Posted on 05/04/2005 7:10:35 PM PDT by Scenic Sounds
The Republicans' philosophy about the relationship between God and government distinguishes them from everybody else, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore said Tuesday.
Moore held a gathering spellbound Tuesday at Valley Hill Country Club as guest speaker at a luncheon hosted by the Republican Women of Huntsville.
Citing phrases from the Declaration of Independence and quoting Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, Moore stressed that America began on the principle that citizens have God-given rights. The role of government is not to split God from everybody, he said.
"The government is there to secure the rights that God gave us," he said. "God is the basis of our philosophy."
Moore, 58, also signed copies of his new book, "So Help Me God: The Ten Commandments, Judicial Tyranny and the Battle for Religious Freedom."
Smart, tough, friendly and a seasoned politician, Moore spoke of his commitment to honor God. It was that commitment that led to his ouster as chief justice in 2003.
Asked if he plans to run for governor next year, Moore and his wife, Kayla, reacted with surprised expressions.
She took a deep breath, saying "It's something to pray long and hard about."
Moore agreed with her but gave no hint about whether he will run again for public office.
A 1969 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Moore served five years in the Army. He entered law school at the University of Alabama in 1974 and was sworn in as Etowah County's first full-time deputy district attorney in 1977.
He was elected circuit judge in Etowah County in 1995. He generated controversy by hanging a copy of the Ten Commandments on a wall in his courtroom.
He won the chief justice seat in 2000. After he took office, he had a 2 1/2-ton granite Ten Commandments monument moved into the lobby of the state Justice Building.
After a court battle, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ordered Moore to remove the monument. When Moore refused, he was ousted from office by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary.
The issue is not the monument or religion, Moore said.
"It's about God and the government and the relationship between the two," he said. "Our philosophy is limited government. One thing it is limited from is telling us how to think."
If he had obeyed the order of the federal court, he would have violated his oath of office, he said, because the court had issued an unlawful order.
"There is no excuse for an official to obey an unlawful order," he said.
There's never been any other party quite like this one.
Moore found the basis of his philosophy on the back of a bag of chips.
Huntsville, AL is about my favorite place on earth.
As opposed to Satan being the basis for Moore's philosophy.
Oh, okay. I thought this was Michael.
Are you maybe confusing Judge Moore with Judge Greer?
That's cuz you're one wild and crazy guy!
And cuz you haven't been to Calcutta yet!! ;-)
I was stationed at Redstone Arsenal for about two years (but not consecutively) when I was in the Army. Huntsville is a lovely place and I probably shouldn't have left there.
Crazy? Nah. Just a paratrooper...
It is getting better by the day. Going back next week! LOL.
Moore is a constitutionalist. That's all.
True. And God-given rights do not include the right to do evil, as libertarians insist.
translation: "serve"
Not real big on that whole "free will" thing, huh?
Agreed.
Now, who do you like in the Derby? ;-)
The world needs more judges - and politicians - like Roy Moore.
Any nation that forgets God is doomed.
That people have a right to do evil is a contradiction.
People certainly have a right to do that.
Failing to murder a "loose" sister is considered evil, in a large part of the world - of course, in the US, not only do you have the right not to kill her, we will kill you, if you do.
Much of the world considers plural marriage evil - but, in many cultures, it is the norm.
What evil do you not have the right to commit, and where?
Here's an interesting concept: It is vitally important that we perceive that our constitutional rights flow from God, whether or not we recognize the existence of God.
You see, rights have to flow from somewhere and if there isn't any entity higher than the government, then rights flow only from the government.
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