Roy Moore: In God I Trust

Opinion Journal ^ | 08/25/03 | ROY S. MOORE

[Pokey78]

Why I'm standing up for the Ten Commandments in Alabama.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.--The battle over the Ten Commandments monument I brought into Alabama's Supreme Court is not about a monument and not about politics. (The battle is not even about religion, a term defined by our Founders as "the duty we owe to our creator and the manner for discharging it.") Federal Judge Myron Thompson, who ordered the monument's removal, and I are in perfect agreement on the fact that the issue in this case is: "Can the state acknowledge God?"

[xzins]

He is permitted to declare anything he wants about his beliefs. He can declare it on TV, in the marketplace, from the rooftop...whatever.

What he's forbidden from doing is requiring by passage of a law that others MUST follow his religion. (Actually, what's forbidden is for the Congress/legislature to make no law establishing a religion. Judges are not able to write new laws into the legal code.) We both know that he has passed no law.

It is true that I am not a lawyer. However, common law has no provision about what constitutes "establishing" a religion. It doesn't mention it at all.

I also have no problem with him putting up his monument in the courthouse as a personal expression. They put art, statuary, displays, etc. up in government buildings all the time. You cannot allow some forms of speech, and arbitrarily discriminate against religious speech.

Besides, everyone should just grow up a take a chill pill. There's lots of religions in America and some of them have vastly more adherents than others. An adult in America who has even the barest education shouldn't be surprised at all to see religious symbols all over the place. They'll come and they'll go.

If they get offended everytime they see one, they'll spend all their time grinding their teeth into little nubs. My message to the ACLU: Grow up.

[Robert_Paulson2]

"I would shut up, even if I held the same views"

---

"thou shalt not bear false witness" --- byron you are not known for shutting up, nor have you ever been known for biting your tongue... God will not pass away if a stone is moved... you see byron, GOD is NOT that stone... nor is HE Judge Moore... NOR is he collecting big offerings on the TBN network to keep those cards and letters comin' in fact, you have no idea how deep this rabbit hole is going to go... so stop worrying about us FREEPERS... here in the USA. We don't recognize a state religion, never have. We rebelled against the one king george was ahead of and we are damned sure NOT going to toleate the one by king roy moore... either.

[RJayneJ]

Thanks for the nomination! };^D)

[Fred Mertz]

I don't expect you to use it, but it was all in good fun ;^)

[Thorondir]

you see byron, GOD is NOT that stone... nor is HE Judge Moore... NOR is he collecting big offerings on the TBN network to keep those cards and letters comin'

All ridiculous irrelevant words you have falsely placed into his mouth by implication--implication that is not even vaguely clever. Try to think of an actual argument instead of just leveling inapplicable insults at him.

[Robert_Paulson2]

"I've had a thousand of them posted to me"

---

Then if you were telling the truth about the "thousands" then perhaps those quotes are not all so out of context, and are in fact THE OVERALL CONTEXT of the founders general statement...

Perhaps you should read them in context.

Why don't you ask Luis, and perhaps he might send you substantial copies of them electronically should you ask him nicely...

In context, they looked even more persuasive to me... but then again, I asked luis nicely, instead of foaming at the mouth "you anti God bigot" type of crap... grow up and stop worshipping statues. Moore is not the Savior and that Stone is NOT God... Ask, and ye shall receive.. and ye shall be surprised... chill out.God won't die if the marble statue is moved... hint hint... God is NOT that marble slab and will stay in that court building no matter what anyone does...

[dmanLA]

God Bless Judge Moore...

This is one galant effort but ultimately will be defeated. How do I know this? Because the Bible/God says so. Christians will soon be the new marginalized class.

Explain this to me. If the so called 'separation of church and state' is so important, then why are some public schools teaching the Koran and making students act out Islamic rituals? Why is the federal government permitting an Islamic camp on federal property? Why are mentions of greek gods and goddesses permitted? Etc, etc....

The proper term is SEPARATION OF CHRISTIANITY AND STATE.

God have mercy on this country. Judgement will come.

[Fred Mertz]

God have mercy on this country.

I don't expect Him to.

[Robert_Paulson2]

"I don't expect Him to."

---

Well maybe you need to get a new God, Fred...
the God of the Bible's mercy is "new every morning".
and "His Mercy Endures Forever".

that's what happens when you trade a living God for words carved in stone... you end up with a very inflexible, intolerant, judgemental attitude about everything.

God extends mercy to all, even the unrepentant. As it is written "The rain falls, on the just and the unjust." (in the agrarian culture of the day, rain was considered a blessing).

What use is a merciless God?

[Robert_Paulson2]

Removing a stone is NOT removing GOD... and byron as well as many others have asserted thngs just like this... "removing the commandments is kicking God out of our Nation!!!"

You think that God leaves when you move a rock?
If He was there before the Rock, then He will be there AFTER it goes. HE never changes.

The crazed fury YOUR side of this argument attaches to the presence of God in that marble slab borders on stone worship. To a lot of folks, it looks like idolatry with a graven image... (one of the no nos on the slab of stone itself, go figure)

If my words were NOT SO CLEVER you could have let them stand on their own ignorance... pehaps you should have.

Not every person who disagrees with you and has a reason for doing so, is an idiot, nor are they being abusive... grow up. You are hyperventilating about a rock...

[fr_freak]

You have lined up with the fair-weather constitutionalists like Moore, who are willing to turn a blind eye to government expansionism when bolsters your interests. I'm willing to bet that you'd quiver like a salted slug at the thought of increased government regulation of anything else, but government backing of Exodus is a nifty idea. Do you really think that government can be trusted to tell us what we should consider to be God's Law? By his words, Moore does.

Some conservative.

How do you figure that Moore's actions show that he is "willing to turn a blind eye to government expansionism when [it] bolsters your interests" ? How is challenging an over-stepping federal judiciary promoting government expansionism? It is only if you believe that placing more power and discretion into the hands of state, rather than federal, governments is expansionistic. The First Amendment is very simply stated, and there is nothing in it that can reasonably be construed as authorizing a federal judge to demand a monument be taken out of a state building because it contains references to religious belief. This should be obvious, but years of expanding the tortured interpretations of a simple sentence, then compounding that error by citing those interpretations as infallible precedents, actually seem to have made many people believe that the First Amendment demands that all traces of religious belief be bleached from American law and public society, rather than being an amendment which protects the rights of such believers within their own states. The Bill of Rights is intended to protect our freedoms, not restrict them.

Moore's battle over this monument is actually quite an opportunity to fight for conservative principles. Frankly, I don't care whether Moore initiated this to further his political career, to preach holy scripture, or because he is simply off his medication - it is still a question of states' rights over federal usurpation, of strict interpretation over judicial activism. These are very conservative principles. Many posts on this thread are twisting this issue into Christianity vs. Atheism, but it truly is a battle of federalism vs. all-powerful central government, strict constructionism vs. loose, and freedom vs. restriction. Think of this legal battle in those terms and all of the discussion about whether Moore is a charlatan or Moses reincarnated will be moot (in a political context).

[c-b 1]

If you think Moore is doing this for "principle," then you're a dupe.

Hey sinky, how do you know why Judge Moore is doing this, did you ever ask him? I would like to know what you base your wild accusations on.

I sat, face to face with the good Judge a few months ago, the words "states rights," came out of the Judge's mouth several times. Could that possibly be what this is about.

[c-b 1]

Sinky what is with this vendatta on Judge Moore?

I can understand that you don't like what he is doing, but your out of control personal attacks on Judge Moore, on every thread, invalidate anything you say.

[Catspaw]

I think the climber adds just the right amount of weirdness to the whole spectacle.

Climber disrupts Sunday service

By Jannell McGrew
Montgomery Advertiser

 

Brittany Doan, 16, right, of Marietta, Ga., joins others in prayer Sunday on the steps of the Alabama Judicial Building in a show of support for the Ten Commandments monument.

-- David Bundy, Advertiser

A day that began with the showing of faith at Sunday church services at the state Judicial Building, drew to a close with the spectacle of a man climbing the side of the building.

At 8:30 p.m. firefighters arrived to access the situation of an unidentified man who had climbed the lattice work on the state Judicial Building. He perched upon a window ledge above the area where protesters have settled in their ongoing support for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. The man did not respond to requests to come down from fire officials or rally participants.

The Rev. Patrick Mahoney led the bystanders in a prayer for the individual to come down safely.

"We pray for your safety; we pray right now that this person may come down. If you are not with us, we condone this kind of activity," Mahoney said.

At 8:55 firefighters removed a ladder from the window and withdrew to a location on Dexter Avenue.

As of 11:15 p.m. the man still was sitting on a window ledge facing the steps to the building.

Deputy Marshal Willie James said, "we're just going to wait him out so no one gets hurt."

An unidentified man climbed the decorative trellis outside the Judicial Building during a prayer rally Sunday night for the Christian Defense Coalition and Chief Justice Roy Moore.

-- Karen S. Doerr, Advertiser

Earlier in the day, a Texas minister, who has joined thousands of Christians in defending Moore and his Ten Commandments monument, turned the spotlight on fellow Christians, challenging them to examine their own piety and commitment to God's law.

On the eve of the day protest organizers plan to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit to block the removal of the two-ton monument, the Rev. Steve Hopkins of Burnet Bible Church in Texas didn't mince words. He told the crowd of about 200 that Christians must first obey the Ten Commandments themselves before they can call anyone else to task.

"Remember II Chronicles 7:14 says, 'If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and seek my face and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I'll forgive them and heal their land," Hopkins said during a worship service Sunday outside the Judicial Building.

"It doesn't say, 'If those people out there in the world would just obey the word of God, then I'll heal your land ... if you can just get those abortionists to stop doing what they're doing, if you just get those judges to do what they should be doing out there.' It doesn't say that."

The Bible calls for followers to not only believe but also to live out the tenets of their faith, he said as he stood in front of a Styrofoam display of the Ten Commandments.

"We are in this situation today because the people of God began to violate the law of God in their own lives and in their own hearts. That's why we're here," he said as he recited the list of the commandments.

Shouts of "Amen," and "That's right" rang out through the crowd, sweating from 93-degree-plus heat. Today at 1 p.m., leaders of the Christian Defense Coalition will hold a news conference about the lawsuit.

Lorraine Adams traveled from her home in Birmingham to attend t Sunday's service, and she said she'll be at the building today and isn't leaving until the controversy is resolved.

Ben Murch, left, and his brother Aaron Murch of Red House, Va., are among the people who have been keeping a constant vigil at the Alabama Judicial Building in support of Chief Justice Roy Moore.

-- Mickey Welsh, Advertiser

She shook her head in agreement with Hopkins. She said she believes his sermon was a sobering reminder of the line Christians have to walk.

"We have got to be a follower of Jesus because he is the way," she said. "The foundation he laid is the only foundation."

The Rev Daniel Sparks, an Episcopal priest from Tuscaloosa, agreed.

"Religion is about the spiritual nature of humans," he said. "It's not just inward reflection, but it's about outward action."

Over the past two weeks, Christians like Adams, Sparks and Hopkins have come out by the thousands to protest the pending removal of the monument from the building's rotunda.

Their protests were heightened Friday after a judicial ethics commission suspended Moore, who violated a federal court order to remove the 5,300-pound granite tribute by midnight Wednesday. So far, the monument remains, and authorities have not discussed when it might be removed.

Today, Moore's attorneys are expected to respond to the commission's charges against Moore, including one that accused the chief justice of failing "to avoid prejudicial conduct to the administration of justice, which brings the judicial office into disrepute."

Moore supporters are expected to file a lawsuit today asking that the monument be kept in its original spot and not transported to a less-visible location.

Attorney Richard Cohen of the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, has described the suit as "totally frivolous," Larry Darby, state director of American Atheists Inc., agreed that it won't pass muster.

"That lawsuit will be dismissed before the ink is dry," Darby said. "I don't think that any judge will hear it. It has no merit."

Mahoney, of the Christian Defense Coalition, which has organized many of the demonstrations in support of Moore, has said that protesters are prepared to stand at every exit of the Judicial Building and block the monument's' removal.

During the Sunday service outside the Judicial Building, people got up one by one and read scriptures from the Bible and gave their personal testimonies in support of Moore.

Calera resident James Ryan struggled to hold back tears as he spoke. He said he had lost his faith in the judicial system because of past experience with "crooked judges." He believes Moore's stand has helped restore some of his faith in the system.

"When I walk into a court, no matter what I've done wrong, and I see the Ten Commandments on the walls, if the judge opens with prayer, I know I'm going to get a fair shake," he said.

Tuscaloosa resident Dara Crain and her five children wrote a song and sang it during the service.

"Judge Moore, Jesus loves you. Judge Moore, Jesus cares. Judge Moore, God has a plan for your life, and you know he'll always be there," the group sang as the crowd cheered them on.

"I don't know Judge Moore personally, and I don't know his heart, but I believe that he is standing up for the same beliefs that we have, that our law system is based on God's word," Dara Crain said.

Despite the recent blow of Moore's suspension and the monument's pending removal, protesters remained true to their 24-hour vigil.

By late Sunday evening, Christian groups sang songs and played musical instruments as an intermission between services. Others joined in singing "I'll Fly Away" and "Have a Little Talk with Jesus."

---

Staff writer Regan Loyola Connolly contributed to this report.

[snerkel]

Roy Moore took a vow to uphold the laws in Alabama.

The Preamble is not the law, it is an introduction to the law, the Constitution of Alabama.

You didn't answer my question. How many laws from the 10 Commandments are our laws based upon? Either federal or state.

[snerkel]

I live in Alabama, we are the back of the bus. LOL.

Using snide comments will not remove the fact that Roy Moore is ignoring the law and has placed the 10 Commandments in the same light as a graven image. He has broken one of the commandments that he worships.

You also failed to answer my question. How many of the 10 Commandments are our laws based upon?

[happygrl]

BRAVO, BRAVO !!

At last, someone has cut to the real issue at hand.

[sweet_diane]

"Roy Moore will guarantee Don will get his old job back."

Gov. Riley doesn't need Roy Moore's help to lose his Govenorship...he's doing just fine on his own. I seriously doubt Don will get his old job back now that even dems are on to him.

[sweet_diane]

"God is NOT that marble slab and will stay in that court building no matter what anyone does..."

Truer words have never been written here.

Personally, I say leave the monument. If a Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan etc. judge or organization would like to erect a similar monument, within limits to size etc, let them!