10 Commandments in public began as a publicity stunt? Who knew?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A2453-2003Aug29¬Found=true
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On August 30, 2003 The Washington Post ran an opinion piece saying that "the movement to put the Ten Commandments into the public square is more active now than at any time since Cecil B. DeMille gave away 4,000 granite tablets as a promotion for the Charlton Heston movie" However, the ten commandments tablets in Alabama are clearly sectarian..." We've had bitter fights over when the state is endorsing religion... But these days we Americans look at ourselves in the global light of places such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. Our breed of democracy does more than let the majority rule. It also protects the minority -- the Zoroastrian, Zen Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, Muslim -- and lets us live together.

The Ten Commandments is a crowd-pleasing cause. A huge majority of Americans regard these words as a map for a good life, though an equally large majority has trouble reciting them. In this Disney culture, it's entirely possible more people can name the seven dwarfs -- including Doc -- than the Ten Commandments.

Americans seem to want the Commandments displayed even if they don't want them all enforced. When was the last time we arrested people at the local mall for dishonoring the Sabbath? When was adultery last a felony?
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more at these links:






USATODAY.com - Thousands drawn to Ala. standoff... DeMille asked him to post more permanent displays — bronze plaques instead of paper — and not just in schools and courthouses, but in other public places. ...
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/ 2003-08-24-monument-usat_x.htm - 57k - Cached - Similar pages


Syracuse University Faculty Voices... the 1950s, when the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a nationwide service club, began donating them to courthouses across the country. Cecil B. DeMille, whose movie ...
sunews.syr.edu/FacultyVoices/FV66_Watts.htm - 9k - Feb 26, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages


washingtonpost.com: A New Judgment Day For Decalogue Displays... of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film "The Ten Commandments." DeMille helped the ... The Ten Commandments displays in the Kentucky courthouses were framed, printed pages ...
www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/ wp-dyn/A55480-2004Oct22?language=printer - Similar pages


The Ten Commandments News... Up of DeMille Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, the program follows DeMille's career as ... religious' The Ten Commandments displayed in two Kentucky courthouses and in ...
www.topix.net/movies/the-ten-commandments - 27k - Cached - Similar pages


Insight on the News: Tables turning: courts disagree on the ...... In 1956, DeMille remade his 1920s classic, The Ten Commandments ... with the Commandments were cropping up in parks, state-capital lawns and courthouses around the ...
www.findarticles.com/p/articles/ mi_m1571/is_23_18/ai_87917227 - 20k - Cached - Similar pages


MPR: The Ten Commandments: Religious or historical symbol?... DeMille's goal - to plug a new film. A deal was made. ... Many monuments went up in public places like parks, city halls, and courthouses. ...
news.minnesota.publicradio.org/ features/200109/10_schmitzr_laxten-m/ - 38k - Cached - Similar pages

is the meme about the Commandments being the basis for our American system of government. Many of them seem to relate to the Sabbath, the use of idols, worshipping other gods, etc. Is this what our democracy is based on?

Sorry, I don't get it.

never seem to have even the remotest acquaintance with the Sermon on the Mount.

They've managed to delete Jesus Christ from Christianity completely.

Thou shall not steal
Thou shall not kill


Apparently, that means that our system of Government is based entirely on the Ten Commandments.

And, all this time I thought that not stealing or killing was basic morality.

and can be accepted by all faiths withoout the dogma of any specific religion:)

I always tried to use this as my personal philosophy and my "religion".

Our democracy is based on the philosophy of Enlightenment. many of our founders didn't like Christianity too much. If we based it on the 10 List, we'd be like the Taliban.

and whether you read a Jewish Text or Christian text, the 10 are different. Maybe we should make it the 15 commandments to cover them all?

> Maybe we should make it the 15 commandments to cover them all?

Ooops, dropped a tablet. We're back down to 10 again.