RE: Texas Senate wants Ten Commandments in classrooms
I totally agree the Texas Senate bill is a bad bill.
1. It does not respect separation of church and state
2. The specific language is unbelievable. Do they think God spoke to Moses in King James English?
3. It’s disrespectful to our Jewish and Catholic friends.
4. Modern language Bibles have helped to reach unbelievers for decades.
5. This will be a negative witness to all who are not far-right Christians who seem to think being Republican and being a Christian are synonymous.
6. This would cost school districts millions of dollars when money is already tight.
7. It will cost opponents and proponents legal fees.
8. What’s the penalty for not doing posting the Ten Commandments in one’s classroom? Will teachers be fired for not displaying the commandments as directed?
9. Will we allow other religions to display their beliefs about proper human behavior?
Larry J. Thomas
Retired, Baylor University and Texas Baptist Missions Foundation
Fairview, Texas
The Christian ethics of imposing our rules on everyone is a vexed one. We clearly believe our God’s way is by far the most excellent way for humans to live. So it’s tempting, when we have the political majority needed, to impose our way on others.
But we forget, God did not seek to impose his will on everyone. He prefaced his commands with the statement, “I am your God; I’ve rescued you from Egypt,” and the commands were directed only to his people.
Sometimes, we really do think we are more important than our God. Please, Lord, forgive me.
Reg Munro
Capetown, South Africa
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