I cannot comprehend how Mr. New can conclude that "Monotheism is the moral foundation for Western ideas of fundamental human rights and freedoms." Given the sheer number of people slaughtered in the name of God by Western Europeans, it is hard to imagine what "human rights" stem from monotheism and western society. And as for "freedoms" we might recall the Crusades with the murdering of Jews throughout Europe and the attacks on Moslems in the Middle East, England expelling all of its Jews in the 13th century, the Inquisition and the cleansing of Spain of Jews and Moslems, the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) and the slaughter of French Protestants, the 30 years war with the mudering of hundreds of thousands of Protestants and Catholics, the pogroms of Eastern Europe, the Spanish destruction of native cultures in the New World, and countless other examples of how "monotheism" in the Western World has led, not to human rights, but to the slaughter of millions and millions.
The worst tyrants of Europe were all devout monotheists. One also recalls the countless Protestant ministers in this country who defended slavery with the Bible and the Church, arguing that God ordained blacks to the be slaves of whites and that slavery was justified because it brought Christianity (Monotheism) to the heathens of Africa.
Finally, neither the Ten C nor the rest of the Pentatuch teaches democracy or self-government. On the contrary, the Bible claims that law comes from God, not from "the consent of the governed." Thus, for centuries monotheists extolled the powers and virtues of Kings who held their thrones by divine rights.
Human rights was the invention of the age of Englightenment -- men like Voltaire, Paine, Jefferson, and Franklin -- and the rejection of religion as the basis for political society.
Paul Finkelman -- Paul Finkelman Chapman Distinguished Professor University of Tulsa College of Law 3120 East 4th Place Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-2499
918-631-3706 (office) 918-631-2194 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
David W. New wrote:
Even the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledges that the Ten Commandments have influenced American law. See McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. at 462. The influence of the Ten Commandments on our laws goes far deeper than the body of American law itself. The most important influence of the Ten Commandments concerns the nature of God and its impact on human rights. The Ten Commandments teach monotheism. Monotheism is the moral foundation for Western ideas of fundamental human rights and freedoms. Our concept of "Equal Justice Under Law" can be traced directly to the view that God is One. The belief in human equality is strictly a religious concept, it did not originate from secularism. Monotheism pervades American culture including our laws to such an extent that it is impossible to escape its influence. Virtually, everyone participating in this discussion thinks like a monotheist, whether they are conscious of it or not. Even atheists who deny the existence of God think like monotheism albeit unknowingly. I am reluctant to recommend a publication since I wrote it. But my publication is about the way monotheism and the Ten Commandments influenced Western law and culture. Feel free to read the Table of Contents at www.mytencommandments.us
David W. New
Attorney at Law
Washington, D.C.
202-333-2678.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Law & Religion issues for Law Academics" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004 2:31 PM
Subject: Re: Are the Ten Commandments the foundation of the
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