Circuit Clerk, Steve Helms, finally took down his poster of the 10 Commandments from his office. He claims the following:
- It was not a religious poster, but a patriotic one.
- The poster supports the Judeo-Christian values of the country.
So was it religious or not? He seems to make two cases. The telling tale is that he ran to local Christian lawyer, Dee Wampler. It was religious. He knows it; I know it. We are not stupid. If it were really about remembering those killed on 9-11 then there are plenty of 9-11 posters that have nothing to do with the Decalogue. It was never about that.
My guess is it was about politics and a subversive effort to remind people that he is a Christian and he is the one who should be elected again. Not that he intended for a skirmish to occur. He probably just wanted to lightly let voters who come into his office know his religious beliefs. I doubt he counted on such brouhaha, but I’m sure it will work to his advantage. Ain’t politics grand?
People want to pretend that they are hurt if they cannot put their religion on the courthouse or in school buildings. They aren't. No one stops them from worshiping their God in their way. It just prevents them from trying to force it onto everyone else.
And believe me, had that been a pro-Islam poster, the fundamentalists would be beating their Bible's and crying all kinds of foul. That would be the right decision. We don't need people asserting their religious views using the courthouse.
I am able to live my Christian ways even though that poster is taken down. I will still love God and be free to worship. That's the real issue.
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5 comments:
"It just prevents them from trying to force it onto everyone else."
That's the thing, Jack...no one is forcing anyone to convert to Christianity or any other religion if they're allowed their freedom of speech and expression.
The forcing comes when they're told they're not allowed to show support for their beliefs as anyone else. If someone can put a gay pride poster up in a public building then a Christian should be able to put up a Christian one. Either you're for free speech or you're not.
Where's the gay pride poster at? I want to see it.
There's a gay pride poster in an office in Springfield??? My, my, the town has certainly changed!
And talk to the folks in Republic about the whole, flawed "it's free speech" argument. That nonsense went down the drain when they tried to defend the Christian symbol, the ichthus, on the town's logo. The logo is long gone.
"If someone can put a gay pride poster up in a public building then a Christian should be able to put up a Christian one."
Perhaps. But a gay pride poster is not a religious poster, is it?
Jason,
Would you feel the same way if someone put up the tenets of Wicca in some public buidlings? That's a better comparison than a gay-pride poster, which isn't religous. I say the 10 Commandments can stay, as long as they are right along side any other religious tenets anyone wants to post.
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