Christians rally in Washington

Christians rally in Washington

The weeklong, five-state caravan escorting the Ten Commandments from its banished home in Alabama made its point in Washington with two days of rallies calling for its return to the public square.

“We are here to draw attention to the erosion of our right as American people to acknowledge God in public life,” said Rob Schenck, a “Save the Commandments” caravan organizer from the National Clergy Council.

The foam board prototype, built by the Huntsville man who sculpted the famed monument from granite, was showcased in a series of prayer sessions and protests meant to attract the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. Advocates want the justices to reverse a court decision that found the 5,280-pound display in the Alabama Judicial Building in violation of the constitutionally required separation of church and state.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has appealed, but the court has not yet announced whether it will take the case.

Also, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., announced Oct. 6 he would introduce a bill by the end of the week to order the display of the Ten Commandments in the U.S. Capitol.

Supporters swarmed Capitol Hill to drum up support for the law, and presented 384,000 petition signatures that were collected on the Internet. A Sunday afternoon rally on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol attracted a counter protest of atheists.

Earlier that day, a handful of Ten Commandments proponents were arrested outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew, where justices and governmental officials were celebrating the Red Mass, the annual blessing of civil authorities.

Patrick Mahoney of Virginia, who leads the Christian Defense Coalition, said he would fight the charge of crossing police lines, and has a court date for later this month.

Others who were arrested paid $25 fines and were released.

Jewell Rowe, a grandmother of three from Duncanville, was one of those who was detained on the sidewalk but not handcuffed or charged. She had crossed the line as well.

“I’d rather die in battle than rust out in a nursing home,” she said. “We didn’t back down.”

Bobby Coley of Montgomery complained that government officials who were denying the Ten Commandments were also attending church to learn about God’s law.

“I have a degree in math, so I think very logically. I do not understand that,” he said.

Moore did not attend the rallies but in a studio appearance on C-SPAN Saturday said the doctrine separating church and state doesn’t prohibit the display of the Ten Commandments, but requires it.

The monument “is simply an acknowledgment of the moral foundation of law,” he said, and not an establishment of a state religion.

“It is not something that people worship or that people bow down to,” Moore said.    (RNS)