READERS RESPOND
Jack Miller, Jason Kilpatrick, Michael Mears, Mary Dill, Starr Anderson, Maxine McQuaig and Rick Blumenfeld - For the Journal-Constitution
Monday, August 25, 2003
Ten Commandments: Responses to "Commandments justice outvoted," News, Aug. 22
An affront to freedom
The controversy over the Ten Commandments gives us all pause for reflection on the place of religion in our country. Should the separation of church and state be so absolute as to remove any mention of God from what the law and state decree?
Probably not. We all know that the word "god" can mean different things and include the prime mover in virtually any religion. One theologian has defined god as simply one's ultimate concern, giving the word meaning even for an atheist. So why not include the Ten Commandments in this nondenominational category?
The problem is that the Ten Commandments come from the Bible. Imagine our outrage if a judge were to place commandments from the Quran in his courthouse.
The federal courts are correct in claiming that this monument imposes specific religious beliefs that should have no place in a court that must be blind to the religion of those it judges. We live in the Bible Belt, where people hold to their beliefs with passion. Yet we must also hold to our belief in freedom with equal passion. This imposing stone monument to biblical Commandments is an affront to the freedom and equality the Constitution guarantees.
JACK MILLER, Atlanta