For the Word of God is Posted and Passive

Abstract

The Ten Commandments are almost certainly headed back to the Supreme Court.  Over the past couple of years, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas have all passed statutes requiring the Decalogue to be posted in public school classrooms, and the federal courts are reassessing whether such a display is consistent with the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. A new defense of the posters argues that they are “passive displays” and therefore do not violate the Constitution. Whatever the courts make of the “passive displays” argument, it should baffle theologians, religious scholars, and people of faith.  In the Christian faith, God’s Word is not usually thought of as passive, but as “living and active.”  This Essay lays out the implications of this surprising turn in the defense of the posters. 

Keywords: Establishment, First Amendment, Ten Commandments, religion, Christianity, Judaism, comparative study of religions