# Why do christians display commandments, not beatitudes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227 "2005-06-28T17:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/21 "2005-06-29T04:31:22Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > It’s not “the atheists” who have a problem, it’s anyone who believes that church and state should be completely separate. . Quite true. One of my friends is very christian and he doesn’t want religion and government mixed either. I mentioned atheists because it was the group mentioned earlier. The supreme court has made boneheaded decisions before **Metacom**. I happen to believe this is one of them. Mixing church and state compromises the strength and integrity of both of them. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/22 "2005-06-29T06:18:09Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Well, I follow current events so I know that the Supreme Court recently ruled it constitutional. I think you misread the opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/23 "2005-06-29T11:56:14Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I think you misread the opinions. Just to make sure we’re on the same page here, do you know what the opinions are? There were two–one ruling that the commandments shouldn’t be displayed conspicuously in a courtroom and another that allowed a granite monument to the ten commandments to remain at the Texas state capitol. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/24 "2005-06-29T13:02:48Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > [You are in for a surprise](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6308785&postcount=55) Ah. Like a lot of legends, it’s half-true: CBD seized on an existing initiative of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Still. Goes to show how Americans can be ignorant of history (especially contemporary but non-recent history). And how political movements can capitalize on that ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/25 "2005-06-29T18:19:34Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > Ah. Like a lot of legends, it’s half-true: CBD seized on an existing initiative of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. > > Still. Goes to show how Americans can be ignorant of history (especially contemporary but non-recent history). And how political movements can capitalize on that ignorance. I read both of the cites that **Scott Plaid** linked to. The FOE campaign of distributing copies of the 10C did precede DeMille’s entry into it. However, neither story talked about **monuments** until DeMille got involved. I may indeed be wrong, but those news stories do not speak of the Eagles’ copies of the 10C in the same part as the 200 monuments mentioned at the end. Were the Eagles handing out stone monuments before the movie, or just paper copies? It isn’t clear from those sources. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/26 "2005-06-30T02:12:18Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Just to make sure we’re on the same page here, do you know what the opinions are? There were two–one ruling that the commandments shouldn’t be displayed conspicuously in a courtroom and another that allowed a granite monument to the ten commandments to remain at the Texas state capitol. IIRC, they ruled that monuments could stay if they were of historical value. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/27 "2005-06-30T03:55:18Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Just to make sure we’re on the same page here, do you know what the opinions are? There were two–one ruling that the commandments shouldn’t be displayed conspicuously in a courtroom and another that allowed a granite monument to the ten commandments to remain at the Texas state capitol. Yes, but the distinguishing feature was not that it was at a state capitol vs. a courtroom. Just any decalogue monument at a state capitol is not necessarily going to be ok because it’s at the state capitol. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/28 "2005-06-30T12:32:58Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Yes, but the distinguishing feature was not that it was at a state capitol vs. a courtroom. Just any decalogue monument at a state capitol is not necessarily going to be ok because it’s at the state capitol. Right, but it’s still possible to have a monument to the ten commandments on government land and for it to be allowed under the constitution. So that doesn’t really change my question. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/29 "2005-06-30T12:43:06Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Many years ago, there was a wave of 10C monuments installed around the country. Was it from a sudden increase in religion? No, it was Cecil B. Demille promoting his new movie. Demille never made a movie about the Beatitudes, so, no monuments. Today, people see these monuments to a movie, and they make some mistaken assumptions about religion & government. > > It really says a lot about the influence one person can have. What really makes it funny is, DeMille was noted for using Christian themes to get as much kinky sex into his movies as possible. His “Sign of the Cross” contains nudity (a milk bath) lesbianism, bestiality, more nudity (stripper Sally Rand attacked by alligators) and a swordfight between a group of Amazon women and midgets. Yeah, that’s the Bible alrighty. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/30 "2005-06-30T13:52:10Z")
I wish more Christians would concentrate on what Jesus said and did and try to follow his example instead of being so judgmental all the time. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/31 "2005-06-30T15:12:06Z")
> [@Lillith Fair](#): > > I wish more Christians would concentrate on what Jesus said and did and try to follow his example instead of being so judgmental all the time. Was that deliberately ironic? It made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/32 "2005-06-30T16:22:35Z")
Who wants to read about cheesemakers all the time? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/33 "2005-06-30T16:23:53Z")
> [@Lillith Fair](#): > > I wish more Christians would concentrate on what Jesus said and did and try to follow his example instead of being so judgmental all the time. What makes you think Jesus wasn’t judgmental? He was harsh on sin, and he even condemned the Pharisees as “a brood of vipers.” True, he did say “Judge not, lest ye be judged”; however, people frequently take that verse out of context. Jesus was condemning hypocrisy, not moral judgment _per se_. (In fact, the statement “You shouldn’t judge people!” is itself a moral judgment, and therefore, self-refuting.) ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/34 "2005-06-30T16:25:01Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Who wants to read about cheesemakers all the time? I think he was referring to dairy producers in general. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/35 "2005-06-30T16:34:27Z")
When I was at college (at a small ecumenical christian school) our religion professor gave us lots of verbal beat-downs for not knowing the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, because according to him it was the best and most important summary of all Jesus’ teaching. We all meekly memorised them. I’m far more likely to put up the Beatitudes than the Commandments. Actually, I have (looks around living room) one visible rosary, a St. Francis cross icon, and two calligraphed prayers, one by St. Teresa of Avila and one by Julian of Norwich. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227/36 "2005-06-30T19:16:43Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > So, what we need is a big-budget Hollywood epic about _ **The Beatitudes** _. Y’know - when you title it like that, all I can visualize is a theater poster showing a side-on photo of Jesus, Peter, James & John walking across Abbey Road. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-christians-display-commandments-not-beatitudes/310227.md?page=1)