the display of the Ten Commandments and the saying of prayers in public schools? Is this the answer to our problems?
I am sure that Judge Moore is very sincere in his efforts to uphold Christian standards in our country, and I join him in lamenting the moral decay we see around us. However, I do not believe that legislating religion is the answer. I think that he and many sincere Christians have fallen for the idea that America is a Christian nation when it is not and never has been. Sure, many of the founding fathers were Christians, but they never intended that this country should have a state religion. In fact they took special pains in the Constitution to avoid this happening. The disestablishment clause specifically forbids the establishment of a state religion.
This is not a nation 'under God', and I for one do not think that it should be in the Pledge of Allegiance. We have to remember that this nation is not only a 'melting pot' of nationalities but also one of religions. Requiring that students pledge allegiance in the name of God is an affront to Muslims, Buddhists, and atheists just as much as it would be if Christian kids were required to pledge allegiance in the name of Allah.
Not everyone has the same code of morality. The Ten Commandments are the basis for Christian morality, but not all people accept this.
Displaying the Ten Commandments in a courtroom or public school room, therefore, is tantamount to establishing a [state] religion and is unconstitutional. If this were not so, the ACLU would not be able to make its case. I understand that there has been a recent top-level meeting of Protestant evangelical leaders and Catholics at Fuller Seminary in Los Angeles to draft legislation for the next congress to enforce the display of the Ten Commandments and the use of mandatory prayer in public schools. Now why do you think Protestant and Catholic leaders are joining hands in this effort?
We are told that, when the government begins to pass laws mandating religious practice, this will usher in the last days of persecution of God’s people. Although I do not support the ACLU in all of their activities because they have their own agenda, I would be willing to predict that in the final rush toward Armageddon that the ACLU will be a lone voice of dissent against the repressions of the 'image to the beast'.
Let's keep government out of religion and "let freedom ring."
