Democratic lawmakers in Ohio have town down a Ten Commandment plague from a public park, claiming the Christian text is “offensive to the public.”
Caving into pressure from atheist groups, the plaque in Steubenville’s Murphy Park was torn down by City Manager Jim Mavramatis on August 14 shortly after the Baptist Church erected it in a section of the park they had adopted.
Express.co.uk reports: The Freedom From Religious Foundation (FFRF) said the Ten Commandments display “violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment” and it should not be displayed as it prohibits the worship of other gods”.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
The letter also said: “The government has no business telling citizens which God they must have, or that they have any God at all.”
The group welcomed the plaque removal and said that the park can now be a welcome space for all people.
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said: “We commend the city for taking swift action to correct this violation.
“Removing the bible plaque ensures that Murphy Park can be a welcoming space to all citizens.”
CEO of the Barnabas Fund, which works for persecuted Christians, Hendrik Storm told Express.co.uk the city should “reconsider its decision” as the Ten Commandments are simply a “basis of morality”.
Mr Storm said: “The Barnabas Fund is saddened to hear of the city of Steubenville, Ohio, removing a plaque of the Ten Commandments following pressure from a pressure group, Freedom from Religion Foundation.
“The United States of America was founded upon and guided by Judeo-Christian principles and these form the moral basis of the American Constitution.
“Furthermore the Ten Commandments were well-known by all the founding fathers, and were assumed to be the basis of morality, and not an endorsement of religion by the State.
“Consequently it was etched in many places in the building that houses the US Supreme Court. Laws cannot be passed requiring particular religious beliefs as per the Constitution, but this does not negate having a basis of morality anchored in the Ten Commandments.
“We urge the city to reconsider its decision.”
Earlier this year, a Minnesota courthouse removed a plaque outline God’s laws following from a complaint from the same organisation.
The Ten Commandments are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship which play a vital vote in both Judaism and Christianity.
