TF,
I'm in complete agreement on this one. Many people in this country believe that our laws are derived from the laws that God would have intended, or that our basis for society is heavily biased towards the Judeo-Christian worldview.
And to some extent, I would agree. However, the Founders of this country, while fully advocating the need for a populace with faith, specifically divorced the law from the word of God. When it comes time to make a decision on the fate of someone up for the death penalty, I want that decision made upon the relevant facts of the case, and the pursuant law on the matter. I don't want it made by the Bible, the Koran, the Torah/Talmud, or some Gaia-worshipping Wiccan Wacko...
Close but not quite; the laws are based on the Ten Commandments as given to us from God, contrary to recent court decisions. To deny the laws origin does not indicate that government endorses one religion over another, it is a matter of history. Those who are intent on rewriting our nations history will have to tear down most of our national buildings and monuments to erase this fact.
As a student of the Bible and one who is interested on history, I’d say that justice was served in this case. Jurors are free to think as they will, but are bound to consider the facts and the law.
With respect to the Founders, I believe that the more influential actors were Deists, rather than Christians. In any case, the Ten Commandments served as a template and was not inserted wholly into the Constitution. This is important because of the First, which Christ called “the greatest commandment”; this demanding the acknowledgment of God as sole deity, to the exclusion of all others. While I believe this to be true, it ought not to be forced upon those that don’t.
Hom Tom,
I disagree with you.
The reason, I am a religious conservative that forms all my political beliefs and personal values from the teachings of Christ. Therefore the Bible is a valid text from which I can Vett a decision.
That is why I will never serve on a jury, because the defense attourney will dismiss me. Sad to see that the foundational principles of this country are shunned.
Aaron,
I think you missed the point, its not that jurors can't base their decisions on things they know are in the Bible, its that they can't open that book, or any other book for that matter, while they are in the jury deliberation room unless portions of the Bible were introduced as evidence during testimony, then only that portion of text that was testified to would be permitted to be examined by the jury to verify what had been testified to.
Commenting by HaloScan
