After 10 years of bein absent ...

[IDrinkaRum]

the 10 Commandements have been returned to the wall of a Kentucky courthouse

Yay or nay?

And as one editorial in the Louisville Courier-Journal said:

[quote]The endless litigation resulting from Ten Commandments postings is a huge waste of taxpayers' and judges' time and resources. Many of the public monuments on statehouse grounds around the country were gifts not from God but from Hollywood showman Cecil B. DeMille, who gave these out to promote his 1956 blockbuster, 'The Ten Commandments.'

[Vagabond]

I don't see any problem with having the Ten Commandments at a courthouse.
I do see a problem with wasting peoples' time and resources arguing about it though.

[jackfaire]

There is always legitimate concern about this country becoming a Christian Nation. It's difficult to live in a country where most people vote based on a faith that would legislate your life based on what is or is not a sin rather than on what will or will not harm you.

That is where the issues come from because allowing things like that doesn't make people think, "Man that Demille movie was awesome" it makes people think, "Thank god this courthouse will fight those pagans."

[Vagabond]

Please, correct me if I'm wrong. [honestly!]
I was thinking that with the Puritans and many Irish Roman Catholics coming and founding/building America that this was a country based on Judeo-Christian values.
**Not saying this is a Christian Nation, but based on those values.**
Now, most Judeo-Christian values are based upon the Ten Commandments. That is why I don't see a problem.

However, if someone were to post the Commandments/Tenets/Pillars of other Religions/Faiths/Beliefs, I also would not see a problem with that, especially if it was a private citizen (not as a representative of Government) that donated it to the courthouse.

[jackfaire]

The problem is if things are made illegal because the prevailing religion says that I can't drink alcohol, play a video game, or watch a certain type of movie.

Letting laws be determined by one religion is bad practice. Also my direct ancestors were puritans and they were wrong.

[Vagabond]

I wouldn't want alcohol, video games or movies taken away either.

However, I do believe that all major religions/faiths/beliefs can at least agree on:
You shall not murder
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

Yes, I just chopped out 7 of the commandments. These are the ones I think that would most directly impact other people. I think those 3 are a sound base for laws. I believe you should not have a law unless it is clearly defined and enforceable.

I agree that no religion should determine the laws - that would fall under morality laws - and I don't like those either. [I hate the so-called sin taxes!].

[AdminAssistant]

Eh, the Founding Fathers were Deists not Fundamentalists. We are not a Christian nation, and we should not allow monuments that suggest that we are such. Would they also be setting up a monument to the 5 Pillars of Islam? The Code of Hammurabi?

[jackfaire]

It's not the content of the Amendments that makes people nervous it's the source.

Having things like that in court houses spark comments like, "Good shows we believe in Christian Laws for a Christian people"

[Arcade Man D]

Please, correct me if I'm wrong. [honestly!]
I was thinking that with the Puritans and many Irish Roman Catholics coming and founding/building America that this was a country based on Judeo-Christian values.
**Not saying this is a Christian Nation, but based on those values.**
Now, most Judeo-Christian values are based upon the Ten Commandments. That is why I don't see a problem.

However, if someone were to post the Commandments/Tenets/Pillars of other Religions/Faiths/Beliefs, I also would not see a problem with that, especially if it was a private citizen (not as a representative of Government) that donated it to the courthouse.

Thomas Jefferson absolutely despised all organized religion. The vast majority of the other Founding Fathers were Deists or Agnostics.

"In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection of his own."
"Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the common law."

Both quotes from Thomas Jefferson.

[Vagabond]

Fair enough ArcadeMan & Jackfaire, I concede.

AdminAssistant-
Having the 5 Pillars of Islam there I wouldn't see a problem with either, nor the Code of Hammurabi. Although, a framed poster on a wall I would not call a monument.

[Kheldarson]

I don't see a problem with having copies of all the major past law systems in courthouses. It makes sense. Modern law is a continuation of our historical past, religious or otherwise.

[jackfaire]

I don't see a problem with having copies of all the major past law systems in courthouses. It makes sense. Modern law is a continuation of our historical past, religious or otherwise.

Which would be cool and I would fully endorse that.

[KitterCat]

I’d love to see a copy of the Code of Hammurabi in a court house just to show how much we’ve changed from times past. Imagine the comparisons we could pull out of it. Three I can remember are,
Thieves - Now pay a fine/go to jail for specific length of time. Then - have your hand cut off.
Burning house Robbers - Now - Don’t know if we’ve even got a punishment for it now Then- get caught and get thrown back into the fire
Robbers- Now - Pay a fine/go to jail Then - Get walled up in the hole in the wall you just made to get into the house you were going to rob.
And convicts think they have a hard time now.

[Nyoibo]

I’d love to see a copy of the Code of Hammurabi in a court house just to show how much we’ve changed from times past. Imagine the comparisons we could pull out of it. Three I can remember are,
Thieves - Now pay a fine/go to jail for specific length of time. Then - have your hand cut off.
Burning house Robbers - Now - Don’t know if we’ve even got a punishment for it now Then- get caught and get thrown back into the fire
Robbers- Now - Pay a fine/go to jail Then - Get walled up in the hole in the wall you just made to get into the house you were going to rob.
And convicts think they have a hard time now.

It may have been brutal, but damn it people learned their lesson and didn't re-offend.

[kiwi]

I personally believe that religion has no place in a government run office/court/etc