The New York Times reported that the Texas legislature did not pass the bill to require the posting of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. It had already passed in the State Senate, but was not taken to a vote in the House, which meant it died. Maybe the theocrats will bring it back next time.
A push to inject religion into public schools across Texas faltered on Tuesday after the State House failed to pass a contentious bill that would have required the Ten Commandments to be displayed prominently in every classroom.
The measure was part of an effort by conservative Republicans in the Legislature to expand the reach of religion into the daily life of public schools. In recent weeks, both chambers passed versions of a bill to allow school districts to hire religious chaplains in place of licensed counselors.
But the Ten Commandments legislation, which passed the State Senate last month, remained pending before the Texas House until Tuesday, the final day to approve bills before the session ends next Monday. Time expired before the legislation could receive a vote.
The bills appeared aimed at testing the openness of the conservative majority on the Supreme Court to re-examining the legal boundaries of religion in public education. The court sided last year with a Washington State football coach, Joseph Kennedy, in a dispute over his prayers with players at the 50-yard line, saying he had a constitutional right to do so…
“Forcing public schools to display the Ten Commandments is part of the Christian Nationalist crusade to compel all of us to live by their beliefs,” said Rachel Laser, the president and chief executive of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit advocacy group. She pointed to new laws in Idaho and Kentucky permitting public school employees to pray in front of students, and a bill in Missouri allowing elective classes on the Bible. “It’s not just in Texas,” she said.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Kennedy case was miles from this, though it was awful on its own.
So there are a few possible explanations for this: 1) It was a trial balloon that was never meant to succeed, but rather to see lefties squirm (doubtful); 2) It was serious but was stopped by leadership; 3) There weren’t the votes in the House to begin with; 4) It was a statement.
My guess, anyway.
It would have been a bit embarrassing for the proponents for kids to be reading:
For example
Sixth:
Thou shalt not kill- To ensure this they would have pass strict gun control laws
Seventh:
Thou shalt not commit adultery – cough- Donald Trump- cough
Ninth:
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour – Presidential Election claims; republican politics in general; re-writing history.
No, The Ten Commandments is far too socialist a document to have up in schools and influencing innocent, impressionable young minds.
lol
This is off topic but should be known. My mother said that a priest was after her. So this has been going on for a LONG time. [My mother died in 2003]
………………………………………
Hundreds of Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused thousands of children, AG finds
May 23, 2023
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ attorney general released the results of a sweeping investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Tuesday, saying investigators found that 451 clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950 — far more than the 103 individuals the church had named when the state review began in 2018
In a statement released Tuesday, The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests called the report “stunning” but emphasized that the numbers of victims and abusers cited by state investigators are likely undercounted.
“There is no questioning the facts of the report — until 2018 when the investigation began, hierarchs in every Illinois diocese kept known abusers under wraps, declined to include them on their accused lists, and refused to acknowledge the truth that survivors of abuse who came forward to make a report shared with them,” the statement said. It is to us, in a word, disgusting that these supposed shepherds would lie so blatantly.”…
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hundreds-of-catholic-clergy-in-illinois-sexually-abused-thousands-of-children-ag-finds
Freedom of thought, freedom of belief, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and the freedom to read books of our choice are among our most precious human rights. And the freedom from having other people’s religion and beliefs imposed upon us is among our basic human rights as a free people. That is why they were placed first in the Bill of Rights.
When we allow others to impose their religion and beliefs upon us we cease to be a free people. May I again quote from my favorite Supreme Court Opinion issued in the year that I graduated from high school.
“The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.” Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District; U.S. Supreme Court (1969), (quoting Justice Brennan in Keyishian v. Board of Regents.
“The classroom is peculiarly the ‘marketplace of ideas.’ The nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to that robust exchange of ideas which discovers truth ‘out of a multiple of tongues, (rather) than through any kind of authoritative selection.”
Our founders wisely separated church and state. And the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process clause protects our liberty interest in freedom of thought, freedom of belief and freedom of religion.
We do not give up those rights “when we cross the school house gates.” Nor do our children.
So moving, Rich!!! Thanks for sharing this!!!!
Well said, Rich!
It’s curious that media didn’t report what Joseph Kennedy’s religious sect was?
No…and yes. This would have been a good “class discuss” exercise.
“Common good”- we should have guessed that right wing Catholics would transform “common” to mean Catholic and that “good” is taxpayers funding the sect.
Notre Dame’s Catholic Schools and the Common Good (3-15-2023)- The Case for Parental Choice-God, Family and Educational Liberty
Neoliberal John Podesta is part of the Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. He’s a grad of Georgetown and a visiting professor of law there.
If separating church and state is a goal, a border wall around D.C.’s Georgetown and Catholic University of America, is a good starting point.
Let’s be clear about how ancient this stuff is. Some scholars place the 10 Commandments at between the 16th and 13th centuries BCE. Exodus and Deuteronomy contain materials that are much older but probably took their current form sometime around 600 BCE. So this stuff is almost as old as the first commitment of the Homeric poems to writing.
The Old Testament–a library of books compiled over a period of 1,500 years and then translated and retold in various combinations and forms for another two thousand years, embodies the beliefs of the primitive people who created it–a nomadic pastoralist people who then went through the Agricultural Revolution of the Neolithic. In particular, the OT holds up as the model of social and political governance the absolute and never-to-be-question authority of an all-powerful father figure (and of kings and prophets who are the representatives of that autocratic father figure here on earth) and the corresponding absolute authority of the father in the family. Kierkegaard was spot on (and crazy as a loon) to identify as its key myth that of Abraham and Isaac, with its message of the necessity of ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE (see his book Fear and Trembling). And its founding myth–that of Adam and Eve in the Garden–is about this theme as well–the consequences of disobeying absolute authority. The socio-political belief system presented in the OT is so inclined toward violence that whole schools of Christian thought in the 2nd century–those whom we refer to now as Gnostic–held that there were TWO Gods–the evil, violent, authoritarian Rex Mundi of the Old Testament who created this fallen world–and the good guy God of the New Testament, who offered pie in the sky when you die IF you followed certain secret rituals, the knowledge of which was Gnosis.
So, here’s the deal. Old Testament values and democracy are COMPLETELY ANTITHETICAL. This is a case of absolute authority vested in a single ruler who issues absolutist laws for behavior, with violation of any of hundreds of these punishable by death, versus democracy and pluralism.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. –Matt 6:24, KJV
Democracy and fundamentalist Christianity of the evangelical or Opus Dei varieties are completely incompatible.
You MUST follow what the Bible says, even if it means being a good slave to a mean master, stoning someone to death or cutting off a hand.
(1 Peter 2:18)
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.
(Deuteronomy 25:11–12)
The actual two verses read this way:
If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
(Deuteronomy 22:20–21)
What do you do if your daughter loses her virginity before marriage? Be careful how you answer—because this is what the Bible clearly says:
If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.
Exactly, Carol. The Southerners in the antebellum South found plenty of support in the Bible for slavery. Did not have to look hard to find it.
And not that the old Mosaic law forbade mothers having sexual relations with their sons and called for her to die if she did so but was completely silent with regard to fathers and their daughters, which is in keeping with the story of Lot and his children. Horrific stuff. Extraordinarily primitive. Abhorrent to our sensibilities.
But the infallible word of God. ROFLMAO!
How has belief in this stuff persisted? It’s so OBVIOUSLY repugnant and idiotic. There is one inescapable conclusion: A lot of people aren’t very bright, aren’t capable of the slightest bit of critical thought.
Quote: A lot of people aren’t very bright, aren’t capable of the slightest bit of critical thought.
Senator Bernie Sanders says this:
The hypocrisy of these Republicans is truly breathtaking. While they are “deeply concerned” about the deficit and national debt, they are pushing for the complete repeal of the estate tax which amounts to a $1.8 trillion tax break for a handful of multi-billionaires, a $3.5 trillion extension of Trump’s tax breaks and a massive increase in the $858 billion Pentagon budget. They would rather see children go hungry and lack health care than demand that the 1% pay their fair share of taxes.
Defaulting on our national debt would have catastrophic consequences. Moody’s has estimated that if we do not raise the national debt ceiling, over seven million Americans could lose their jobs, the unemployment rate would climb to more than eight percent, interest rates on mortgages and credit cards would skyrocket, and Americans would lose some $10 trillion in household wealth.
The pugs would be fine with this. They would blame it on Biden.
Seniors won’t receive their social security checks.
cx: And note that. . .
The Old Testament is about “an eye for an eye,” while The New Testament is more about “turning the other cheek” to aggression and a large dose of forgiveness.
Evidently the Christian Nationalist movement believes in an angry hateful vengeful “God. ”
@Bob “The Legend” — yeppers, I don’t claim to be know it all, but when people say, “Follow the Bible,” I often say, “Uh, which Testament, new or old.” Like you stated, the Old Testament is “rough.” Couple of thoughts on not only my ignorance, but others…I used to listen to “God Talk,” and a lady called in and told the host, “…it says in the Bible…it says in the Bible.” The host said, “Mam, where in the Bible?” They went on and on until he finally said, “It’s not in the Bible.” She swore it was because someone told her, but never read it for herself. The “cherry picking” of scripture. I tried to read and study the “Anchor Point” books to learn, but I did not have enough time because it would take me 24/7 to absorb the information and try to comprehend what it all meant. Thanks for educating, Mr. Shepherd, again. And, just in this blog, religion has people riled up, eh? and just for grins, the first “written word of God” that I found was Hebrew, Aramaic, and then to Greek.
The Bible is not a book. It’s a library. A vast, weird, complicated, contradictory library compiled and edited from previous sources, many of them outside and predating the Judeo-Christian traditions, over many thousands of years.
And, oh the scrolls! I have a book called “God’s Secretaries” discussing who decided to canonize the Bible. So, again, you are soooo right. Also, I watched an entire documentary on Hebrew scribes (or the Rabbis) who spend countless hours decoding each pen stroke of what was written. If my old brain recalls correctly, each stroke of the pen equates to a numeric value that equates to some meaning. And as my Rabbi friend told me, “Originally Hebrew, then when there was no word for what God had said, man had to come up with a word that would be “close enough.” It’s like the movie “Inception’ with Leonardo DiCaprio, so many levels of study.
Indeed!!!!!! xoxoxoxo
You need to quit this “Legend” stuff. It goes straight to his head. The consequences could be deadly in Florida today. He might even be confident enough to express his opinions in public. Who knows where that will lead? Do you really want that on your conscience? 🧐
I sleep well at night. I just think “the legend” refers to his explanatory listings that point me in a direction to learn, think, and study. Peace out.
Bob Shepherd is a polymath and a legend, in my eyes.
@Diane, thank you. Religion really gets people going, eh?
That’s why it’s best to avoid religion altogether.
Gene Lyons aptly described the sate of affairs of modern (and ancient) religion: “My god is red hot, your god is doodly-squat.”
Exactly! But, this comes to mind and knowing how too many people take so much of scripture literally, i.e., https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/bible-verses-like_Isaiah-13-6/ and https://biblia.com/bible/esv/psalm/137/9 — your post spot on from my observations.
Yuck. Gruesome.
Indeed. Religion is a hot topic and very divisive. And we have not yet heard from our resident atheist.
The Old Testament is essentially a PR piece for a mass murderer.
I often think of that senile reader of teleprompters Ronald Reagan saying, years ago, “They are good, god-fearing people just like us.” He was referring to the Taliban of Afghanistan, with whom we were then allied in their fight against Russian invaders.
It has always alternately amused and horrified me that the Christian nationalist reich-wing in the United States is so vehemently Islamophobic and paints every Muslim as an extremist given that the most extreme of the jihadists are IDENTICAL in their beliefs and in their ideals of governance to the fundamentalist Christians. Can you tell the difference? I can’t. The Taliban morality police and DeSatan’s jackbooted thugs ready to toss library books and arrest drag queens–what’s the difference?
In both cases, we have adherents to ancient, superstitious belief systems rooted in absolute obedience to absolute authority and in denial of modernity, including equal rights for women and people of various faiths, religious tolerance, and democracy,
@Bob — Once again, if people would study, they will find distinct parallels. I mean, I did. And the entire Isis thing is another deep read. Here’s something more crazy, one of my former students ended up with Isis. Once again, lost soul, easily manipulated, angry, and…
Prayer of Inanna
I went there [to the Underworld] of my own free will.
I went there in my finest gown,
With my rarest jewels
With my Queen of Heaven crown,
In the Underworld
At each of the Seven Gates
I was stripped Seven times
Of all I thought I was
Till I stood bare in who I really am.
That’s an ancient Sumerian prayer. Chilling, huh?
A wonderful poem. Makes you think of all the transitory things we value.
Indeed!
I love the Innana Prayer, Bob! To me it means that when you go to the deepest place of who you are (which is dark and scary as the ego “sees” it), you are stripped of everything you THINK you are (ego) and experience your true being which paradoxically you know and don’t know. Lovely!
@ Bob — With that poem, you got me reading, “Paradise Lost” and “Dante’s Inferno.”
Good thing it was not taken
to a vote.
Wouldn’t want the sanctity
of grammar rules weighed.
Was godspeak the first language?
When were the grammar rules
concocted?
The history of the development of grammars is a fascinating one. Grammars were cultural latecomers.
Godspeak: In the ancient hydrophilic cultures (the ones that depended upon social organization sufficient to do large-scale irrigation), the city states were always built around a central human-made mountain, a ziggurat or other such structure, along with its associated buildings, that served as a centralized oracle and source of command, as home of the god-king, as the centralized granary where the taxes (in grain) were stored, and lodging for the sycophants and servants and enforces of command and control–the priests and scribes and warriors. The mountain from which the God spoke. Patriarchal religion has always served this purpose of centralized command and control.
The emergence of this system of centralized patriarchal command and control via a state religion is synonymous with the emergence of “civilization.” It took a LONG, LONG time to break free of this. We still haven’t entirely. There are those who have been trying to drive us back there ever since.
Our Founders would turn over in their graves if they were around to see this idiocy even attempted by the Texas cultists. Keep religion separate from any form of government!!!!! Every free-thinking person needs to fight any attempt to inculcate religion into any aspect of our government.