Federal Judge Okays 8 of 10 Commandments

Court still orders removal of Alabama monument over inability to approve two commandments

Controversy continues to swell over a federal district court's order for Alabama State Chief Justice Roy Moore to remove a 5,300 pound granite monument of the Ten Commandments from state grounds. In the latest and most unusual twist to the story, the Inquisitor has learned that the District Court Judge Myron Thompson actually considered allowing eight of the ten commandments to remain in place.

Chief Justice Moore, who is now suspended over ethics violations for refusing to remove the monument, declined to comment on the story, but the Inquisitor spoke with a clerk to one of Judge Thompson's clerks, who agreed to disclose some of the considerations that entered into the Judge's decision.

The clerk indicated that the Judge actually favored allowing some of the commandments to remain in place in the state building, assuming the monument could be modified to delete the disapproved commandments. Apparently, there was general agreement over eight of the commandments but the Judge expressed concerns over two of the commandments.

"There was a lot of back and forth about exactly what 'coveting your neighbor's wife' and 'coveting your neighbor's goods' meant," said the clerk. "The Judge thought that it possibly referred only to your immediate next door neighbor but also considered that it was intended to be more expansive."

Apparently, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment figured into the debate.

"Judge Thompson thought it would be particularly harsh on people who lived in multi-tenant buildings and in ghettos where there are lots of 'neighbors' and too lenient on people who lived on isolated, large estates," explained the clerk.

Professor Everett Harmon from the Baylor School of Law agreed that the commandments leave room for interpretation among legal scholars.

"'Thou shalt not kill' and 'thou shalt not steal,' sure, those are easy ones," said Professor Harmon, "but coveting your neighbor's wife gets into some difficult territory. For example, does it extend to women coveting their neighbors' husbands? And what does it say about homosexuals? Does the commandment permit coveting of married women only?"

Religious scholars also joined in the debate. Fundamentalists like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell issued a joint statement claiming that the commandments leave little "wiggle room" and should be interpreted broadly to encompass all types of coveting. But liberal scholars expressed different views.

"There are some experts who think there were originally only eight commandments," said Allen Buellton of the left-leaning Song of Solomon Institute, "and the other two snuck in sometime in the late 13th century, almost as an afterthought. You know, like, 'oh yeah, and don't be coveting your neighbor's wife and his things.' That's why those two commandments are often considered the 'minor commandments' by some academics."

As we go to press, the monument is in the process of being removed in compliance with Judge Thompson's order. Supporters of the monument vow to do whatever they can to disrupt the removal of what they consider to be God's word. Meanwhile, the debate over the propriety of the Ten -- or Eight -- Commandments appears to show no signs of coming to an end.

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