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Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! Add your comments on this week's "What is the Deal?" column at Uncle Hiram's Bulletin Board. August 31, 2003 What is the Deal with God and the Government? By Jan A. Larson I opined in my column last week that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was wrong to install the monument of the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Judicial Building. As of this writing, the monument has been removed from public display, but the controversy rages on. Moore claimed that the monument was placed in order to convey the historical nature of the Ten Commandments in the formation and evolution of the law in America, but in my opinion, he was simply using that position as convenient cover to promote his personal beliefs. There is a very clear religious connotation to the Ten Commandments, particularly Commandments one through four. The Commandments that form the foundation of the law are the sixth through tenth. It could be legitimately argued that the first four Commandments do in fact, promote a particular religion, i.e. the Judeo-Christian religions. The controversy in Alabama aside, we have come to a point where we, as a nation, will have to decide just how much of our undeniable history we are going to expunge from our public institutions. It is indisputable that the Founding Fathers established our government based on Judeo-Christian principles, the principles of the Ten Commandments, and acknowledged God as the provider of all things. Had the Founders come from the Far East or the Middle East, it is not inconceivable that the basis for American government would be based on principles of Buddhism or Islam. History is what history is. I fully support the principles of the First Amendment, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" This does not, however, mean that references to the Creator must be eliminated from all government institutions, documents or practices. The law itself is based on precedent, i.e. history, and that history does include the principles of the Ten Commandments, particularly the second five. A succession of judicially activist rulings over the past two decades have expanded the constitutional restriction that "Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion" to effectively mean, "All government entities may not make any reference to religion or anything that may be interpreted as religious." This is certainly not what the Founders intended by the clear wording of the First Amendment. While our government must respect the practices of those of all religious beliefs, I do not believe that that respect necessarily demands that our history be set aside. Just as any American living in France, Bahrain or Russia has (or should have) no expectation that those governments and societies will alter their historical governmental practices to appease the sensibilities of the interloper, persons coming to the United States must not expect that we will disavow our history and heritage to avoid "offending" one of a different faith or heritage. I find it quite offensive that we are seemingly willing to do so now. While immigrants to American must continue to have the right to practice their chosen religion without fear of persecution, they must also know that we will not deny our Judeo-Christian heritage and history. That history includes the acknowledgement of the Creator as the foundation of American government and law. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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