Yup. And I am once again glad I don’t have children in Texas public schools (theirs first time was when I left them behind for good. They are being pushed back to those halcyon days 60+ years gone now).Phang: We don’t need q the Ten Commandments in the schools. What we need is common-sense gun legislation—so the kids can live.
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 27, 2025
If my kid goes to a public school in Texas and they can’t come home alive, I don’t care about the Ten Commandments being posted on the wall. pic.twitter.com/ksMF4SmULG
But I’m still on Team Beatitudes. If we’re gonna post the “Ten Commandments” (and why the KJV version?), we should include the Beatitudes, Preferably Luke’s, in the Scholar’s Version:
“Congratulations, you hungry! You will have a feast.
“Congratulations, you who weep now! You will laugh.”
I actually think those are a lot clearer than “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s ass.” Which, like “Don we now our gay apparel,” means something quite different than it did when King James was on the throne.
But that’s only half of the Beatitudes. We need the other half, too.
“Damn you rich! You already have your consolation!
“Damn you who are well-fed now! You will know hunger.
“Damn you who laugh now! You will learn to weep and grieve.”
And just to be pedantic:
That’s the one that’s been on the Texas Capitol grounds since 1961. But it’s a very truncated version of the original (either one). It leaves out a lot. Is that okay? Doesn’t it matter? My guess is the original (i.e., Biblical) version is not going to fit easily into a poster.
Doesn’t that matter? Or are we just using the Word of the Lord for secular purposes?
I mean, even Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes isn’t as long. And I don’t think anybody would let you shorten them.
But actually, we’re all used to the shorter version of the 10. So maybe it doesn’t matter, because we’ve never taken them that seriously.
From the illustration I take it it's the version that Cecil B. DeMill issued as stone promos for "The Ten Commandments?" My town didn't have an Eagles Club (DeMille got them to host the erection of his PR gimmicks) so ours doesn't have one, but the town next to ours does. Their club headquarters was always famous in both my and that town as a place where many of the Big 10 were violated, especially on Saturday nights, especially the ones against taking the Lord's name in vain and the several about coveting neighbors wives and related escapades. I prefer the Common English Bible, these days. Though anyone in language that uneducated People can understand would be better than pseudo-KJV language or, in fact, that style of 16th-17th century learned style. I'd trade a gun restriction for them putting up the things as long as it was private money that put them up and maintained them. And as long as their size and style didn't get too out of hand.
ReplyDeletePretty sure it is the DeMille version. That seems to be the bog standard, as I did a Google search for images, and all of them had largely the same text. I chose this one because it's on the Texas Capitol grounds. By now I think most people think these are the "Ten Commandments." Then again, most people probably don't know all the Matthean Beatitudes (longer than Luke's version). I really think the counterpoint to the "Thou shalt nots" (used solely to exert control, not the way Mosaic law meant them) is the Beatitudes; in any translation. I don't really want to see them in public classrooms (where they'd be ignored. How many school posters did you pay attention to?), so much as to argue the counterpoint.
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