A federal judge on Monday will hear arguments on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.
The hearing on that and other issues in a pending lawsuit challenging the new law is expected to last all day. It’s unclear when U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles will rule.
Opponents say the law is an unconstitutional violation of separation of church and state and that the display will isolate students, especially those who are not Christian. Proponents argue the measure is not solely religious, but has historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. Louisiana, a reliably Republican state that is ensconced in the Bible Belt, is the only state with such a requirement.
In June, parents of Louisiana public school children, with various religious backgrounds, filed the lawsuit arguing that the legislation violates First Amendment language forbidding government establishment of religion and guaranteeing religious liberty.
If you read the law as written and voted on in Louisiana, it lists 11 Commandments, because there isn’t one list of Commandments that these people can agree on. But they can agree that everyone should be forced to look at them in school?
Also many Christian groups seem to have a very liberal understanding of the first two commandments.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me - The whole trinity stuff is considered to be contradictory to the singularity of God by Jews and Muslims.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image - There is plenty Christian iconography and paintings, depicting God, Angels, Jesus, who by the logic of the trinity is part of God, hence a clear violation of that commandment to depict him.