A few thousand years ago, Moses brought ten commandments, carved in stone, down a mountain in Sinai and proclaimed them as laws of God which were to rule supreme over the Israelites.
A few months ago Judge Roy Moore brought a similar version of the same commandments, carved in stone, up the elevator and into the rotunda of the Alabama State Judicial Building where he proclaimed them as laws of God which were to be recognized as supreme over Alabamians.
Apparently, no one questioned the authority of Moses. Some in Alabama, however, are questioning the authority of Judge Moore to use his governmental position and a government building to deliberately attempt to impose his particular brand of religion, regardless of objection by citizens of different religions, upon all citizens of Alabama.
The objection to Judge Moore's action is simple. America is a nation ruled by law as created by its citizens. The supreme law in America is the Constitution for the United States of America, not the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, or even the Declaration of Independence. In the Constitution, as drafted by the Founding Fathers in 1787 and ratified in 1788 by the required number of states, is only one commandment relating to religion. In 1791 a second commandment (drafted by the First Congress in 1789) was also approved by the several states and thereby established the two constitutional commandments relating to religion upon which America was founded and exists.
Thus, the legal battle in Alabama can clearly be characterized as the ten commandments versus the two commandments. In other words, will the ten laws of Moses be imposed upon Alabama as a symbol of an authority higher than, or as a binding source for, commandments embodied in the supreme law of the land--the American Constitution.
The Ten Commandments of Moses are found in the ancient Hebrew Pentateuch, an unquestioned religion text for both Jews and Christians. The Two Commandments of the Constitution are found in a written contract, created and voted upon in 1787 by fifty-five men who were Deists and Christians. The contract was ratified by elected representatives of the American states in 1788 and was subject to amendment by vote of existing and subsequent states, all of which were and continue to be composed of citizens representing devotees to all religions or to none.
The Ten Commandments demand obedience to an unseen God who is a spirit and whose commands are to be accepted, without challenge, by faith. The Two Commandments guarantee all Americans freedom to believe whatever about religion, but in regard to actions the Two Commandments do not authorize anarchy and are completely compatible with obedience to laws as written by men elected to make laws which prevail as supreme over all American citizens, regardless of religion. In fact, all laws made throughout the American nation are ultimately subject to the supreme law of the land--the American Constitution. The majority of Americans would have it no other way, and therein the contest is joined.
Unlike the ten "shall not" commandments of the laws of Moses, the two "shall not" commandments of the American Constitution make no reference to God (or the Pentateuch). To the contrary, the Founding Fathers mentioned religion only once in the original Constitution and they commanded: "no religious test shall ever be required" (Art. 6., Sec. 3.). The first part of the Constitution's second "shall not," as added by amendment, related to the national legislature and commands: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" (First Amendment).
It needs to be quickly added, for those who still believe the American Constitution ends with the Tenth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment again changed the American contract; and, it has been clearly ruled by the Supreme Court of the United States of America that the First Amendment is now as applicable to all state governments as it is to the national legislature. In other words, now, state legislatures "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The majority of Americans overwhelmingly accept that understanding.
Nevertheless, an American court of law, perhaps ultimately the Supreme Court of the United States, will possibly be asked to choose between the American constitutional principle of "separation between Religion and Government" (James Madison, William and Mary Quarterly, 3:555) and the unconstitutional assertion of a state judge who undoubtedly misunderstands, if not challenges, the legitimacy of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. The decision should be simple. In America there is no law or person supreme to the Constitution.
Indeed, America is a nation wherein citizens of all religions or of none are allowed to participate freely in all of its social and political functions and wherein religion is not the business of government. In America religion opinions are not to be imposed or promoted by government officials at any level. In America religion is a voluntary matter for individuals, families, churches, and religion institutions. In America religion flourishes without the aid of government, as abundantly evidenced by thousands of freely existing religion institutions of all kinds on obvious public display throughout its great land.
Even though it is proper for all public educational systems to teach fairly about all religions in the world, the foundation of government and law for citizens of America is the Constitution for the United States of America, and it is the document which should be on display and taught in all American schools. Evidently, Judge Moore does not agree. That being the case, he and his stone tablet should be legally removed from the building in which they both sit. Case closed. In America the Two Commandments of the Constitution rule supreme over the Ten Commandments of Moses and Judge Moore.
Nevertheless, the position of the Chief Justice of Alabama is supported by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, William H. Rehnquist, and two justices on the same court, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. In February 2002 the Supreme Court in a split decision refused to hear a case from Indiana wherein the governor of Indiana wanted to place a seven foot stone monument of the ten commandments on the grounds of the state capitol in Indianapolis.
In reaction Chief Justice Rehnquist issued a statement saying that "the monument simply reflects the Ten Commandments' role in the development of our legal system" (AP report). Excuse me, Chief Justice, the legal system which you swore to uphold and defend is the Constitution for the United States of America, not the laws of Moses and the ancient nation of Israel. The Constitution, as amended by the First Congress and the people of America in 1791, commands that "religion" shall not be established by law or Congress. That commandment via the Fourteenth Amendment has been applied to all levels of government in the United States. The Ten Commandments relate to religion: "And God spake all these words, saying . . . " (Exodus 20:1, KJV).
The relevant fact in the "development of our legal system" is the obvious rejection of all religion codes by the Founding Fathers who clearly commanded that under the United States of America "no religious test shall ever be required" (Art.6., Sec.3.).
The following is a very good editorial from the Tuscaloosa News relating to Judge Moore's attempt to impose religion into the Alabama Supreme Court building: