Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1958-06-12
Ten Commandments

ger has missed the entire point
of the argument. The Ten Com
mandments are the religious laws
that governed the ancient He
brews and today represent a basic
religious teaching OF Christian
ity. Under the principle of the
separation of church and state
the public schools are not allowed
TO propagate any religious teach
ing.
In 1884, James Madison, who
later became the fourth president
of the United States, advanced
the following arguments against
a state-supported church in an
essay entitled Memorial and
Remonstrance Against Religious
Assessments las stated by w. o.
Douglas in can Almanac of Lib
ertyD:
Those who do not believe are
taxed for the support of those
who do"
An established clergy is al
ways a convenient aid to rul-
ers who want to subvert the
liberties of citizens"
Centuries of the legal estab-
lishment of a church produced
pride and Incidence in the cler-
gy, ignorance and servility in
the people, superstition, bigot-
ry, and persecution in both"
IF government can establish
Christianity to the exclusion of
all other religions, it can later
establish one sect to the exclu-
sion of the rest or force a citi-
zen to support such sect as it
may choose"
Strong words, these, but Mr..
Madison did not pick these argu-
ments out of thin air. They are
documented by history. If Mr..
Yinger will read some of the
early history of America and the
history of some European coun-
tries of any age, including cur
rent history, he should have no
seeing the reason for Mr..
Madison's arguments.
/ heard an argument on this
very subject some years ago. 1t
went something like this:
Mr.. A. = They should post the
Ten Commandments in schools.
1t certainly can't do any harm.
Mr.. B. - But this is against
the principle of the separation
of church and state. Why not
post a simple version of our ma
TONS laws on the basic prin-
ciples of conduct?
Mr.. A. Who cares about
principles where religion is.
concerned? Our laws are too
complicated for the children to
understand, anyway.
Mr.. B. - A simple version of
our laws would be just as easily
understood as the Ten Com
mandments and would cover
some of the same points, too.
Mr.. A. / still think they
should post the Ten Command
ments in schools. A little reli-
gion won't hurt these children.
Mr.. B. - l think that most
Americans believe that the reli-
gion a child is taught is the
concern of his parents and not
the government.
Mr.. A. = You know as well as
1 do that some parents do not
teach their children the Ten
Commandments or any reli-
gion.
Mr.. B. - Oh, see. You be-
lieve that parents should be
made to teach their children
some particular religion or that
we should teach certain parts
of it in school just in case the
parents don't.
Mr.. A. - Sure, we should. We
shouldn't let our children grow
up to be ignorant little atheists.
They should all be made to go
to church on Sunday, too.
Mr.. B. - But some people be-
lieve that Saturday, not Sun
day, is the correct day of wor-
ship, and some people do not
go to church at any time.
Mr.. A. = Why fool around with
a few people. The majority
rules here. Make them all go
to church on Sunday.
Mr.. B. - The majority rules
here is correct, Mr.. A., but
only within the framework of
the Constitution of the United
States. The Constitution was
written to protect the people
from the tyranny of any gov
eminent. The most powerful
force in the American govern
ment is the majority and major
tiles have produced tyrannical
governments before = look at
the French Revolution.
Mr.. A. - Who cares about the
French Revolution? Religious
teaching will not harm anyone.
Religion is good.
Mr.. B. - suggest that you
read a little history.