# They are trying it again- Ten Commandments **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 20, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134 "2024-06-20T20:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/81 "2024-06-21T21:41:03Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > Is there any difference in the relevant text? Well, they apparently added all the justification language and crap about the Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, and Northwest Ordinance in the final version. In any event, I just thought we should all be talking about the version that actually passed, not an earlier draft. ETA: But to your point, although they did change some of the language in the first part of your quoted text, such as adding a deadline of January 1, 2025 and some other prefatory language, the requirements for the display itself did not appear to change. > [@jjakucyk](#): > > …The bill says nothing about accompanying text. However, the final bill **does** require that the text be accompanied by a “context statement“ that is also specified. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/82 "2024-06-21T21:54:20Z")
Threadjack: There’s a commercial right now for “Despicable Me 4” where the minions outdo each other with BBQ grills, and one of those grills does exactly this. It then rains fully cooked and assembled burgers onto their plates. Back on topic: Maybe I already said this, but I once heard an interview with a Congressman where, whenever people told him that children should start their days with prayer, he would reply, “Then pray WITH your kids at breakfast.” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/83 "2024-06-21T21:56:47Z")
How about Papyrus? Or Gerritzoon? (That one was made up for a very quirky book called “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore”, that came out about 10 years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/84 "2024-06-21T21:58:12Z")
That was also one reason why the Catholics founded their own parochial schools. What about the Bibles in the school library? I haven’t heard of any place that banned those. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/85 "2024-06-21T22:31:17Z")
[Utah](https://apnews.com/article/book-ban-school-library-bible-fc025c8ccf30e955aaf0b0ee1899608a), of all places, banned the Bible in elementary and junior high schools just last year. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/86 "2024-06-21T23:54:10Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > > If the Ten Commandments was in a classroom in the early years of the republic then they should be there now they would (probably) claim. > > I guess we’re well on the way to “Slavery was a historical fact in the early years of the republic, so therefore we should be able to keep slaves now.” Indeed, the Southern states used the ten commandments to also justify slavery. > **[The Southern Argument for Slavery \[ushistory.org\]](https://www.ushistory.org/us/27f.asp)** > > The Southern Argument for Slavery > Defenders of slavery noted that in the Bible, Abraham had slaves. They point to the Ten Commandments, noting that “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, … nor his manservant, nor his maidservant.” In the New Testament, Paul returned a runaway slave, Philemon, to his master, and, although slavery was widespread throughout the Roman world, Jesus never spoke out against it. Of course, since many founding fathers were Deists and followers of the Enlightenment, guys like Franklin did eventually became abolitionists. And it was also because they noticed how inadequate the Bible was as a source of human laws in the modern era. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/87 "2024-06-22T00:13:22Z")
> [@robby](#): > > This is followed by a _requirement_ to display the Ten Commandments, and almost as an afterthought adding that schools _may_ display the other documents along with the required Ten Commandments. If it was a requirement that they list a couple of those- it would pass muster. Code of Hammurabi, etc. > [@robby](#): > > The text they used was from a random stone monument The link there takes me nowhere useful. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/88 "2024-06-22T01:05:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > The text they used was from a random stone monument > > The link there takes me nowhere useful. The link goes to a [summary of the Supreme Court case](https://www.oyez.org/cases/2004/03-1500) I referenced that ruled on the constitutionality of the stone monument in question. The new Louisiana law cites this Supreme Court case and uses it as justification for the specific text of the Ten Commandments they are now requiring to be posted in their classrooms. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/89 "2024-06-22T11:18:38Z")
The Seven Tenets Of The Satanic Temple **I** One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. **II** The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. **III** One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. **IV** The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own. **V** Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs. **VI** People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. **VII** Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/90 "2024-06-22T12:16:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > > “When fascism comes to America, it will be _wrapped in the flag_ and _holding a bible_.” - Sinclair Lewis (I think) > > If it’s not Sinclair Lewis, it’s always Upton Sinclair. And ironically, it’s the Sinclair media behemoth that’s going to be the biggest cheerleader of the phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/91 "2024-06-22T12:22:40Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Does the law specify how teachers should respond when an eight-year-old asks questions about the adultery in the seventh commandment, [SNIP] When I was eight, I thought it meant “pretending to be an adult, with authority over kids.” Especially when my nine-year old brother was trying to boss me around. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/92 "2024-06-22T12:33:31Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Reminiscent of Trump’s marching orders to every attorney that he’s ever retained, I’m still focused on a workaround for "large, easily readable font.” Put it in a readable font (with “font” being the bin that the letters are stored in for a movable type printing press), then take a photograph of it, which you then enlarge to poster size. It will show up backwards. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/93 "2024-06-22T14:18:41Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > banned the Bible in elementary and junior high schools Hey, have you seen all the _stuff_ that’s in there? You wouldn’t want little kids reading that either. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/94 "2024-06-22T14:26:20Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Hey, have you seen all the _stuff_ that’s in there? Only if you’ve actually read it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/95 "2024-06-22T15:01:25Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > There’s nothing that says it must be prominently displayed. It just needs to meet the 11x14 minimum size and have ambiguously large easily readable font. I think other states that tried this stunt specified that it must be in English, but that’s not the case here. So although it must be displayed, I don’t see anything that says it can’t be hung on the wall behind the coat rack or a potted plant. I think if it is displayed, a larger copy of the Bill of Rights should be displayed in front of it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/96 "2024-06-22T15:09:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The way I understand the Sabbath commandment, it also prohibits requiring _others_ to work on the Sabbath, which you’d arguably be doing if you go shopping, out to eat, etc. You understand wrong. The Shabbes goy, a non-Jew who did work on the Sabbath so Jews did not have to, is a thing. I don’t know what Christians think about it, but Christians are pretty wobbly about the Sabbath anyway, getting the day wrong and being pretty flexible about work that can be done. I’m sure that there is tons in the Talmud about the details, not that Christians are going to listen to the people who wrote the book. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/97 "2024-06-22T15:14:51Z")
This law is blatantly unconstitutional. What message does this direct at kids who aren’t Christian? This is constitution 101. If the Supreme Court lets this stand, then I don’t see how any lawmaker should be expected to be bound by the constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/98 "2024-06-22T15:29:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > You understand wrong. The Shabbes goy, a non-Jew who did work on the Sabbath so Jews did not have to, is a thing. I was going by my understanding of the original biblical language (which includes “stranger that is within thy gates”) and context, which one would think is what Christians who claim to scrupulously follow the Bible would care about. > [@Voyager](#): > > I don’t know what Christians think about it, but Christians are pretty wobbly about the Sabbath anyway That’s certainly true, which is one example of how many Christians seem to fetishize the Ten Commandments without necessarily fully understanding them or attempting to live up to them. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/99 "2024-06-22T15:34:38Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > If the Supreme Court lets this stand, then I don’t see how any lawmaker should be expected to be bound by the constitution. Oh no, you misunderstand. Non-Christian, liberal lawmakers will still be bound by it - especially the 2nd Amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134/100 "2024-06-22T16:12:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > > The way I understand the Sabbath commandment, it also prohibits requiring _others_ to work on the Sabbath, which you’d arguably be doing if you go shopping, out to eat, etc. > > You understand wrong. The Shabbes goy, a non-Jew who did work on the Sabbath so Jews did not have to, is a thing IIRC, a Jewish person can’t _ask_ a Shabbes goy to do work on the Sabbath - but they can very strongly imply a need for that work to be done. (Instead of saying “Please turn on the air conditioner,” you’d say something like “Boy, it sure is hot in here…”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-are-trying-it-again-ten-commandments/1003134.md?page=6)