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A House panel decided Tuesday to do a little editing on the Ten Commandments. Lawmakers made the alterations as they debated which version of the ancient biblical law — Protestant, Catholic or Jewish — should be embodied in a proposed state law. The House and Governmental Affairs Committee then advanced Senate Bill 476 to the full House. The bill would allow the display of the Ten Commandments, along with other documents of religious historical significance, in government buildings. The wording of the bill is designed to comply with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding the separation of government and religion....

Most residents and visitors on Capitol Hill yesterday said they do not object to the display of the Ten Commandments outside a house just steps from the Supreme Court building, despite the District's ruling that a permit is needed. "I'm an atheist, and I don't agree with their message, but as long as it's on private property, they can do what they want," said resident Justin Cohen, 21. "As long as it's not going to be endorsed by the government, it's OK." Faith and Action, an evangelical group run by Christian activist Rob Schenck, displayed the 850-pound stone monument Saturday...

When the Torah wishes to inform us of the 'historical' reason for a holiday, it certainly knows how to do so. Take for example the two other pilgrimage holidays - Chag HaMatzot and Succot. Even though these holidays are also presented from their 'agricultural' perspective (see Shmot 23:14-17), the Torah informs us of their historical perspectives as well (see Shmot 12:17, 13:3 etc. and Vayikra 23:42-43). Therefore, it is simply baffling that the Torah presents Shavuot only from its agricultural aspect, without mentioning even a word about its connection to events of Matan Torah! In this week's shiur, we attempt...

The Ten Commandments are radical in the sense that they are at odds with the world in which we live. The ACLU and other special interest groups have gone to court in an effort to have the Commandments sliced from public places. Do we now consider God’s laws as antiquated, unimportant and just too restricting? Are Christians weak today with so little faith that they fall victim to confusing, conjured and fictitious Hollywood movies like The Da Vinci Code? Consider the loose ideology of any liberal person who demonstrates their rejection of God’s word by fighting to eliminate the Ten...

MONTGOMERY, Ala.--Most politicians would kill for--or spend millions of dollars to acquire--the name recognition Roy Moore has in Alabama. Not necessarily the kind of name recognition, mind you. Just the level. That's because here, and across the country, he's known not just as Roy Moore, but as "Roy Moore, Ten Commandments Judge"--the Southern Baptist-cum-chief justice of Alabama who defied a federal court order to remove his 2 1/2-ton monument to the Commandments from the state courthouse, and lost his job as a result. It's a moniker that wins him automatic support in some quarters, and deafens ears before he even...

Reason disputed for monument By Sheila K. Stogsdill The Oklahoman MUSKOGEE - A Stigler resident testified Tuesday that religion in the form of a Ten Commandments monument has no business on government property. "The Ten Commandments have nothing to do with our law," said Sharon Nichols, an American Civil Liberties Union member and self-described naturalist. "The Ten Commandments is a historical document with limited significance to Haskell County." Nichols said she was offended by the monument, erected on the Haskell County Courthouse lawn, because she is not a Christian. She also testified she was offended by the words "In God...

STIGLER, Okla. - The 8-foot granite slab planted in the Haskell County courthouse lawn makes the Ten Commandments easy to read and hard to miss from the state highway that doubles as this town's main thoroughfare. The monument, erected with private money in 2004 with the county's approval, doesn't stop traffic and courthouse visitors on a recent morning barely gave it a glance.

In this ABC made-for-TV production of "The Ten Commandments" we have a new Moses, ethnically and religiously cleansed. As played by Dougray Scott, Moses has been homogenized, pasteurized, sanitized, and dry-cleaned so as not to offend any race, religion, or creed. This Moses is not Hebrew, and in fact he's not anything but multi-cultural. Along both parts of this series that ran Monday and Tuesday, April 10 and 11, the word "Hebrew" never came up, neither attached to him or to his people, yes, the Hebrews. The best this fat-free, low-calorie script could do was refer to Moses as a...

Poll: Riley builds big lead over Moore Sunday, April 16, 2006 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley has stormed to a 44-point lead over challenger Roy Moore in the battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, according to a new statewide survey. The Press-Register/University of South Alabama poll showed Riley with 64 percent support of self-identified Republican primary voters. Moore, the ousted Alabama Supreme Court chief justice, had 20 percent. The findings indicate that the Republican contest is becoming a cakewalk for the incumbent with seven weeks left until the June 6 vote. "These poll results suggest...

Dougray Scott, currently the star of NBC's Heist and most famous as the villain of Mission: Impossible 2, trots out much scowling anger and sulking angst in the lead role. This is Method Moses. Tonight, back from his conference with the burning bush and heading toward Egypt, he stumbles over a rock and mutters, "You'd think if this is what He wanted He'd make the going a little easier." Tomorrow, he furrows his brow and frets, " 'I am who I am.' What does that mean? Why give me a riddle to solve?" And while he struggles with his faith,...

"I was really impressed with [DeMille's version] when I saw it as a young boy, because it was such a wonderful cinematic extravaganza ... Just because there has been this huge, colossal canvas painted with one man's vision doesn't mean we can't retell it."

Director Robert Dornhelm is painfully aware that there may be a large audience out there eagerly waiting to hate his new version of "The Ten Commandments," premiering Monday and Tuesday, April 10-11, on ABC. After all, the story of Moses leading the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt has been told before, and unforgettably, by Hollywood showman Cecil B. DeMille in his ultralavish 1956 production starring Charlton Heston as Moses. Adapted from a variety of religious novels, that earlier version introduced a number of extraneous characters and story lines to the biblical account, yet a fair number of fans today regard...

On Wed,March 22, there will be a hearing in Essex County Court in Massachusetts, which could result in the banning of a book by Fathers rights(Pro-Family) activist, Kevin Thompson. Kevin Thompson has been fighting a long and lonely battle in the Essex Probate and Family Court to try to be able to be a father to his son. Several months ago, the court impounded the records of the trial and Judge DeGangi has recently granted a restraining order forbidding Kevin from distributing his book, EXPOSING THE CORRUPTION IN THE MASSACHUSETTS FAMILY COURTS.

On March 21st, Paramount will be releasing a 50th anniversary DVD set of Cecil B. DeMille's legendary classic, The Ten Commandments - and frankly, the timing couldn't be any better. Why, you may ask? How could a 50 year-old epic from Hollywood's Golden Age still be 'relevant' today? I'll answer that question below - but let's first take a look back at this glorious and important film. The Ten Commandments happens to be the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation. When the film was released in 1956, theater tickets cost 50 cents - and the film still...

Movie is commemorated with a DVD edition. Hollywood’s Past and the Bible’s History haunt us this week as Cecil B. DeMille’s classic renditions of The Ten Commandments are re-released in a collector’s DVD edition. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the second version, the one in which Charlton Heston leads the Exodus. Syndicated radio host and movie critic, Michael Medved says its “it’s amazing how well the movie has held up.” And with a chuckle fondly offers his own opinion. “The Ten Commandments is one of the most endearing and important bad movies ever made. But the movie works.”...

NASHVILLE - Public buildings could display the Ten Commandments and other historical documents under a proposal introduced in the General Assembly. The measure sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, and Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, would allow replicas of "historically significant" documents - including religious ones - to be displayed. As for the Ten Commandments in particular, Crowe said they should be permitted "for the historical perspective, for the religious principles that form the basis of our country." In its sharply divided 5-4 ruling last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on government...

FRANKFORT - The Senate gave its blessings yesterday to a bill that would allow schools and local governments to post the Ten Commandments as part of historical displays and put a Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds. With no debate, the Senate voted 37-1 for House Bill 277 that contains the proposals. Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, cast the only vote against the bill, questioning whether it is constitutional. "We are wasting time and taxpayers' money in passing these laws that are going to be challenged in the court," he said. "If all of these folks spent a little more time...

ATLANTA - An election-year flurry of religion-based proposals are cruising through Georgia's Legislature this season - even as critics say they may land the state in court for tinkering with the line between church and state. A push to teach the Bible in public schools, a renewed take on displaying the Ten Commandments at courthouses and even a measure ensuring government employees and students can say "Merry Christmas" without repercussions have won support from members of both parties. All three measures have passed at least one chamber of the Legislature by overwhelming votes. National civil rights groups, though, say they've...

Not since Moses smashed the original tablets on Mount Sinai have the Ten Commandments fallen on such hard times; the Decalogue is as welcome today in a public school classroom as former Chief Justice Roy Moore at an ACLU picnic. Deemed insensitive to Buddhists and Zoroastrians, insulting to atheists, offensive to secularists, and irrelevant to the irreligious, the Ten Commandments have been declared by several American legal tribunals to be harmful when viewed in the public light. With a run of more than three millennia, perhaps it's time to retire the Big Ten and agree on a more universal, up-to-date,...

Not since Berlin, 1989, has a big wall taken such a big fall. This time, it was the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit that blew the trumpet, effectively collapsing the false construct of the so-called “wall of separation between church and state” that for more than 50 years has been the cornerstone of the American Civil Liberties Union’s anti-religion agenda. This wasn’t one the ACLU saw coming. Their case—a suit to prevent Mercer County, Kentucky, officials from including a copy of the Ten Commandments in their display of historically significant documents—seemed tight enough, especially since the U.S....

estern Area Republican Club of Jefferson County, Alabama ******Judge Roy Moore to be our next speaker ****** Candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, the Honorable Roy Moore, will be our speaker at our January 16th, 2006 meeting at 11:30 A.M., at the Home Plate Diner, 2780 Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive in Hueytown. Visitors are welcome, and no reservations are needed. This is an opportunity to meet and hear Judge Moore, and to buy the book "So Help Me God" and have it autographed for you. There will be no other form of fund-raising at this meeting.We will have an...

In the wake of major decisions on public display of the Ten Commandments, the American Civil Liberties Union is asking a federal court to order removal of a Tennessee courthouse exhibit. "The posting of the Ten Commandments sends the message that only certain believers can receive justice at the courthouse," said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of ACLU of Tennessee. The ACLU filed the motion yesterday in U.S. District Court. Weinberg said "residents should not be made to feel like second class citizens because they do not hold the prevailing religious beliefs promoted by the county government." The display in Rutherford...

Sometimes it’s hard to find a ray of light in the American judicial system but once in a while the sun comes shining through. In a shocking display of clarity and common sense, a federal appeals court judge ruled last month that the Ten Commandments may remain on a wall in a Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse. The case concerned a display entitled, “Foundations of American Law and Government,” which, in addition to the Commandments, also includes; the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Magna Carta, the Star-Spangled Banner, Lady...

Sometimes it's hard to find a ray of light in the American judicial system, but once in a while the sun comes shining through. In a shocking display of clarity and common sense, a federal appeals court judge ruled last month that the Ten Commandments may remain on a wall in a Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse. The case concerned a display entitled, "Foundations of American Law and Government," which, in addition to the Commandments, also includes; the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Magna Carta, the Star-Spangled Banner, Lady...

Andy Rooney DID YOU KNOW? As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments! . DID YOU KNOW? As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door. DID YOU KNOW? As you sit inside...

If anyone has his hand on the pulse of America, it's Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge Suhrheinrich, a Reagan appointee, said Mercer County, Ky., must be allowed to post at its courthouse copies of the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, and other historical documents. The county had no expressed religious purpose in its display, he wrote, and the Commandments are not more prominently displayed than the other documents. That view certainly is within...

If Indiana Jones had done his homework, he would have found the Ark of the Covenant by raiding a church in the barren mountains of northern Ethiopia. Many Ethiopians believe that the Ark, containing the stone tablets inscribed with God's Ten Commandments, rests in the church of St Mary of Zion, at the town of Axum, and some western scholars have

Informing Christians and confronting the culture on the important moral issues of the day Federal Court Rejects “Separation of Church and State”Conservative group leaders hail unanimous decision Tuesday News Contacts: Gary Glenn, President - AFA of Michigan: (989) 835-7978 Joe Glover, President - Family Policy Network: (202) 470-5095, extension 456 Ron Shank, Director - FPN of Tennessee: (615) 866-5242, extension 2 Mat Staver, President and General Counsel - Liberty Counsel: (407) 875-2100 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals: “The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state.” (CINCINNATI - 12/20/05) — In an astounding...

A federal appeals court has upheld a Ten Commandments display identical to one ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, rebuking the American Civil Liberties Union in the process. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, affirmed Dec. 20 a federal judge’s decision that a courthouse display in Mercer County, Ky., of nine documents, including the Ten Commandments, is constitutional. In a unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel, the court agreed with the lower court that the inclusion of the Decalogue does not violate the Constitution’s establishment clause because the display has a secular purpose....

Values group hails unanimous decision Tuesday CINCINNATI -- In an astounding return to judicial interpretation of the actual text of the United States Constitution, a unanimous panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Tuesday issued an historic decision declaring that "the First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state." In upholding a Kentucky county's right to display the Ten Commandments, the panel called the American Civil Liberties Union's repeated claims to the contrary "extra-constitutional" and "tiresome." See Cincinnat Enquirer at: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210356/1056 See U.S. Court of Appeals decision, page 13: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/05a0477p-06.pdf "Patriotic Americans should...

Riley says Moore sought protection for monument Wednesday, December 21, 2005 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- During the peak of public protests over removal of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore sent an emissary who asked Gov. Bob Riley to call out Alabama National Guard troops to protect the 5,280-pound rock, according to the governor. "That's where Roy and I parted ways," Riley told the Mobile Register of his chief opponent in the upcoming 2006 Republican primary for governor. Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Terry Butts, who came to...

A U.S. appeals court today upheld the decision of a lower court in allowing the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse display, hammering the American Civil Liberties Union and declaring, "The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state." Article

A U.S. appeals court today upheld the decision of a lower court in allowing the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse display, hammering the American Civil Liberties Union and declaring, "The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state." Attorneys from the American Center for Law and Justice successfully argued the case on behalf of Mercer County, Ky., and a display of historical documents placed in the county courthouse. The panel voted 3-0 to reject the ACLU's contention the display violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The county display the ACLU sued...

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A group of pastors fired up a crowd of more than 300 people during a rally around a monument engraved with the Ten Commandments on the Haskell County Courthouse lawn. U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn spoke Saturday at the gathering in favor of the monument, which a recent American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit says is a sign of the government favoring one religion over another. But Coburn and others who were vocal at the rally contend that the statements listed in the Ten Commandments are guidelines to a moral, law-abiding society regardless of religious beliefs. "I wish...

FARGO, N.D., Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Members of the Red River Freethinkers have abandoned their battle against a Ten Commandments monument outside Fargo, N.D., City Hall. A federal judge ruled in late September that the monument, donated almost 50 years ago by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, meets the test of combining a secular purpose with its religious message. Jon Lindgren, who served as mayor of the city from 1978 to 1994, said he and the other plaintiffs had decided they were unlikely to win a reversal in an appellate court. "It was really disappointing to lose the decision, but...

Is there any room for Moses in an American courthouse? Or must the old lawgiver of Exodus 20 be forever banished into outer darkness? The Supreme Court may give us a hint after it hears argument in two cases presenting the same tough question: Is it constitutionally permissible for an agency of government, such as a public park or a county courthouse, to display the Ten Commandments? On this issue, the lower federal courts are sharply divided. In Van Orden v. Perry, the 5th Circuit said yes, it's OK. In McCreary County v. ACLU, the 6th Circuit said no, it's...

Gov. Bob Riley, who on Saturday announced his bid for a second term, holds a 19-point lead over ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore among likely voters in the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary, the results of a new statewide survey suggest. The Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll showed Riley with 44 percent and Moore with 25 percent. The remainder were undecided. The results mark a dramatic turnaround from January, when a similar Register-USA poll found Moore leading the governor 43-35 in a hypothetical GOP contest. The findings also defy what was once the prevailing political wisdom in Alabama:...

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Haskell County, demanding that a Ten Commandments monument be removed from the courthouse grounds in Stigler. Haskell County commissioners had no immediate comment on the lawsuit. It alleges the display violates constitutional protections against government endorsement of religion and entanglement of government with religion. The ACLU brought the complaint on behalf of Jim Green, a retired veteran and a longtime resident of Haskell County. He objects to the monument because he believes the display violates the U-S Constitution and trivializes religion.

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Haskell County, demanding that a Ten Commandments monument be removed from the courthouse grounds in Stigler.

The Republican race for Alabama governor will take shape in the coming week, with ousted state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and incumbent Gov. Bob Riley expected to announce their candidacies and set up a classic battle between the GOP's two cornerstones: religious conservatives and business groups. Moore has scheduled an announcement about his gubernatorial plans today in his hometown of Gadsden. Riley is having a 61st birthday party Saturday in Birmingham, where many of his supporters expect him to kick off a re-election campaign. For months, Moore has been saying that he was praying about whether to run...

If you are nostalgic for the days when the Ten Commandments were posted in public buildings, you might want to consider visiting the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The tribal council is making plans to mount a copy of the Ten Commandments in the council house where government meetings are held, and possibly display them throughout other public buildings in the Cherokee Nation of western North Carolina. The idea was introduced by Councilwoman Angela Kephart last month. She said the tribe should display the Ten Commandments out of respect and devotion to God. The motion passed unanimously. "We aren't...

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com If you are nostalgic for the days when the Ten Commandments were posted in public buildings, you might want to consider visiting the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The tribal council is making plans to mount a copy of the Ten Commandments in the council house where government meetings are held, and possibly display them throughout other public buildings in the Cherokee Nation of western North Carolina. The idea was introduced by Councilwoman Angela Kephart last month. She said the tribe should display the Ten Commandments out of respect and devotion to God. The motion passed...

OMAHA (AP) - Saying that ACLU Nebraska "was just out of options," executive director Tim Butz said Saturday that it won't take the Plattsmouth Ten Commandments case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Unless the ACLU's Plattsmouth client finds another legal team to make a final appeal to the high court, the tombstone-shaped monument can remain in a city park in Plattsmouth, about 20 miles south of Omaha. The 14 board members who attended a meeting Saturday voted unanimously not to fight the Aug. 19 appellate ruling. The 11-2 decision from the entire 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St....

A federal court judge Tuesday ruled that a marker engraved with the words of the Ten Commandments may remain on city of Everett property. The monument stands in front of the Everett police station, the old city hall site, near the intersection of Wall Street and Wetmore Avenue. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik denied a request by Everett resident Jesse Card, an agnostic, who sought removal of the monolith, a six-foot high granite structure. Card said its presence violated the principle of separation of church and state. However, in a written opinion, Lasnik ruled that the city display "poses...

A stone monument of the Ten Commandments stands in front of the City of Everett Police Station at the corner of Wetmore Avenue and Wall Street in Everett. A U.S. District Court judge in Seattle has ordered that a monument of the Ten Commandments outside the Everett police station and City Council chambers can remain there and that it doesn't violate the First Amendment. In a summary judgment for the City of Everett, Judge Robert Lasnik said the Everett case was "remarkably similar" to a Texas case against a Ten Commandments monument outside the state capitol. The Supreme Court ruled...

"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:1-3). This commandment is probably the most basically important of all, because it was the first of God's Ten Commandments given long ago on Mount Sinai. Jesus also said that total love for God was "the first and great commandment" (Matthew 22:38). This date, now known popularly simply as "9/11" has been called Patriot Day, and there should be no doubt that...

I recently wrote about the fact that Liberals don’t really hate war, but they demonstrably do hate freedom — and America, too. The numerous responses I got to that intentionally provocative topic were quite interesting, to say the least. Predictably, most Conservatives seemed to love the concept. Meanwhile, most Liberals really “hated” it. Funny how intolerant these Left-wing, progressive, sometimes-defenders of the virtue of universal “tolerance” can be when it’s their own ox getting gored. I truly think some of these Woodstock Nation peaceniks might get a little violent if provoked. So then I got to thinking, “What else do...

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit today ruled against the ACLU in their attack upon a monument bearing the Ten Commandments in Plattsmouth, Neb. The court reversed the decision of a district court judge who ruled the monument unconstitutional, vacating the position of a three-judge panel of the court that earlier upheld the district court's decision. "One offended passerby does not amount to a violation of the Establishment Clause," said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. "The court rightfully rejected the argument that this monument promotes religion. It has been present for many decades in...

Center for Law and Policy Press Release Ten Commandments Resurrected By Federal Court Contact: Kathryn Hooks, 662-844-5036 American Family Association P.O. Drawer 2440 Tupelo, MS 38803 1-662-680-3886 For Immediate Release: 8/19/2005 St. Louis, MO - In an en banc ruling, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals today overturned a lower federal court order requiring the removal of Plattsmouth, Nebraska's Ten Commandments monument. The court had earlier vacated a three judge panel?s decision which upheld the lower court?s order. The Ten Commandments monument was donated to the City of Plattsmouth in 1965 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The Plattsmouth monument...

A peaceful place for prayer turned into a deadly scene early Thursday morning. Police said Donald Middleton, 46, was beaten to death in the parking lot of Progressive Missionary Baptist Church. Lillie Bell has been Middleton's neighbor for 35 years. "When I heard what was going on," she says," it was a big shock to me that someone would run a young man down like that and take his life." Police said a group of men across the street saw Middleton trying to break into the church. The Rev. Arthur Sutton said the men tried to stop Middleton, but went...