By Randall Murphree
August 14, 2001

(AgapePress) - In the mid-1990s Circuit Judge Roy S. Moore carved the Ten Commandments on a small wood plaque and hung it on his Etowah County, Alabama, courtroom wall. For Judge Moore, it was a small thing, but a meaningful acknowledgment of the truth that our system of laws and justice is founded on that ancient Judaic decalogue. He never anticipated the media firestorm that soon assaulted his life.

A suit by the American Civil Liberties Union soon found favor with Federal Judge Charles Price in Montgomery, the state Capitol. Price ruled that the Ten Commandments must be removed from Moore’s courtroom, in the name of separation of church and state. However, ultimate court proceedings absolved Moore of wrongdoing, and the Commandments stayed.

Last November, Alabama voters elected Moore chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Just outside his office in the Montgomery capitol complex the same, small wood plaque still proclaims the new chief justice’s stand to acknowledge the true basis of our nation’s civil law.

"This is not a radical concept," Moore says. "This is a concept that was existent in our country from its very foundations. To deny that our government and our laws are founded upon God is certainly opposite to what the Constitution and Declaration stand for."

On August 1, the chief justice again created a stir in the media. On that day, he oversaw the installation in the Alabama Supreme Court building rotunda a striking monument to the Ten Commandments. The base is engraved with numerous quotations from founding fathers and historical documents that reflect our nation’s dependence upon God from its beginnings. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison and William Blackstone are all included there. Tablets bearing the Ten Commandments rest atop the square granite column.

The 5,280-pound stone was commissioned by private citizens, and no state funds were used for its creation. Since the installation was done outside business hours, Justice Moore has been accused by secular media and other detractors of doing the deed in secrecy.

Moore scoffs at that accusation. "We did this in after-duty hours so it would not interfere with the workplace," he says."The building manager was informed, [as were] security, the marshals of the court and several other people in the court, and the legal staff."

A West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, Moore says the Ten Commandments are the foundation of Western civilization and American law. Once again, the ACLU and many secular media outlets have taken him to task for his stand, and the ACLU has hinted at a lawsuit. Moore is neither impressed nor intimidated.

"They do what they’ve got to do," he says, "and I’ll do what I’ve got to do. We will defend this display in the judicial building vigorously. It is an acknowledgment of a sovereign, holy God whose laws superintend those of man. We will not retreat from that position because it is true."

Justice Moore believes we’ve made some progress in regard to public acknowledgment of the country’s Christian heritage. "That was our theme when we started, and I think other people have picked up on it. I see many articles now being written about the acknowledgment of God, and its not being adverse to the First Amendment. I have great confidence in the American people that when the truth is known, they will stand up."

Among Moore’s top priorities today is his role as father to children 17, 14, 10 and 7. In fact, this interview was interrupted by a telephone call from Mrs. Moore reminding him not to forget to pick up their son that afternoon, for a family trip out of town. "It would be bad to get to Gadsden and realize we were missing one," he smiled.

"No matter what happens to me," Moore says, "I want to know that my four children can look back and say their daddy never did deny God."

Randall Murphree is Editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. He can be contacted at randall@afa.net.

© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.

 

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