Why is the ACLU is trying to eradicate all public displays of the Ten Commandments??

Many of you need to reread the 1st amendment which states; "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of..."

The display of the "Ten Commandments" is not a violation of the first amendment. It is in fact upholding the true nature of the free exercise clause. If there is a need for a symbol of a pagan faith you feel is needed to be displayed, then complain to your local government. Remember, what goes around, can come back to bite you in the butt. Congress has not issued a law establishing that the "Ten Commandments" be displayed in all the courthouses in America. The only reason we have this idiotic "separation of church and state" clause was due to the misinterpretation of the Jefferson letter and his "wall of separation statement" by Chief Justice Hugo Black.

By the way, how is displaying the "Ten Commandments" in a courthouse unconstitutional. The law of our land are based on many of the commandments, such as; "Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill (murder), thou shalt not bear false witness (perjury), and in some states, it is illegal to sleep with another ones spouse (thou shalt not commit adultery). The Constitution was established on Christian priciples that is designed to protect the rights of all citizens of different beliefs. Also, not all the delegates at the constitutional convention were Christian. Some were Jewish and other faiths. Now, there are Muslims in Congress today, were they voted in for their religious belief, or did they get voted in because their ideas coalesed with their constituents. That is up to you to decide.

This may surprise you - but not all people are Christian and not all people want a display of the Ten Commandments where ever they go.

Would you be willing to allow Pagan theology in your public places, such as your court house? Hindu, Islam, or Buddist faiths displayed in public places? Probably not.

It never ceases to amaze me why Christians think that we need these things in our public places but staunchly believe that no other religious group can have that same right.

I am not a fan of the ACLU what-so-ever and the reasoning behind why they are doing this is skewed to say the least. However, in this case the problem lies not with the ACLU.

Wow...that was quite a leap, going from one court case to 'all public displays'.

If you wish to put up a display of the 10 commandments on your front yard, providing it doesn't violate any community guidelines (sign size and things of that nature)...go ahead. However, if a judge decides that he wants to put that same display on government property...that's where the problem lies.

It was determined way back in the 1700's, by way of the Treaty of Tripoli (article 11) that the United States is "in no way a christian nation". Combine this with the first ammendment, and you come to the logical conclusion that the US government...from the local, all the way to the federal...cannot take any action that can be construed as favoring one faith over any other. Given that there are thousands of different religions, each having multiple denominational sects within, and there is no way that the government can, reasonably make a display to each faith...and therefore should show signs of none.

They're not. For example, if a Church has a large public display of the ten commandments that can be seen from the street, the ACLU will not to anything about this.

They do, however, take cases that deal with displays of the Ten Commandments in government institutions. The reason for this is because displaying the Ten Commandments tacitly supports Christianity, and the government is bound by the constitution not to endorse any religion.

I don't know about the ACLU - but the 10 commandments can be displayed on any private property by the consent of the owner. On publicly owned land, however, it is a religious symbol and should not be displayed.

Unless, of course, you won't mind if religous symbols from many different religions were displayed in a museum type manner. That is acceptable.

Where?

Government buildings does not equal public.

I'm sure you are free to display giant 10 Commandment tablets in your front lawn for all the public to see with no problem.

And if the ACLU trues to make you take it down, let us know.

The last time I checked they were only ever trying to stop government sponsored activities of that sort,as it is a government endorsement of one religion over another,a clear violation of the First Amendment. Just like the "In God We Trust" bit on our money,which might as well say "Christians Only,All Others Need Not Apply" Which is why I eradicate or alter that statement on every bill that passes through my hands.

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Not public displays, displays on public land.

They are trying to stop municipal governments from doing this because they think it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

GOVERNMENT displays of the Ten Commandments are unconstitutional, it's called establishment of religion which is prohibited in the Bill of Rights.

You are free, however, to post them in your front yard as I see quite frequently here in Southwest Missouri.

I hear the argument that "my tax dollars should not be supporting abortion." Well, why should MY tax dollars be promoting YOUR religion?

Only on public property. The US is secular in that regard, the government is not supposed to show preference to any one religion. If you want to read the 10 commandments then read your bible or hang them up in your car or your house or your office. No one is stopping you.