Why should the Ten Commandments be displayed?

"Either America will be able to acknowledge God or it won't"


History will be made tomorrow when the United States Supreme Court hears oral argument on the Ten Commandments.

The debate has been raging for years over whether the decalogue should be allowed to remain on display at courthouses and other such locations throughout the country. Atheists and "non-religious" people argue that such displays violate the "separation of church and state."

Why should Christians be vocal about allowing the Ten Commandments to remain on display?

Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver will be defending Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses. Staver says, "The decision of the Supreme Court in 2005 on Liberty Counsel's Ten Commandments case will set the course for the future interpretation of the First Amendment on such matters as the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Motto 'In God We Trust,' along with other public acknowledgements of religion. Either America will be able to acknowledge God or it won't.[my emphasis] Our heritage and our future are riding on this case."

With each decision against the public mention or display of things pertaining to God and/or our Judeo-Christian foundation, I believe our nation's spiritual and moral underpinnings erode a little more. Or maybe even a lot more.

I'm thankful for people like Mat Staver and the ACLJ's Jay Sekulow and the Rutherford Institute's John Whitehead, who are not shutting up and slinking off as atheists and infidels continue to assail the physical evidences of our nation's moral foundation. We need to keep these men in our prayers, and ask God to give them courage, wisdom, eloquence and favor as they speak out about these issues.

Says Sekulow: "The Commandments have served as the basis for our legal system in this country and public displays of the Commandments do not violate the Constitution. The Commandments are an integral part of our legal and cultural history."

I interviewed John Whitehead in December about the out-of-control school district decisions banning any mention of Christ at Christmastime. Whitehead told me at the time: "It's not getting better, it's getting worse, you're absolutely correct...the cases become more ludicrous and more crazy each year. There is, in my opinion, and I don't know where it's coming from, but if you want to use the word 'agenda' in the public schools of America to completely secularize the public schools,and specifically, do away with any Christian references."

It's the same agenda that wants to do away with any mention of God in the public arena.

A Supreme Court decision on the Ten Commandments cases (one has to do with Kentucky courthouses, the other with a monument on the grounds of the Texas capitol) is expected sometime in June. It will be a sad day indeed if the justices should decide to banish these ancient, revered and sacred writings from the public square.

If you want to know more about this important issue, read about what's at stake in this Liberty Counsel flyer, The Fight for the Ten Commandments. The Alliance Defense Fund also has an informative page on the case.

And if nothing else, commit to pray daily for the Ten Commandments case. I believe it's vital that concerned Christians pray about this issue.