Ten Commandments restored at Virginia schools

Washington Times ^ | 1/24/11 | AP

[careyb]

RICHMOND, Va. | A school district in southwestern Virginia is re-posting copies of the Bible's Ten Commandments in all county schools, despite concerns that doing so is unconstitutional.

The five-member Giles County School Board voted unanimously to restore the framed, 4-foot-tall, biblical texts after parents and local ministers complained about their removal from the district's five schools and its technology center. The decision was made even though the board's attorney advised that such Christian displays represent unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.

The Ten Commandments were up on school walls in Giles County for at least a decade next to framed copies of the U.S. Constitution. School officials took them down and replaced them with the Declaration of Independence in mid-December after a resident complained. The board reversed that decision Thursday after several parents and pastors, joined by a throng of supporters, told the board that the schools had a moral obligation to reinforce God's teachings.

[MrB]

What I think it reveals is the secularists’ misunderstanding/misrepresentation of the Christian attitude towards Jews.

‘stater isn’t anti-Jew, he’s anti-Christian, and believes the secularist lies about us.

Romans 11:11-24 explains the relationship between us “gents” and the Jews.

[magritte]

LOL ... or the original Jewish version?? ... magritte

[Tax-chick]

I’m a she, and I did mean real guns. If representatives of the ACLU come into the schools and try to remove the posters, they can be physically stopped. If they go through the courts, the school can refuse to comply OR pay and make the court use Federal marshals, getting everyone’s attention and making a massive, area-wide stink that will get many previously-indifferent people off the fence and motivated to take control of *their* local schools ... or face the fact that they are more the ACLU’s schools than the parents’.

Either way, some citizens will wake up.

[opentalk]

I had never questioned this until the Cristine O'Donnell debate. We had been taught and intentionally instilled by the left that it is unconstitutional. Good to see a push back to years of ACLU activism.

[Doe Eyes]

suddenly a prayer by a high school football coach is considered “establishing a religion"

Do you think the Constitution places no limits on the actions of Government employees regarding religion?

Can the football coach, during his paid duties, preach about Christianity, attempt to convert non-Christians to the Christian faith, criticize other religions ...

[EDINVA]

Well, I really don’t think the ACLU is THAT stupid ... their gig is lawsuits/courts, etc. Strangers don’t just show up in SW Virginia with guns, create havoc, and expect to leave, if you catch my drift. The mountains, hills and hollows [pronounced hollers] of SW VA have their own justice. They would just never be heard from again. Nope, ACLU isn’t that stupid.

[MrB]

Oh the horror!

[paulycy]

That would, I assume, be the Jewish version.

Yes, because it is representative of a concept.

If you could locate the originals in the Ark of the Covenant, I'd opt for a literal transcription of those... ;0)

[jboot]

"‘stater isn’t anti-Jew, he’s anti-Christian, and believes the secularist lies about us."

OK. I'm a bit skeptical, there. A lot of folks have problems with the Commandments precisely because they are "Jewish".

[MrB]

“A lot of folks” wouldn’t include any Christians I know of.
Jesus himself stated that he is the fulfillment of the Law, and that he did not change one “jot or tittle”.

So... what do you mean by “a lot of folks have problems with the ‘Jewish’ commandments”?

[nina0113]

When I was receiving instruction to become a Catholic, the priest who taught the class assured us that after hearing his condensed teaching of the Commandments, we would never forget them, or their order (from most important to least) again. In my case he was almost right, I still get hung up on the order of 7 & 8.

Honor God
Honor His Name
Honor His day
Honor your parents
Respect life
Respect sex
Respect property
Respect the truth
Don’t covet people
Don’t covet things.

[nina0113]

Hmmm... idols seemed to be the BIG bugaboo in the OT. I wonder why this was left out of the “Catholice” Big 10.

'Idols' are the same as 'other gods', so it's duplication for the sake of re-iteration, because the 'no other gods' part is a really big deal. It's the same commandment.

My Hebrew is pretty much non-existent, but I understand the original doesn't have numbering at all.

[jboot]

I wasn’t referring to Christians. I was referring to a certain class to trolls that post here on FR. Maybe saying there are a “lot” of them is pushing it, but they tend to hit in waves.

[Doe Eyes]

Hmmm... idols seemed to be the BIG bugaboo in the OT. I wonder why this was left out of the “Catholice” Big 10.

Hard enough to explain the worship of God and Jesus, but then to add the Virgin Mary. Two was too much, and three was way to many.

[Corin Stormhands]

Update: The Freedom From Religion Foundation now says the person who originally filed a complaint doesn’t actually have children in the school system and therefore can’t be a plaintiff.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-commandments-update-01262011,0,6545547.story