Soapbox

Bunch of Rocks

The following essay appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on Sunday, Sept. 7th. 2003. I felt the letter was poorly edited, as they removed the paragraph most important to my thesis. This is the full text as I submitted it.

Editor:

To heck with the needs of the citizens of Alabama. Chief Justice Roy Moore thinks a couple of chunks of rock are more important. And what does that say about Moore: that he is a faithful child of God, or that he likes to get his name in the paper?

What exactly is the great cause over which Christians are asked to take on the Constitution? No one is trying to abolish the 10 Commandments, as Moore claims. The prohibition or removal of a religious artifact or observance is not a denial of anyone’s faith: it is an affirmation of all faiths! No person, Moore included, is ever denied the right in this country to make the Bible and its 10 Commandments the mainstay of their life. Moore’s followers behave as if removal of their “pet rocks” would damage God, yet if you believe in God, surely you believe He is cannot be damaged by mere words or laws of man.

There is another fundamental truth about the separation of church and state in this country that people like Chief Justice Moore conveniently ignore. A display of faith, be it prayer in school, a nativity scene at a government building or the 10 Commandments in a courthouse, does not equal faith itself! External displays do not create internal righteousness. God is not contained in a book, or a monument, and these items should not be revered as if He were.

The Gospel of Matthew admonishes us not to make a show of our worship by standing in the streets to be seen by men, but to keep it a private thing. Moore and his followers have made their worship into a parade, and the focus of attention is them, not God. As they declare their own righteousness for all the assembled TV cameras they not only flout the law Moore is sworn (and paid) to uphold but they act against the Gospel as well.

The proper place for God is not in our laws, but in our hearts. If we keep Him there, then God will be with us in everything we do, be it teaching children, conducting business or interpreting the nation’s code of law. And if God is not in our hearts, then no statue, no engraving, menorah or nativity scene will change that. The power of the 10 Commandments comes from how you live your life, not how you decorate your buildings.

Now churches from all over the nation are being asked to send their faithful to join the circus in Alabama. I have another suggestion. Instead of making speeches and posing for TV cameras, I ask concerned Christians to live their faith as Christ asks, feeding the poor or reaching out to the lost and lonely of this world. Rather than suing the US Circuit Court and turning our laws into a sideshow attraction, pray for peace and work for healing among God’s people.

Chief Justice Moore, keep the commandments in your life, and let the display go. They’re just rocks, after all.