(AgapePress) - The federal judge has won out in the battle over the Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama judicial building. On Wednesday, as protesters wept and prayed, workers removed the 5,300-pound monument from the rotunda to another area of the building, away from public view. But several leaders are addressing communities of faith to say the fight isn't over.

Many people may view the removal as a defeat both for Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who placed the monument there and defied the courts in opposing its removal, and for the Judeo-Christian values upon which America was founded. But an Orthodox Jewish rabbi is saying there is still a blessing to be seen in these events.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin was in Montgomery along with hundreds of other people of faith from across the U.S. to show support for the Commandments that are the foundation of American laws. He said it was heartening to see the turnout of supporters for the Commandments.

"It's gratifying that in these times we still see a religious people who are willing to come out -- not just be soul mates, but come out with their bodies -- to stand up for something as essential as God's Word," Levin said.

The Jewish leader wants those who supported the Commandments to know that they can still make a difference. He suggested that American voters apply pressure to the Administration they helped elect and said it is time to tell President Bush to deliver on his promises.

"We've got to have a course of action, and the course of action has to be political in nature. We have to understand that what's happening here with the Ten Commandments has been building up for years," Levin says.

The rabbi urged believers to exercise their power as citizens and as people of faith. "If people are not going to see the connection between the Ten Commandments and living family values in America 24-7, then this event will not have the impact it should have," he said.

Praise for Moore's Sacrifice
Another prominent voice being raised in support of the Commandments is that of Mike Farris, a well-known constitutional lawyer and Christian minister. Farris is the president of Patrick Henry College and founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

As an attorney who has successfully argued religious freedom cases before the Supreme Court, Farris says he has deep respect for Judge Roy Moore, whose defiance of the court order to remove the monument has resulted in the Alabama chief justice's suspension. Farris says he agrees substantively with Moore and holds him in high esteem for sacrificing his career to uphold a principle.

"I'm not sure that I wouldn't have exhausted my legal avenues a little bit first, but that's debating the small points of it," Farris says. He feels the larger point is that something had to be done "to point out the aggressive actions of our federal courts in ways that are clearly outside the bounds of what the founding fathers intended," he says.

Farris and a group of his Patrick Henry students wrote a brief in support of Judge Moore in the Eleventh Circuit. Farris says he hopes Moore's sacrifice works, and he feels sure the judge will prevail in the next election -- perhaps more so than the other eight justices on the Alabama Supreme Court.

Targeting Runaway Federal Courts
Other Christian leaders are seeking relief from the nation's legal system as well. According to Associated Press, many want the legislative branch of the U.S. government to limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts over issues relating to religious freedom, such as the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance, homosexual marriage, and abortion.

Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson addressed a crowd of more than a thousand in Montgomery on Thursday, saying Congress has both the legal authority and an urgent responsibility to limit the federal courts' power.

Dobson told listeners gathered outside the Alabama judicial building that America is engaged in a great moral struggle. "People of faith are being sent to the back of the bus, and we're not going to go there," he said. The ministry founder says Christian citizens must urge Congress to place federal judges in check.

Tony Perkins, incoming president of the Family Research Council, agrees. He told listeners it is important for Americans to distinguish between laws made by elected representatives and the opinions of non-elected judges, who simply "tell us what they think the law means."

Perkins says Americans must take away the authority of activist federal judges and "call upon Congress now ... to limit the jurisdiction of the courts."

At the same gathering, conservative political commentator Alan Keyes told listeners not to feel confused by the current situation. Although the federal courts may seem to be pitting people's reverence for the law against their reverence for God, Keyes said "the Constitution does no such thing."

The former presidential candidate says most Americans support the public display of the Ten Commandments, and God-fearing citizens must urge their elected officials to rein in the courts.

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