Foxfyre wrote:Scalia subsequently stated in an interview
Quote:I mean, we're a tolerant society religiously, but just as the majority has to be tolerant of minority views in matters of religion, it seems to me the minority has to be tolerant of the majority's ability to express its belief that government comes from God, which is what this is about.
http://left2right.typepad.com/main/2005/03/justice_scalia_.html
This puts a little different spin on it I think.
Scalia's comments did not come from an interview. The comments you quoted came directly from the bench during arguments before the court:
Transcript of Van Orden v. Perry, oral arguments:
Page 15:
15 JUSTICE SCALIA: I thought Muslims accept
16 the Ten Commandments.
17 MR. CHEMERINSKY: No, Your Honor, the
18 Muslims do not accept the sacred nature of the Ten
19 Commandments, nor do Hindus, or those who believe in
20 many gods, nor of course, do atheists.
21 And for that matter, Your Honor, if a
22 Jewish individual would walk by this Ten
23 Commandments, and see that the first commandment
24 isn't the Jewish version, I am the Lord, thy God,
25 took you out of Egypt, out of slavery, would realize
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1 it's not his or her government either.
2 JUSTICE SCALIA: You know, I think
3 probably 90 percent of the American people believe in
4 the Ten Commandments, and I'll bet you that 85
5 percent of them couldn't tell you what the ten are.
6 (Laughter.)
7 JUSTICE SCALIA: And when somebody goes by
8 that monument, I don't think they're studying each
9 one of the commandments.
It's a symbol of the fact
10 that government comes -- derives its authority from
11 God. And that is, it seems to me, an appropriate
12 symbol to be on State grounds.
13 MR. CHEMERINSKY: I disagree, Your Honor.
14 For the State to put that symbol between its State
15 Capitol and the State Supreme Court is to convey a
16 profound religious message.
If you're just saying,
17 now, this isn't there for its secular reason. If
18 someone were to read this monument, one sees that it
19 emphasizes its religious content.
20 JUSTICE SCALIA:
It is a profound
21 religious message, but it's a profound religious
22 message believed in by the vast majority of the
23 American people, just as belief in monotheism is
24 shared by a vast majority of the American people.
25 And our traditions show that there is
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1 nothing wrong with the government reflecting that.
I
2 mean, we're a tolerant society religiously, but just
3 as the majority has to be tolerant of minority views
4 in matters of religion, it seems to me the minority
5 has to be tolerant of the majority's ability to
6 express its belief that government comes from God,
7 which is what this is about.
8 As Justice Kennedy said, turn your eyes
9 away if it's such a big deal to you.
10 MR. CHEMERINSKY:
I disagree, Your Honor.
11 Because this Court has said that above all, the
12 government can't make some feel like they're insiders
13 and some like outsiders. Even if they're the
14 majority religion -
(Click on Transcript Link to read entire transcript.)
**********
What spin are YOU trying to place on Scalia's erroneous statement that the Ten Commandments are a symbol
of the fact that government derives its authority from God?
This is not a statement of fact. It is a misstatement of fact. The LIE doesn't gain any credibility or a "new spin" simply because Scalia declares that the majority of the people share his mistaken belief that government comes from God.
Government authority is not derived from God. It is derived from the consent of governed--from "we the people."
I declined as there was no way I could fulfill the duties required in that role without abandoning my own church and did not wish to do that.