"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?" Thomas Jefferson
He was also visionary when he wrote: "The Constitution...is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape as they please." The Constitution was not to be a malleable object to suffer the changing whims of populism.
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We haved staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the ten commandments." James Madison
Ben Franklin called for each session of the Constitutional Convention to be begun by prayer so that God could them through such momentous events. He also requested that each assembly of Congress be started the same.
The point - a state religion was to be avoided but guidance from religion was necessary for good government, as well as recognition of our Judeo-Christian roots in our government and laws.
Now, was Judge Moore wrong in his refusal to remove the statue. Yes. He was duty bound to follow the writ of the higher court, even if it was wrong.
Was placing the statuary of the Ten Commandments in the courtroom wrong? Not at all. Many court buildings from the beginning of our history have had similar statues. Some now even include Jewish and Muslim religious art works. U.S. law does stem from the Ten Commandments to Roman law to English Law to Colonial Law. The Ten Commandments in a court building is an example of the history of law.
Side note: Somehow people like yourself protest the Ten Commandments but not the Koran or Torah.
The revisionism of the Supreme Court sculpture is an intriguing attack that has cropped up from the Left recently. They had been described that:
"The sculpture over the east portico of the building is entitled: JUSTICE THE GUARDIAN OF LIBERTY. Moses is the central figure holding the two tablets of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, one in either hand, stark reminder of the origin and basis of our legal system."(Millard, The Rewriting of America's History)
But while the artists usually agree that the figure is Moses, suddenly the two tablets with the I through X numbering has been changed from the tablets that Moses carried to a 'representation of the Bill of Rights.'
Of course, the 1975 official U.S. Supreme Court Handbook, prepared under the direction of Mark Cannon, Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, states: “Directly above the Bench are two central figures, depicting Majesty of the Law and Power of Government. Between them is a tableau of the Ten Commandments…” and “To the right of visitors is a procession of historical lawgivers of the pre-Christian era:…” and “To the left are historical lawgivers of the Christian era…” (evidence for Millard's position).
However, this description was removed in 1988 in response to p.c. pressure, giving Lefties an excuse to say look, the Curator does even include the Ten Commandments. It was there - but was censored by a secularist Left. In 1999, the censorship was covered with the brand new magic inclusion that they represented the Bill of Rights.
Inside the chamber is another sculpture that:
"depicts "The Power of Government" and "The Majesty of the Law." Between these two allegorical figures, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS stand out in a position of prominence. The seated figure representing "The Power of Government" has his elbow squarely resting upon God's Ten Commandments, showing from whence our power is derived."(Millard)
Again, the tablets have been magically transformed into the Bill of Rights. Years ago when I was there, the guide said they were the Commandments...go figure. The description was excised and then covered up at the same time as the previous example.
But wait - it gets better: The two tablets with just the Roman numerals is a common Christian religious architecute and art symbol. The Library of Congress has pictures of identical tablets with Roman numerals in many historic churches.
From the Oscar S. Stauss Memorial, Washington, D.C. (by Adolph Weinman - sound familar?)
Weinman's own meaning is: "The grouping represents Justice, portraying Religious Freedom. A reclining, draped damsel leans upon a tablet containing the Ten Commandments in Roman numerals. Her hands are clasped in prayer."
The inscription reads:
"Our Liberty of Worship Is not a Concession Nor a Privilege But an Inherent Right"
The tablet looks exactly the same as at the Supreme Court!
Similar examples can be found in the architecture of the Library of Congress and the National Archives - All described as the Ten Commandments. Besides, there is a second scuplture inside the Supreme Court building that is nothing but Moses and the Ten Commandments.
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We haved staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the ten commandments." James MadisonMadison never said that. It was apparently invented for an inspirational calendar in the late 1950s and attributed to Madison. David Barton picked it up and spread it all over the place as part of his "America's Godly Heritage" presentation. Madison scholars found it to be completely inconsistent with his other writings and asked for a source.
As a result, Barton had to admit that several of the quotations that he had used could not be confirmed.
-Eric
Similar examples can be found in the architecture of the Library of Congress and the National Archives - All described as the Ten Commandments. Besides, there is a second scuplture inside the Supreme Court building that is nothing but Moses and the Ten Commandments.There's also one of Mohammed.
-Eric