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Jason Johnson

A lifelong political junkie, Jason caught the political bug as a fifth grader after meeting George Allen in 1993. Since then he has studied political science at both the undergraduate and graduate level. When not perusing the blogs or volunteering for conservative Republicans, Jason enjoys cheering on his beloved Virginia Tech Hokies and spending time at his Bedford County home.

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6 Responses to "Developing: Giles County Removes Ten Commandments from School Displays UPDATE: The Parties Respond"

1. 

   John Vega February 22, 2011 14:00 pm

   Which Ten Commandments were posted; the Ritual Decalogue or the Ethical Decalogue? I suppose posting the Ritual Decalogue (Exodus 34:11-27) would be a bit strange, but at least entertaining. The students might learn something.

   Why wouldn’t the Board post the Two Commandments (Matthew 22:37-40) instead? They did come from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself; tough to question their authenticity.

2. 

   Brian Kirwin February 22, 2011 14:04 pm

   Because government always goes for the higher number

3. 

   Brian Schoeneman February 22, 2011 14:35 pm

   Way to scoop the MSM on this one, Jason!

4. 

   I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing February 22, 2011 21:29 pm

   [...] Bearing Drift: Developing: Giles County Removes Ten Commandments from School Displays UPDATE: The Parties Respond [...]

5. 

   Jason Johnson February 23, 2011 12:50 pm

   John: I hate to admit that I didn’t appreciate the difference between the two until I read your comment, so thanks for making me do a little research. The Giles County School Board posted the Ethical Decalogue. Interesting idea though about posting Jesus’ two commandments, however I suspect that would make a much more contentious issue than the original “Big Ten” for two reasons: first, by posting the specific words of Jesus, the school board will cede all pretence to religious objectivity and second, the Ten Commandments appears to have had at least some influence on early American lawmakers (it’s less clear how influential Jesus’ two commandments from Matthew were), thus complicating the “historical documents” defense.

   Brian K.: Haha excellent point (it took me a few minutes to catch that!).

   Brian S.: Thanks, I wish I could take credit for this discovery, but it was brought to my attention by a friend with close ties to the county. Nonetheless it does reflect how slow the MSM operates, doesn’t it?

6. 

   John Vega February 25, 2011 14:12 pm

   Good point on the historical documents defense; if the Ten Commandments were featured alongside the Napoleonic Code, the Code of Hammurabi, and the U.S. Constitution, that would be both interesting and educational.

   That said, the irony of Christians fighting for the right to display Hebrew commandments and ignoring the words of Jesus himself has always puzzled me,a s this practice predates the historical documents defense.

   My solution is that Jesus’s two commandments are but one; and that commandment is love. I’m not alone in this conclusion, it is fairly standard theology 101. A typical reference can be found here:

   http://martoma.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/basics-of-christian-faith-part-2/
   “The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments,” Jesus said. The Ten Commandments, the Levitical and Rabbinical laws and commentaries, rituals of purification and worship – Jesus boiled it all down to love.”

   So, my solution would be a big statue that says the word “love,” perhaps using the 2×2 arrangement of the letters popularized in Philadelphia. It would be very difficult for anyone to argue against the word “love,” so the point would still be made and disputes avoided.