[Cerek the Barbaric]

Well I - for one - am utterly appalled! What a travesty of justice!! Now it is only a matter of time before the Supremes outlaw the practice of "Saying Grace" in public restaurants!!! Where will it end??? [img]graemlins/madhell.gif[/img]

OK - that may have been a bit "over the top", but I figured it was what most of you would expect to hear from a good ole' Southern Baptist. [img]graemlins/laugh2.gif[/img]

Now for my real feelings on the subject.

As Timber said, Judge Moore defied a court order to remove the monument. Whether he agreed with the order or not, the proper procedure would have been to comply with the order while fighting the decision. Instead, he openly defied the order - thus placing himself "above the law"...and the law is very specific in stating that NOBODY is "above the law". So his removal has nothing to do with the monument and everything to do with his defiance of a court order.

As a Christian, I am saddened (of course) to see the monument removed. However, my college buddies and I debated this topic rather thoroughly when it first hit the news and I have to admit that the monument probably shouldn't have been in the federal court building to begin with. Personally, I find the claims that it is forcing Christianity on all who enter the building to be a bit of a stretch. It wasn't over the front door, where there was no way to avoid it. It was placed in a rotunda that was near a high-traffic area, but the rotunda itself could be avoided by those not wishing to see the monument. (At least that was my understanding from the news stories).

But, while I may be saddened as a Christian, I have to agree that placing a religious monument inside a federal court building DOES violate the concept of "separation of church and state" as defined by the Constitution.

The bottom line is exactly what Lord Kathan said at the beginning...the monument should never have been put there in the first place.

Since Moore has been removed, there is now a question of what should be done with the monument. Since Moore paid for it out of his own pocket, I say that it belongs to him and should be returned to him. He can then seek a more appropriate place to have it displayed (perhaps in a museum).

So what are your thoughts on that?