Court decision commands attention

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued rulings on

two cases related to the Ten Commandments. In regard to a Texas case,

the court ruled, 5-4, that a granite monument inscribed with the

biblical commandments on the grounds of the state Capitol was

acceptable. In a separate ruling, the court said that displays of the

Ten Commandments in a Kentucky courtroom were unconstitutional. Was

the court’s ruling positive or negative, in your opinion? Have the

rulings settled anything in the debate over the use of the Ten

Commandments in public settings?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Rabbi Mark S. Miller of Temple Bat Yahm in Newport

Beach and The Rev. Peter Haynes of Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church in Corona del Mar were out of town and unable to

respond to this week’s question.

Nothing has been settled because of the inconsistent ruling by the

high court. Fortunately, there will be no rush to “hammers and

chisels resurfacing the court’s own walls and doors that display

Moses and the commandments,” as is the fear of a Concerned Women for

America spokesperson.

The Supreme Court sees the depictions of the Ten Commandments on

its own walls and the monument on the Texas Capitol as acceptable,

yet sees similar displays in the Kentucky courtroom as unacceptable.

This indecisiveness will lead to a new generation of court cases

appealing to the Supreme Court in an effort to clarify the court’s

intent.

If the court sees the Texas monument as a reference to the

historical place that faith in God holds in Texas history and the

depiction of Moses and the Law in its own courtrooms as references to

the historical place the Ten Commandments hold in the development of

Western and American law, than why would they disallow the same

display in the Kentucky courtroom?

Most confusing to me is the fact that these cases exist in the

first place. I studied and worked in Chicago for eight years. Every

December, a series of displays is set up in front of city hall for

Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas (now a secular holiday to many) and a

Nativity celebrating Christ’s birth.

It has never been disturbing to me to see the religious

multiplicity represented on public grounds. In fact, it is an

affirmation that America is still made up of diverse people who get

along successfully despite that diversity. I have been in dozens of

countries who have no such variety, and it is stifling.

Unfortunately, that same vision is not shared by the secular

fundamentalists -- yes, I read your column Mr. Bell -- who have waged

a culture-cleansing campaign that will create a very boring,

homogenous, stale environment in which people are afraid to be unique

or different.

Recently, the city of Los Angeles removed a picture of the

Hollywood Bowl with its cross in the background under threat of the

American Civil Liberties Union. The city did not want to waste

millions of dollars to fight it, even though it knew it would

probably win. It was a matter of dollars.

Look at the history of this state alone ... the City of Angels,

San Diego, San Francisco are all religious names. Should those be

changed too? These lawsuits are not rational, but they are being won.

One case at a time.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity

Costa Mesa

The Ten Commandments form a religious document that reflects a

specific religious point of view. It should not be displayed in any

government buildings or municipalities, unless it is part of a

general display that can be taken in context with similar documents.

If the founding fathers wanted this document to be a part of our

moral compass, they would have included it in the Constitution, the

Declaration of Independence, and/or the Bill of Rights. This does not

dismiss the importance of the Ten Commandments; it simply puts it in

the religious domain, where it belongs. It is in this domain where it

can be used as a moral compass to guide behavior, thought and

motivation.

Personally, I teach the Ten Commandments from the point of view

that God is love and the Lord is law.

For instance, the first commandment in the King James Version

reads: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the

land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other

gods before me.” In looking at God as love, I interpret this is to

mean, “I am the law thy love, which frees you from the bondage to

anything. To sustain my love, put no other love before me.”

If the focus of your life is anger, hatred or fear, you will break

the law of love and suffer the consequences of an imagined death,

deception and deprivation, which creates a temporary feeling of

alienation and separation. But make your focus love, forgiveness and

peace, and you will fulfill the law and find heaven on earth: an

experience of at-one-ment, unity, and joy.

To be clear, I am not a fundamentalist/Christian minister, and I

am grateful to live in a country where all are free to express their

religious points of view without persecution or hatred.

SENIOR PASTOR

JAMES TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

Costa Mesa

The handwriting is on the wall, and it is not the Ten

Commandments.

I believe more and more people in our culture want to celebrate

diversity and respect for all of the world’s wisdom traditions,

rather than supporting Judeo-Christian dominance in public and

government spaces. Times have changed, and constitutional law is

appropriately evolving to better express and clarify our democratic

ideals.

What is essential to me is that the United States is a place where

everyone is free to practice his or her religion, and that our legal

system upholds the principle of fairness to all.

The court’s Texas ruling that monuments in which the Ten

Commandments are literally etched in stone do not have to be torn

down is a practical compromise. But the Kentucky decision prohibiting

the placing of framed copies of the Ten Commandments on the courtroom

walls speaks decisively to the future.

I do not think the Supreme Court will allow stone etchings or

monuments or other religious images to be placed in public spaces in

the future, and I do believe this is the right direction.

Some people are worried that if Christian symbols are not

highlighted in public places, people will be left without any moral

guidance whatsoever. But there are many ways to teach and inspire

people that are far more effective.

Instead of court cases, our time, energy and money would be better

spent on improved education, support for the arts, development of

academic curricula teaching about all the world’s wisdom traditions

and, above all, better resources to counter consumerism. And of

course, one of the very best ways for people to develop an ethical

lifestyle is by participation in their chosen spiritual tradition.

In San Diego, there is an ongoing controversy about the large

white cross looming over the city from Soledad Mountain near La

Jolla. Some want it taken down, since it is on city property, and

several recent ballots have sought ways to transfer the property so

the cross can stay up.

Here in Orange County, I wrote a letter of complaint several years

ago about the highly visible religious images surrounding my polling

place in a neighborhood church.

The bigger picture is how can our public spaces -- parks, beaches,

town squares, schools, courthouses and government buildings -- remain

beautiful places for all to enjoy? Will they be encroached upon by

the agenda of religious groups, corporate advertising and planes with

banners?

I believe the Kentucky decision will correctly govern efforts in

the future to place religious symbols on public spaces: They will not

be allowed.

REV. DR. DEBORAH

BARRETT

Zen Center of

Orange County

Costa Mesa