Very little correlation

State Sen. Jason Rapert states, as justification for putting a religious statue on our Capitol grounds, that the Ten Commandments are the basis of American law. I got my Bible to challenge that statement. There is, in fact, little correlation.

The first four commandments all deal with religious belief and practice. They are not codified in law, and, in fact, are expressly prohibited by the Constitution from being so. “Honor thy father and mother” ( No. 5) is widely accepted, but is not in any law that I am aware of. Adultery ( 7) is grounds for divorce, but not illegal in itself. At one time, it was illegal in many states, and may still be in some, but enforcement would not stand today. “Bearing false witness” ( 9) is illegal in a courtroom and in specific cases such as libel, but generally one cannot be arrested for telling a lie. Coveting anything of your neighbors’ ( 10) is rude at best, but, again, not against the law anywhere I know.

That leaves only two, killing ( 6) and stealing ( 8), that are consistently illegal in our state and country. Two of 10 hardly constitutes the “basis” of American law.

On his Web page, Rapert further states: “The Ten Commandments represent a philosophy of government held by many of the founders of this nation … that God has endowed people with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Nowhere in the Ten Commandments are the words “government,” “rights,” or “liberty.” The commandments were a pact between God and his people. JAMES GIFFORD Hot Springs Village