Catch me, this is in no way meant to be mean, but yahoo questions and answers is much like these forums. Not a reference. Anyone can post a question, and it will illicit opnions from other users.
I'd MUCH rather see this instead of the Ten Commandments in a courtroom. Would that offend you?"
These truths I hold to be self-evident:
We are human beings, intelligent and self-aware, possessing both reason and emotion, with the potential for immense good as well as terrible evil. Which of these two comes to be depends on our choices.
Every human being possesses inherent worth, and every human life is equally valuable. Our conscious existence is a thing worthwhile for its own sake, requiring no further justification.
By the exercise of our free will, we can select our own purpose and imbue our lives with meaning. Each person has the right and the responsibility to steer their own course through life.
Through the use of reason and conscience, we can perceive morality, defined as the principles of behavior which produce the greatest happiness and the least suffering both now and in the future. Morality is not dependent on personal opinion or societal prejudice, but is objective and universal and is accessible to every intelligent being. We should, to the best of our ability, obey these principles and be good to each other.
Human beings possess fundamental rights and freedoms upon which no one may infringe. Among these are freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to privacy, the right to an education, the right to live in peace and safety, and the right to seek happiness.
There is a world that exists independently of us, which is not altered by will alone, but which we can learn about and come to understand and control.
Only through reason and the scientific method can we hope to learn how the world works. No other method of gaining knowledge is reliable and all claims to knowledge not gained through this method should be considered suspect.
The free human intelligence is a thing of awesome power, and has the right to travel and explore wherever it desires to go. No reason can ever justify the censorship or suppression of ideas.
The only ethical form of government is democracy. Every society has both the right and the obligation to revolt against and overthrow any other system.
The purpose of government is to establish justice, insure peace, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to all its citizens. Any government that does not speak for all its citizens equally or that ignores the needs of its most needy members deserves to be removed from power at once.
Wealth and power can only be a means to an end and never an end in themselves.
Throughout history, human beings have created a vast number of religious belief systems, all of which describe a supernatural world beyond our own. There is no good evidence in favor of any of these belief systems and no reason to consider any of them to be true. Supernaturalism and superstition have never done anything more than harm us, turn us against each other and hold us back. The effort and resources we pour into religion should instead be used for the benefit of all our fellow human beings.
And finally, I affirm that despite all our flaws and follies, despite all the darkness and madness in our past, and despite the forces of ignorance and hatred that beset us as never before, there is and will always be hope. We human beings have undreamed-of potential which we are only just beginning to touch on, and as long as people of courage and principle are willing to stand and defend what is right, we can create for ourselves and our descendants a future of bright light and clear air, a better world where we have at last achieved the good it was always in our power to bring about.
Madison's original proposal for a bill of rights provision concerning religion read: ''The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretence, infringed.''
The language was altered in the House to read: ''Congress shall make no law establishing religion, or to prevent the free exercise thereof, or to infringe the rights of conscience.''
In the Senate, the section adopted read: ''Congress shall make no law establishing articles of faith, or a mode of worship, or prohibiting the free exercise of religion"
The ten commandments are a RELIGIOUS document.
Displaying them in a courtroom infringes on my rights of conscience and MY free exercise of religion.
The printing on the money, the pledge and the songs came AFTER the constitution and the declaration of independance.
And we don't swear on a Bible in court any more.
But the separation of Church and state is what it's al about, but it is twisted by such things as displaying the ten commandments.
Isn't that offensive to the beliefs of a Hindi? THAT"S the point I've been making. If you're going to separate church and state, you have to do it across the board, not make eceptions for the biblical god.
Actually by saying "God" you violate the litteral meaning of the first ammendment, gnome.
It is a Biblical God that you referred to, not a morse god, an egyptian god, or any other. List them all if you're going to list one.
And the Posting of the ten commandments, though it does not infringe on YOUR rights, it certainly would offend a budist, a taoist, or all those that worship NO god.
and I think it was Bev that made the best point. If the 10cs were displayed along side the Book of the Dead or the Eddas, as a historical collection, it would be a different thing all together.
j_goose71 Forum Posts (849)
RE: My America
I'd like to make note that the believers were the ones to flip this away from the law.Not once have I stated my personal beliefs on faith. Just facts and timelines. And opnions on religious freedom.
Makes for a pretty good social sheeple experiment.
Personal beliefs DO NOT belong in a courtroom. The LAW does.
If not, we let the wrong people go and imprison the innocent based on a judges' beliefs. Not statutes and codes.