There is no evidence what-so-ever to support the claim posting the Ten Commandments in the public school classrooms accomplishes anything worthwhile. These movements are all about conservative Christians attempting to mark their territory in the public schools that are supported by everyoneβs tax dollars. Itβs all about attempting to institutionalize the sense of Christian privilege. One of the ironies that goes sailing right over their Christian heads is that eight of the Commandments would be unconstitutional should anyone try writing them into law.
Of course not. All that law amounts to (outside of opening up the opportunity to frustrate itself!) is Christian territory-marking. Outside of that, it has neither functionality nor practical value.
I keep thinking about school shootings like the one in Uvalde, TX where posting a 10 C likeness would have done nothing to protect anyone. Even armed Texas policeβ¦real thingsβ¦failed to prevent that tragedy.
This is what happens when legislators are more invested in APPEARANCE than they are in SUBSTANCE. The whole sizzle-versus-steak thing was tiresome 10 squares back, and I am somewhat astonished that Texas governmental officials haven't learned from their mistake.
These three women are doing what everyone who believes in the separation of church and state should be doing: using conservative Christianityβs laws written to protect conservative Christians AGAINST conservative Christians.
Texas lets people use vouchers to attend private, presumably Christian schools. Fine: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and especially atheists should be creating their own private schools and letting people use vouchers to attend the schools. When Texas objects, we simply tell them that they are impinging on our religious freedom.
The Texas legislature demands that all schools and all classrooms have pictures of the 10 Commandments (in King Jamesβ English) posted in prominent places. Iβm aware of how religion influences culture, and vice versa. We could have posters of Shema YβIsrael, the first Surah the Quran, passages from the Bhagavad Gita, the Sikh Adi Granth, and especially atheist philosophers (Iβd recommend Bertrand Russell for the beauty and depth of his writing). When Christian conservatives object β and they will β then we turn around and say that theyβre impinging on our religious freedom.
Weβre going to win this argument by using Christian conservativesβ laws right back on them, against them.
Do you ever read your bible? These are not, repeat NOT, the actual Ten Commandments. I'd rather see THOSE go up. Endless entertainment in getting people to follow the REAL 10 C.
I lived in Austin, Texas for by far most of my life. I can tell you that the prostitutes on the south and east side of Austin do a booming business when the Texas legislature is in town!
Texas pays lip service (I know: bad choice of words!) to the commandment of βnot committing adulteryβ). Look at the Republican candidate for Senate.
Texas Republicans are only too happy to dump their parents and nursing homes β and walk away, rarely to see their parents again.
Christians don't even want religious liberty to apply to other Christians. They are forever battling each other to be Top Dog (or Top God, in their case).
45,000 sects of the same religion reveals just how fractured they are and can't even agree with one another even as they want us to agree with them.
I donβt even think itβs one religion. I refer to the Christian religions (and boy does that annoy some folks at CP!). A religion that believes god sanctifies same sex marriage and a religion that believes god punishes homosexuality for all eternity canβt be the same religion. Heck, they might not even have the same god.
As most of us understand, "religious liberty" is code for Christian promotion. I hate the disingenuousness of it and the lie by omission. If the Texas state government really thought that everyone was on board with their attempt to force Christianity over all other religions, why don't they just come out and say that? Why do they have to reframe it in neutral terms?
They reframe it in neutral terms because they know they are in the wrong. They just hope to get enough of their horseshit passed so that by the time they make Christianity mandatory there will be no way left to fight.
No shit. I wonder if Tex-ass courts rule that the 10c posters are indeed promoting a Christian majority by the state, will there then be a federal suit to challenge them again? Additional findings and all.
Remember the favorite term of Republicans a few decades ago? "Unfunded mandates." Well, it would be hard to find a better example of "ordering people to acquire something for which they also have to pay.
β Theyβre using the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act to make their argument. That law, passed in 1999, says the government canβt substantially burden someoneβs free exercise of religion. Theyβre also citing the more recently passed βParental Rights Amendment,β which gives parents the right to control their kidsβ upbringing.β
NOW, DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING REGARDING STATE LAWS AND TRANSGENDER AND GAY KIDS! !NOW!
there is going to be a terrible damn mess to clean up when these nationalist-Christiansβ letβs just call themNat-Cβs and be done with itβ are out of power. And again, we need an explicitly defined unambiguous separation of church and state at every level of government.
Orbon and Poland had the Catholic Church behind them. Russia has the Orthodox Church behind it. Israel has the orthodox Jews behind it. And of course, most of the Muslim world has Islam behind it.
The conservative love of power and money gives them motivation and strength. But it ought to do the same thing for people who want to be free of people stuck in a culture and worldview that havenβt existed for centuries, and which has no place in a modern world.
Evangelical Christianity has always been morally and spiritually bankrupt. The very fact that they support Paxton and Trump says simply that morality only matters when they can enforce it on other people. Other peopleβs money only matters when it actually is other peopleβs money and not theirs. Parental rights matter only when you donβt like what other parents choose for their children. Freedom of religion is for me, but you have the freedom to follow my religion. β give away all that you have and follow meβ is what Jesus said. Power and money hungry evangelicals say βgive me all that you have and follow Jesus.β
Emerson said:β "Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary."
I hope we can take our country back. The world hopes so too, because they are in danger of the same thing.
Is this a trick question? Every conservative lower court judge, and the 5th circuit, and SCOTUS, will all declare that a 10C poster in classrooms is consistent with everyone's religious freedom.
They really don't care about the opinions or beliefs of others.
A better strategy would be to sue for having tenets of other beliefs systems posted alongside the King James Ten Commandments. Paper the walls with ethical guidance from across the entire Human spectrum. This would give the students the opportunity to compare and contrast various belief systems, in other words: to be Educated about Religion. All this public parental squabbling isnβt showing them *anything* good.
My suggestion for the Atheist Tenet β βWho Needs God? Be Good For Goodnessβs Sake.β
They are relying on "historical tradition" to place the 10cs. Perhaps we should point out that Jefferson owned a Quran and there were likely Muslims fighting against the British during the revolution to insist on the Five Pillars of Islam posted right next to the 10cs. How fast would they backtrack?
Donβt forget that Christianβs have been accusing atheists of being satanists millennia before The Satanic Temple ever existed or came up the the 7 tenets. We will be accursed no matter what, TST just uses the accusations as weapons against them. Laughing at them.
Slap a little faux gold along the edges, and you've got the perfect decoration for the Oval Office, although it's unlikely its occupant will read anything that long.
Well I learned something today. I've long appreciated and understood many aspects of Hinduism, even named my kids after characters from the Mahabarata. But I thought Jainism was just another flavor among the multitude of Eastern religions. Wikipedia to the rescue. Lots of practices and beliefs, but nope, no creator. Just an uncreated, infinite universe. Love it.
The action these moms have taken may inspire others to step up as well. Trump and Abbot and their asshats want us to think we're helpless. It's time they learned that we AREN'T.
I think those moms are admirable as hell. THEY TOOK ACTION in support of their kids, and I'm thrilled that Hemant has given them the notice they deserve!
I'd like to see Texas xtians go after any 10 C displays (especially monuments) because it requires making graven images, which is strictly forbidden by their 2nd Commandment.
There is no evidence what-so-ever to support the claim posting the Ten Commandments in the public school classrooms accomplishes anything worthwhile. These movements are all about conservative Christians attempting to mark their territory in the public schools that are supported by everyoneβs tax dollars. Itβs all about attempting to institutionalize the sense of Christian privilege. One of the ironies that goes sailing right over their Christian heads is that eight of the Commandments would be unconstitutional should anyone try writing them into law.
It accomplishes social coercion to go along with the majority. Which is the point.
πβπππ ππ ππ ππ£ππππππ π€βππ‘-π π-ππ£ππ π‘π π π’πππππ‘ π‘βπ πππππ πππ π‘πππ π‘βπ πππ πΆππππππππππ‘π ππ π‘βπ ππ’ππππ π πβπππ ππππ π πππππ πππππππππ βππ πππ¦π‘βπππ π€πππ‘βπ€βπππ.
Of course not. All that law amounts to (outside of opening up the opportunity to frustrate itself!) is Christian territory-marking. Outside of that, it has neither functionality nor practical value.
I keep thinking about school shootings like the one in Uvalde, TX where posting a 10 C likeness would have done nothing to protect anyone. Even armed Texas policeβ¦real thingsβ¦failed to prevent that tragedy.
This is what happens when legislators are more invested in APPEARANCE than they are in SUBSTANCE. The whole sizzle-versus-steak thing was tiresome 10 squares back, and I am somewhat astonished that Texas governmental officials haven't learned from their mistake.
Donβt you know? Everything is bigger in Texas. The stupidity, in particular.
βStupid Texas Songβ
https://youtu.be/aPvLD7HSUDY?si=T0wbrvvTBaQ-H8jw
*NoGodz raises oversized beer mug*
That link didn't play for me, but this one does:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nN7txUSrgs
The lyrics to the song are here:
https://www.songlyrics.com/austin-lounge-lizards/stupid-texas-song-lyrics/
These three women are doing what everyone who believes in the separation of church and state should be doing: using conservative Christianityβs laws written to protect conservative Christians AGAINST conservative Christians.
Texas lets people use vouchers to attend private, presumably Christian schools. Fine: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and especially atheists should be creating their own private schools and letting people use vouchers to attend the schools. When Texas objects, we simply tell them that they are impinging on our religious freedom.
The Texas legislature demands that all schools and all classrooms have pictures of the 10 Commandments (in King Jamesβ English) posted in prominent places. Iβm aware of how religion influences culture, and vice versa. We could have posters of Shema YβIsrael, the first Surah the Quran, passages from the Bhagavad Gita, the Sikh Adi Granth, and especially atheist philosophers (Iβd recommend Bertrand Russell for the beauty and depth of his writing). When Christian conservatives object β and they will β then we turn around and say that theyβre impinging on our religious freedom.
Weβre going to win this argument by using Christian conservativesβ laws right back on them, against them.
You have clearly stated what my comment was to be about and you saved me a lot of time. Thank you.
Youβre certainly welcome! π
I would just like to see the Satanic Tenets put up next to the 10C.
To Texas lawmakers:
Do you ever read your bible? These are not, repeat NOT, the actual Ten Commandments. I'd rather see THOSE go up. Endless entertainment in getting people to follow the REAL 10 C.
I lived in Austin, Texas for by far most of my life. I can tell you that the prostitutes on the south and east side of Austin do a booming business when the Texas legislature is in town!
Texas pays lip service (I know: bad choice of words!) to the commandment of βnot committing adulteryβ). Look at the Republican candidate for Senate.
Texas Republicans are only too happy to dump their parents and nursing homes β and walk away, rarely to see their parents again.
You are asking them to read. Silly Nogodz.
Foolish of me, I know.
I love it. The moms are using the law AGAINST the law! Nothing like a little legal jujitsu to brighten your day!
Good, letβs use their weapons against them.
Jesus Judo.
Christians don't even want religious liberty to apply to other Christians. They are forever battling each other to be Top Dog (or Top God, in their case).
45,000 sects of the same religion reveals just how fractured they are and can't even agree with one another even as they want us to agree with them.
I donβt even think itβs one religion. I refer to the Christian religions (and boy does that annoy some folks at CP!). A religion that believes god sanctifies same sex marriage and a religion that believes god punishes homosexuality for all eternity canβt be the same religion. Heck, they might not even have the same god.
As most of us understand, "religious liberty" is code for Christian promotion. I hate the disingenuousness of it and the lie by omission. If the Texas state government really thought that everyone was on board with their attempt to force Christianity over all other religions, why don't they just come out and say that? Why do they have to reframe it in neutral terms?
They reframe it in neutral terms because they know they are in the wrong. They just hope to get enough of their horseshit passed so that by the time they make Christianity mandatory there will be no way left to fight.
πβππ¦ π ππ¦ π‘βπ πΆππππππππππ‘π ... π€πππ ππππ π π’ππ π‘βπππ ππππ π‘π βππππ π‘βπ ππππππππ‘ πΆβπππ π‘πππ πππππππ‘π¦ ππππππ‘ππ ππ¦ π‘βπ ππ‘ππ‘π.β
No shit. I wonder if Tex-ass courts rule that the 10c posters are indeed promoting a Christian majority by the state, will there then be a federal suit to challenge them again? Additional findings and all.
Remember the favorite term of Republicans a few decades ago? "Unfunded mandates." Well, it would be hard to find a better example of "ordering people to acquire something for which they also have to pay.
They only hate unfunded mandates when they aren't the ones mandating.
Iβve been waiting for someone to use these religious βfreedomβ and parental rights laws against the Christian territory marking. Love it!
β Theyβre using the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act to make their argument. That law, passed in 1999, says the government canβt substantially burden someoneβs free exercise of religion. Theyβre also citing the more recently passed βParental Rights Amendment,β which gives parents the right to control their kidsβ upbringing.β
NOW, DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING REGARDING STATE LAWS AND TRANSGENDER AND GAY KIDS! !NOW!
there is going to be a terrible damn mess to clean up when these nationalist-Christiansβ letβs just call themNat-Cβs and be done with itβ are out of power. And again, we need an explicitly defined unambiguous separation of church and state at every level of government.
Orbon and Poland had the Catholic Church behind them. Russia has the Orthodox Church behind it. Israel has the orthodox Jews behind it. And of course, most of the Muslim world has Islam behind it.
The conservative love of power and money gives them motivation and strength. But it ought to do the same thing for people who want to be free of people stuck in a culture and worldview that havenβt existed for centuries, and which has no place in a modern world.
Evangelical Christianity has always been morally and spiritually bankrupt. The very fact that they support Paxton and Trump says simply that morality only matters when they can enforce it on other people. Other peopleβs money only matters when it actually is other peopleβs money and not theirs. Parental rights matter only when you donβt like what other parents choose for their children. Freedom of religion is for me, but you have the freedom to follow my religion. β give away all that you have and follow meβ is what Jesus said. Power and money hungry evangelicals say βgive me all that you have and follow Jesus.β
Emerson said:β "Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary."
I hope we can take our country back. The world hopes so too, because they are in danger of the same thing.
Bravo!
π΄π‘ π πππ πππππ‘, π‘βπ πππ₯ππ πππ’ππ‘π πππ πππππ π‘π βππ£π π‘π ππππ’ππ ππ’π‘ ππ ππππππππ’π πππππππ ππππ¦ πππππππ π‘π πΆβπππ π‘ππππ ππ ππ£πππ¦πππ πππ π.
Is this a trick question? Every conservative lower court judge, and the 5th circuit, and SCOTUS, will all declare that a 10C poster in classrooms is consistent with everyone's religious freedom.
They really don't care about the opinions or beliefs of others.
A better strategy would be to sue for having tenets of other beliefs systems posted alongside the King James Ten Commandments. Paper the walls with ethical guidance from across the entire Human spectrum. This would give the students the opportunity to compare and contrast various belief systems, in other words: to be Educated about Religion. All this public parental squabbling isnβt showing them *anything* good.
My suggestion for the Atheist Tenet β βWho Needs God? Be Good For Goodnessβs Sake.β
They are relying on "historical tradition" to place the 10cs. Perhaps we should point out that Jefferson owned a Quran and there were likely Muslims fighting against the British during the revolution to insist on the Five Pillars of Islam posted right next to the 10cs. How fast would they backtrack?
Oh, we donβt want them to backtrack. We want the kids to have as much factual information as possible.
The Seven Fundamental Tenets of TST.
I wasnβt aware of those, but, looking them up, I can see why Christians view Atheists as Satanists.
Of course religionists see scientific reason, bodily autonomy and simple humanity as βof the Devil β’β
Among many other good ideasπ
Donβt forget that Christianβs have been accusing atheists of being satanists millennia before The Satanic Temple ever existed or came up the the 7 tenets. We will be accursed no matter what, TST just uses the accusations as weapons against them. Laughing at them.
They're mostly just scared little kids, so they'll latch onto any ad hominem they can think of.
Slap a little faux gold along the edges, and you've got the perfect decoration for the Oval Office, although it's unlikely its occupant will read anything that long.
Well, he's violated every one of those commandments himself, some of them repeatedly, especially coveting his neighbor's cattle.
And the lying bit. Don't forget the lying.
What was it? 35k during his first term?
Well I learned something today. I've long appreciated and understood many aspects of Hinduism, even named my kids after characters from the Mahabarata. But I thought Jainism was just another flavor among the multitude of Eastern religions. Wikipedia to the rescue. Lots of practices and beliefs, but nope, no creator. Just an uncreated, infinite universe. Love it.
/s/ Thank gawd for these brave and principled women
Sounds like Molly Ivins and Ann Richards. How Texas (and the rest of us) could use them now.
The action these moms have taken may inspire others to step up as well. Trump and Abbot and their asshats want us to think we're helpless. It's time they learned that we AREN'T.
I think those moms are admirable as hell. THEY TOOK ACTION in support of their kids, and I'm thrilled that Hemant has given them the notice they deserve!
I'd like to see Texas xtians go after any 10 C displays (especially monuments) because it requires making graven images, which is strictly forbidden by their 2nd Commandment.
Maybe we can get the conservative Catholics to complain about the Protestant numbering. Then Jews to complain about the Christian numbering.