When Shrugging is Not an Option
- May/June 2025
- April 30, 2025
There is a surreal aspect to many of the events in our world of late. So many changes. So many alarms and threats. "The old order changeth," but what is to come? I think it axiomatic by now that much of the violent expression of radical Islam derives from a sense of panic at changes
READ MOREPictou, Nova Scotia, is "a charming seaside destination steeped in Scottish culture and history" on the Northumberland Strait-a convenient stop-off point for those taking the ferry to Prince Edward Island. It is a place where one can sit back and enjoy the traditional and maritime music as it wafts across the harbor from the marina's
READ MOREOne of the most famous scenes in American cinematic history unfurls near the end of Casablanca, when the police inspector declares to Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) that he's "shocked shocked!" to learn that there's gambling in Rick's nightclub. A moment later another man walks in and hands the inspector money, saying, "Your winnings, sir." Of
READ MOREFor centuries Protestants have found a convenient division between the first and second tables of the ten-commandment law. Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, was the first American to associate two concepts: the separation of church and state and the two tables of the law. It was Williams, not Thomas Jefferson, who coined the
READ MORE"The pre-eminent purpose for posting the Ten Commandments on schoolroom walls is plainly religious in nature. The Ten Commandments are undeniably a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faiths, and no legislative recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind us to that fact. The Commandments do not confine themselves to arguably secular matters,
READ MOREDownload the High Resolution Graphic of the Ten Comandments
READ MOREThe legal conflict over the public display of the Ten Commandments provides a wonderful opportunity to examine the content of the commandments. Although almost universally revered, the Ten Commandments are often thought of as rules that cannot be kept, or as an ideal that no one is really expected to attain. Or else, if the
READ MOREThe United States Supreme Court will consider two cases challenging Ten Commandments displays under the First Amendment's establishment clause this term. One case, Van Orden v. Perry (03-1500), involves a Ten Commandments monolith donated in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and displayed with the authorization of the Texas legislature on the grounds of
READ MOREWhenever the government becomes involved in religion, it is problematic, and the posting of the Ten Commandments is no exception. Which version? There are three widely recognized versions of the Ten Commandments: the Protestant, the Catholic, and the Jewish. If the government decides to display the commandments written out, it must choose whose version to
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