The Commandments Commission Applauds U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson Ruling to Allow Ten Commandments Monument to Stay in Fargo, N.D.
by J. Grant Swank, Jr.

The Ten Commandments monument will stay put. US District Judge Ralph Erickson says so. Its there in Fargo, North Dakota and it wont be slid off its foundation. The judge made that clear in his 20-page statement.

Judge Erickson concludes that the Ten Commandments reading speaks morality to both secular and religious American ideals; therefore, there is no violation of the US Constitution.

"The Ten Commandments represent the moral foundation of this great and blessed nation," states Ron Wexler, President/CEO of the Ten Commandments Commission (TCC).

"Sacred laws that this nation was founded on are being assaulted and denigrated daily by an army of secular champions determined to destroy every vestige of America's rich spiritual heritage." With that, Wexler applauds the judges decision.

City commissioners originally put down demands that the monument go. Then five Fargo citizens attacked with their lawsuit in 2002. "Red River Freethinkers" is the conclave the opposition represented. The organization is composed of atheist and agnostic adherents.

"This court is convinced a reasonable observer could not perceive the city as adopting or endorsing the religious message of the display," Erickson wrote.

The judge is correct, of course. All civilized nations can find that their legal base derives at least from the broad sweeps already stated in the Ten Commandments. America in particular can thank the Ten Commandments and its early days high regard for that morality base. It has made the country the most powerful on the planet.

If America was founded on atheism, as Russias Communism was, one can only read that nations sorry past to realize that an unbelieving politic brings destruction and hopelessness to its citizens. It is the same with atheist China. Its people are regarded as tools for the government, nothing more.

As Europe becomes increasingly secularized, wiping out its Judeo-Christian heritage purposefully, it will come upon dreadful times. It will pass from Judeo-Christian to atheism and agnosticism, even in its most subtle forms, but nevertheless widespread.

Erickson pointed to US Supreme Court rulings recently as well as the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals in his statement. The Fargo Ten Commandments monument is similar to those permitted at the Texas Capitol grounds and in a city park in Nebraska, the judge underlined.

"When such time honored symbols as the Ten Commandments are removed from our society it acts as a visible reminder that God is no longer welcomed in our nation. Those who support a divine standard cannot and must not let this happen! That is why the Ten Commandments Commission was founded and why we applaud the ruling of Judge Erickson," Wexler stated.

"There is some presence of religion in our every day life and culture," Assistant Fargo City Attorney Patty Roscoe said. "There can't be this absolute separation of church and state." (See footnote regarding Separation of Church and State: The Truth).

Erickson informed media that Fargos Ten Commandments monument had to be recognized in its "holistic context." The display includes a statement regarding the origin and purpose of the monument. All the more the accent upon its historical value.

The monument was erected by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1958. The city had just completed an urban renewal project. Such included the erection of City Hall, the Fargo Civic Center and a mall. City authorities then dedicated the Ten Commandments monument at its present location in 1961.

The Ten Commandments Commission endorses such judgments as Ericksons decision and will continue to encourage like legal opinions. According to Wexler, "the Ten Commandments Commission was founded as a result of recent court rulings and decisions to have Jewish and Christian symbols removed from the public square."

The Ten Commandments Commission consists of thousands of people of faith who are interested in defending and restoring traditional Judeo-Christian moral standard in society.

For more information about the Ten Commandments Commission please visit www.TenCommandmentsDay.com

FOOTNOTE
by J. Grant Swank, Jr.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Liberals have run off with this phrase, prostituting it per usual.

The matter is simple. Its this: America does not want a state church. England has a state church the Anglican Church. America does not want one denomination considered The Nations Church.

On the other hand, America has a religious heritage. Its not Muslim. Its not Hindu. Its not Shinto. Its not animism. Its not New Age. Its not Paganism. Its not Voodoo. Its Judeo-Christian.

America, while not desiring a state church, does desire religion in life. That includes religious expression in everyday exchange. Because Judeo-Christian is Americas heritage, most citizens honor that heritage expressed and honored. Its expression then should not be thwarted. It should not be belittled. It should not be erased in the name of "separation of church and state."

Unhampered religious expression is promised in the First Amendment.

Further, America, having a Judeo-Christian heritage and the right to present-tense expression, permits freedom of religious expression to other religions. Therefore, there are those of other religious persuasions who practice without fear their religions in America.

What the liberals want to do is redefine the phrase "separation of church and state" to exclude Judeo-Christian religious expression in America. They want not only "separation of church and state" defined on their terms but the exclusion of the Judeo-Christian religion and anything coming close to that particular religious expressionperiod.

Liberals believe that if they continue harping on the "separation of church and state" phrase, brainwashing the public with their prostituted definition, especially indoctrinating the next generation with their prostituted definition, then they will have won secularism for Americas future.

They, in other words, want not only separation but exclusion of religion completely so. Note however that the chief religion they want excluded is Judeo-Christian.

They will even tolerate other religions, as they are presently doing with the Muslim infiltration, but it is Judeo-Christian that they want cleansed from America. In other words, its a religious cleansing they desire for this nation the extinguishing specifically of the Judeo-Christian faith.

Therefore, if tolerating another religion such as Islam helps wipe out Judeo-Christianity, then so be it. Islam is far better a tolerance than the American heritage of Judeo-Christian. Therefore, there are school districts hiring Muslims to speak to teachers on how to give Muslim students honor and space. No such invitation, of course, has been extended to Judeo-Christian specialists speaking to public school educators on how to give Judeo-Christian adherents honor and space.

In a nearby high school, a prayer room was set aside for Muslim students. No such prayer room or any other respect has been presented those of the Judeo-Christian heritage.

Liberals, in other words, will do whatever it takes to obliterate America of its rightful Judeo-Christian heritage. This is accented every year particularly during the Christmas season. Any other so-called "religious expression" can come to the fore but the Christian particulars must be silenced at all costs. So we hear throughout the Christmas season, not Christian hymn carols, but "separation of church and state."

Once again, liberals have taken language to serve their own twisted purposes. They took "homosexual" and made it "gay." They took "pro-choice" and made it "protecting females." They take "separation of church and state" and make it "wiping out Americas Judeo-Christian heritage."

What those of the Judeo-Christian heritage must do and far more concertedly than they have ever done in the past is to make clear to the public what "separation of church and state" really means. This must be put in print in magazines and journals. It must be preached from pulpits. It must be taught in religion classes. It must be spelled out in letters to the editor.

Unfortunately, this simply has not been done. The church in particular has permitted the liberals to carry on with their prostitution of the phrase. I have been appalled over the years to note that the church specifically has not risen to expose the liberals misuse of that phrase. Therefore, the young have taken quickly to the liberals definition while the church has sat, in the main, silent, allowing the enemy to win out.