Ten Commandments – Family Council

Lawsuit Over Ten Commandments Monument Still Languishing in Federal Court

Jul 18, 2024Jerry CoxTen Commandments MonumentTen Commandments

*Above: Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments authorized in 2015 and installed in 2018.*

After more than six years, the lawsuit over Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments is still languishing in federal court.

In 2015 the Arkansas Legislature passed a measure authorizing a privately-funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the State Capitol Building grounds.

The monument is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas.

The monument was unveiled in 2018, but atheist groups and the Satanic Temple promptly filed a lawsuit to have it removed from the state capitol grounds.

The case originally was set to go to trial in July of 2020, but the trial was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker has been asked multiple times to resolve the case, but so far it has remained in limbo.

As we have said many times, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

Arkansas’ monument simply commemorates that legacy.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

The Ten Commandments Provide a Moral Code: Guest Column

Jul 8, 2024John StonestreetCurrent EventsTen Commandments

Recently, the governor of Louisiana signed a bill that requires every public classroom in the state to display the Ten Commandments. Headlines quickly reported panic and filed lawsuits, but is the idea that far-fetched?

No. Historically, the Mosaic Law was one of the first recorded legal codes, dating only a few hundred years after Hammurabi’s Code of Babylon. As State Representative Dodie Horton explained, this is reason enough for the bill. “It doesn’t preach a certain religion,” she said, “but it definitely shows what a moral code we all should live by is.” And, America cannot be understood separate from the idea of a moral law, this one in particular. In fact, both the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence appeal to it.

It would be ironic if a legal challenge goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. After all, on the east side of the building is Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

Louisiana Passes Law Requiring Ten Commandments in Public Schools, Colleges

Jun 26, 2024Jerry CoxEducationTen Commandments

*Above: Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments authorized in 2015.*

Last week Louisiana passed a law requiring public schools, colleges, and universities to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.

The law highlights the historical impact that the Ten Commandments have had on American government, and it provides how each school should display them, based on past court rulings.

Arkansas does not have a law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments. However, state law does provide for the national motto — In God We Trust — to be displayed at school. Arkansas also has placed a privately-funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the state capitol grounds.

The monument is identical to one ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas.

Shortly after Arkansas’ monument was unveiled, atheist groups and the Satanic Temple joined a lawsuit to have it removed from the capitol grounds.

The case originally was set to go to trial in July of 2020, but the trial was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit has remained in limbo ever since.

As we have said many times, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

Arkansas’ monument commemorates that legacy. It’s good to see Louisiana take similar steps to commemorate that legacy as well.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.