Posted on AL.com on February 25, 2014 at 7:24 PM, updated February 25, 2014 at 7:38 PM
Three cheers for Kyle Whitmire’s coverage of the debate in the Alabama House on the bill to enable Alabamians to hang the Ten Commandments in public buildings.
If the posted comments were representative of the discussion, the level of debate was fully up to what you expect from the Alabama House; sadly uninformed, pandering and without relevance to the daily lives of Alabamians.
Rep. DuWayne Bridges in particular seemed unfamiliar with the Ten Commandments even though he sponsored the bill, so I thought I’d give him the reference to the Ten Commandments, and to make some suggestions of some other passages to read.
Perhaps our legislators can stop standing on their Bibles long enough to open them and read the referenced texts.
The Ten Commandments are in Exodus 20: 2-17 (Rep. Bridges - crossing the Red Sea is in Exodus 14). Our House members should pay particular attention to the 9th Commandment. A modern interpretation would be “don’t lie”. I’m sure there are some others they may need an introduction to as well.
The Ten Commandments are only a small portion of the rules that God gave the Israelites. Rep. Bridges should consider amending his bill to include posting passages of Leviticus 13-15 in Alabama health education classrooms. It covers the laws concerning skin diseases and bodily discharges.
The Bible goes into some details about what types of discharges are unclean. Since Exodus and Leviticus were written almost 3500 years ago, nothing was included about unclean discharges from the Alabama legislature. We now call that legislation.
OK, enough snarking. Here are a few passages that I do wish our legislators were familiar with:
Malachi 3:5
has several lessons for the legislature. Among those, God promises
harsh judgment on those who oppress workers with unfair wages. I hope
our legislators understand that paying the minimum required by law and
what’s fair are not necessarily the same thing.
I haven’t heard that our Republican-dominated legislature is in any hurry to talk about the minimum wage, but when they are, guidance is available.
Malachi also calls us to treat the immigrant fairly. HB 56 is Alabama’s version of fair. Is it yours? Jesus himself in Matthew 25 tells us to welcome the stranger. What could be stranger than our legislature being welcoming?
While the legislature considers solutions to the mismanagement of Tutwiler prison, they should consider the Bible's consideration for the prisoner. Passages in Hebrews 13, Matthew 25 have something to say about that, but Psalm 69:33 gives them some of the best support in finding a humane solution: “For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners”.
Would Matthew 25:31-46 lead our leaders into reconsidering their refusal to expand Medicaid? Probably not, and I know that their answer is that Jesus did not specify that government be involved when he told us to take care of the sick. That’s true, he just told us to do it. How well are we succeeding? Are emergency rooms as primary care and medical bankruptcies part of God’s plan? If so, God is not very cost efficient or effective.
The Bible also has warnings for our good very publicly church attending public leaders. In Amos 5:21-24 God is telling the Israelites that he does not accept their worship because they do not practice justice to all the people. Isaiah 1 repeats this message (as do most of the other books of the prophets). In other words, you can be a good church going person, but if you don’t do the right thing it doesn’t matter. Jesus seconds that motion in Matthew 6:21-23.
This column is not a support for an Alabama theocracy. I beleive strongly in the separation of church and state. Whenever in history the two have become entwined, both have, in some way been corrupted. Rather it is a call for our legislators to follow one other passage of scripture, Matthew 6: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven”.
Paraphrased in modern Alabama terms, this chapter says don’t make public displays of your religion by praying in public, by proposing bills supporting public religious displays, or by putting carving the Commandments into a large rock that you piously display. Just do the right thing.
Christianity survived assault by the Roman Empire. It survived the dark ages and the excesses of the Crusades. Communism could not trample it. It will also survive the buffoonery of the Alabama legislature. It’s just too bad that it has to.
If the posted comments were representative of the discussion, the level of debate was fully up to what you expect from the Alabama House; sadly uninformed, pandering and without relevance to the daily lives of Alabamians.
Rep. DuWayne Bridges in particular seemed unfamiliar with the Ten Commandments even though he sponsored the bill, so I thought I’d give him the reference to the Ten Commandments, and to make some suggestions of some other passages to read.
Perhaps our legislators can stop standing on their Bibles long enough to open them and read the referenced texts.
The Ten Commandments are in Exodus 20: 2-17 (Rep. Bridges - crossing the Red Sea is in Exodus 14). Our House members should pay particular attention to the 9th Commandment. A modern interpretation would be “don’t lie”. I’m sure there are some others they may need an introduction to as well.
The Ten Commandments are only a small portion of the rules that God gave the Israelites. Rep. Bridges should consider amending his bill to include posting passages of Leviticus 13-15 in Alabama health education classrooms. It covers the laws concerning skin diseases and bodily discharges.
The Bible goes into some details about what types of discharges are unclean. Since Exodus and Leviticus were written almost 3500 years ago, nothing was included about unclean discharges from the Alabama legislature. We now call that legislation.
OK, enough snarking. Here are a few passages that I do wish our legislators were familiar with:
Exodus
22:25-27 prohibits the charging of interest on loans. They should keep
this in mind when they debate the payday loan bill. I’m not suggesting
that the House outlaw interest, but a little perspective as to what’s
fair would be helpful.
Exodus
22:25-27 prohibits the charging of interest on loans. They should keep
this in mind when they debate the payday loan bill.
I haven’t heard that our Republican-dominated legislature is in any hurry to talk about the minimum wage, but when they are, guidance is available.
Malachi also calls us to treat the immigrant fairly. HB 56 is Alabama’s version of fair. Is it yours? Jesus himself in Matthew 25 tells us to welcome the stranger. What could be stranger than our legislature being welcoming?
While the legislature considers solutions to the mismanagement of Tutwiler prison, they should consider the Bible's consideration for the prisoner. Passages in Hebrews 13, Matthew 25 have something to say about that, but Psalm 69:33 gives them some of the best support in finding a humane solution: “For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners”.
Would Matthew 25:31-46 lead our leaders into reconsidering their refusal to expand Medicaid? Probably not, and I know that their answer is that Jesus did not specify that government be involved when he told us to take care of the sick. That’s true, he just told us to do it. How well are we succeeding? Are emergency rooms as primary care and medical bankruptcies part of God’s plan? If so, God is not very cost efficient or effective.
The Bible also has warnings for our good very publicly church attending public leaders. In Amos 5:21-24 God is telling the Israelites that he does not accept their worship because they do not practice justice to all the people. Isaiah 1 repeats this message (as do most of the other books of the prophets). In other words, you can be a good church going person, but if you don’t do the right thing it doesn’t matter. Jesus seconds that motion in Matthew 6:21-23.
This column is not a support for an Alabama theocracy. I beleive strongly in the separation of church and state. Whenever in history the two have become entwined, both have, in some way been corrupted. Rather it is a call for our legislators to follow one other passage of scripture, Matthew 6: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven”.
Paraphrased in modern Alabama terms, this chapter says don’t make public displays of your religion by praying in public, by proposing bills supporting public religious displays, or by putting carving the Commandments into a large rock that you piously display. Just do the right thing.
Christianity survived assault by the Roman Empire. It survived the dark ages and the excesses of the Crusades. Communism could not trample it. It will also survive the buffoonery of the Alabama legislature. It’s just too bad that it has to.
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