I'm going to fund a monument that has some other bible versus on it, since the bible inspired our laws:
"I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by...." Ezek. 20:25.
Or maybe some other divine laws?
"Then tell them, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you" (Jer. 25:27). (we have laws on alcohol use)
"As I listened, god said to the others,'Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children...." (Ezek. 9:5-6). (we have laws about not slaughtering non-combatants in combat)
"A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to the 10th generation shall he not enter...." (Deut. 23:2). (we have laws against referring to children as bastards in Oklahoma, also we have laws against punishing children for the crimes of the parents)
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence of the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Col. 3:22-24). (we have laws against slavery)
Ex. 21:20-21 says, "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property." (we have laws against beating people, and people can not be property)
'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to
offer the food of his God. No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or
lame, disfigured or deformed; no man with a crippled foot or hand, or who is hunchbacked or
dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged
testicles. No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present
the offerings made to the Lord by fire. He has a defect.... because of this defect, he must not
go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary...." (Lev. 21:16:23). (The Americans with Disability Act says churches can't deny people because they "have a defect.")
Or are some divinely inspired laws better than others? If so, how do we know we "based our laws" off of the good ones? Did God come back down to the Oklahoma Legislature and let them in on the secret. I'm concerned God is "testing" us.
I won't bother going into the ones that say we can't wear mixed fabrics, that different breeds of cattle can't pasture together, that women on their period have to stay home and men that sleep with their wives when they are "unpure" should be expelled from the community, the dietary laws, and on and on and on. But oh, these ten. Hell yeah. God would never give bad laws, contrary to what he says . . .
Maybe a Hindu, Muslim, Wikkan, or Satanic monument?
Here is a brief recap of the basis for American law, assuming we all adopt the protestant version and we agree on the meaning of each:
1. You shall have no other gods but me. (Restriction on the practice of religion)
2. You shall not make unto you any graven images (free speech, practice of religion.)
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (free speech)
4. You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (mandating religious activity)
5. Honor your mother and father (usually good advice, not a law)
6. You shall not murder (a law in every society on earth, even non Judeo)
7. You shall not commit adultery (not really a law)
8. You shall not steal (a law in nearly every society)
9. You shall not bear false witness (generally held concept in every society, not a law unless under oath)
10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor (not a law, destroys the basis of our economy, thought control)
The first four "laws" are prohibited by our constitution. One is a law in every day life and it is held by groups that have never even heard of the bible. The notion that the ten commandments are a guideline for American law is a total fallacy and an attempt but Fundamentalist Christians to aggrandize their beliefs, the placement of this monument a testament to that desire.
And WWJD? Personally, I think if the Ten Commandments existed in Jesus' time he would have erected a monument of them outside the Roman governmental offices.
I look forward to the challenge and the over turning of this law. Everyone knows, or should know, that numerous cases have held such things unconstitutional in this context. It will be challenged and we the people will pay to defend it and then pay to have it removed. Can you honestly imagine these ingrates allowing a monument to be erected they disagree with? If the guidelines is 10% of the passage has something to do with a real law - that leaves the door wide open to just about anything.
It is pure political grandstanding and the notion that this monument is somehow similar to the one in Texas is absurd.
If the idiot really doesn't understand that, then may God help the State of Oklahoma.
But really, this has nothing to do with religion. We are
"erecting the Ten Commandments monument to recognize the historical basis for "our rule of law" and nothing else. "Tulsaworld.com
(originally probably would have been in Egyptian, then Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic or Latin in the time of Jesus. But nonetheless.)