Yesterday’s item asking
about the design of the granite Ten Commandments monument that was ordered removed from
the rotunda of Alabama’s state judicial building brought a response from blogger Mac
Diva that may help clear up the mystery. He writes:
Jan, it appears the design of the monument was worked out between [Alabama Chief Justice Roy]
Moore and James Kennedy, the far-right evangelist whom I suspect was a
co-conspirator from the beginning. That may be why it is unsigned.
In
addition to the commandments, the big rock features quotes from political figures dear to
reactionary and neo-Confederate hearts. I will be posting an exposé of that connection to
my blog, Mac-a-ro-nies.
Meantime, here is more information from
the Web site of American Atheists. (Though an admittedly partial source, it offers a
straightforward report). Apparently, Moore participated in “a promotional effort with a
fundamentalist Christian ministry to distribute video tapes showing the stealth placement” of the
monument on the night of July 31, 2001.
Separation of church and state is at the heart of the matter, of course, not design —
and that has long been an issue for Kennedy, who would like to turn the United States
into a Christian theocracy. Back in 2001, the
American Jewish Congress
charged that the evangelist’s attack on
“church-state separation as an ‘anti-Christian’ lie” [had set] back efforts to avoid religious
divisiveness.” Here is more background about Kennedy. To
be fair, here is a friendlier rundown from
the Web site of Evangelism Explosion.
