Jewish musings , Sunday June 23

[gazelle18]

Hi everyone, 
I am in Montana for our annual hiking and relaxing vacation. I didn’t bring a laptop, so I am not bothering with our usual opening paragraph. I will be back later with a topic. See ya later.

[gazelle18]

I think it is a good thing I am in the mountains for a while. I am , as I mentioned earlier last week, embarrassed to be from the state which just passed a law mandating that a version of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom . But that’s politics these days.
Having a feel for everyone’s politics , I’m reasonably sure that none of us is thrilled with the Ten Commandments mandate. But here’s my question today: Can you articulate why this mandate makes you feel the way you feel? What specifically bothers you?

[peachymom1]

Here's my opinion, for starters:

The very first line of the Ten Commandments reads: "I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex. 20:2) This is a statement of God's identity. If we are to live in a land with a distinct separation between church and state, it is not appropriate to post a statement of God's identity in public places like schools. It can be seen as pressure to adhere to a particular belief in God. And who decides what that particular belief is?

As with all biblical text, teaching and discussion are necessary for understanding and application. It is not the place nor the responsibility of public school teachers (or other public school employees) to teach and discuss Torah text in a public school setting.

[peachymom1]

It bothers me that some people who call themselves Christians think they can impose their "religious" beliefs on everyone else. Posting the Ten Commandments is just one step. What's next?

[louise]

Did they also decide which version (Jewish, Catholic, Protestant) of the 10 commandments or is their views so narrow they don't even realize there are multiple versions? But that aside how can it possibly be okay to impose religious views on everyone?

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope everyone is well and SAFE! Please pray for Israel.

Re today's topic: I totally agree with everything that's already been said. It's not that long ago that kids in school had to recite Christian prayers along with the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. For that matter, I remember having Christian songs in music class; I would just stay quiet. This was hard because I love singing, but I couldn't sing some of the lyrics.

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[hollygail]

I too agree with almost everything everyone has said. I don't have both a Catholic and a Protestant bible in the house, but I doubt either one lists "I am Adonai [or "the Lord"] your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex. 20:2) as the first one. Frankly, that would be reason enough to ban posting the so-called Ten Commandments anywhere in public in the US. The only statements above that don't resonate with me have to do with singing Christian songs (other than some Christmas carols in December); lee058, Lee, I'm sorry you had to go through that.

[louise]

Not that this is the point but just FYI Jews have a commandment against murder while the others say "thou shall not "kill". Catholics take out the 2nd commandment forbidding graven images and at the end, before not coveting your neighbor'house or possessions, added not coveting your neighbor's wife.

[peachymom1]

Louise, that's a pet peeve of mine. The Hebrew words for "murder" and "kill" are nothing like each other. They didn't get haphazardly mixed up - it was a deliberate mistranslation.