A car smashed the 10 commandments monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol

[savalez]

Last edited Fri Oct 24, 2014, 03:17 PM - Edit history (1)

This wasn’t a case of a car taking a wrong turn, but a purposeful act, said John Estus, spokesman for the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Whoever did it repositioned some ramp equipment that happened to be outside the building and used it to get access to the area near the monument.

~snip~

The monument was donated by state Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, amid opposition that placement of a religious artifact near the Capitol was not proper.

A lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, alleging the monument’s placement on the Capitol grounds violates the state Constitution’s prohibition against use of public property to support “any sect, church, denomination or system of religion.” The lawsuit was dismissed last month. The ACLU filed an appeal Thursday to the state Supreme Court.

~snip~

The 6-foot-tall granite monument was erected in November 2012 after Ritze and his family paid nearly $10,000 for it. It was authorized by the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2009.

Be careful going to the source, a video advertisement plays automatically.

source: http://newsok.com/article/5359778


**UPDATE**

Suspect says Satan made him smash into Oklahoma Ten Commandments monument

OKLAHOMA CITY – A man is in custody involving the vandalism of the Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

Agents say he then admitted to them that he crashed his car into the Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol, then left his damaged car and walked to the Federal Building.

The Secret Service says the man told them that Satan made him crash his car into the statue.

He also told agents that Satan told him to urinate on the statue, too.

source: http://kfor.com/2014/10/24/ten-commandments-monument-at-oklahoma-capitol-reduced-to-rubble/

[MineralMan]

1. Well, after Moses got pissed off and broke the first set of tablets,

he went back up the mountain and got replacements. Or so it is written.

[unblock]

4. "i give you these 15 ... 10 commandments!"

[savalez]

9. Hee hee

[MADem]

10. History of the World!!!!!!!

Never gets old!

[underpants]

23. 11. Though shall not go all Dukes of Hazzard on these Commandments

I think that was edited out to make it a nice round 10

[unblock]

45. actually, i think the commandment about idolatry/graven images kinda says "but if you do, meh"

[underpants]

55. Ooh good point

[Liberal_in_LA]

78. lol

[Jamastiene]

93. ROFL!

[RKP5637]

16. Today, maybe Walmart has a stock of replacements for the faithful!

[Initech]

42. George Carlin got them boiled down to two:

[liberal N proud]

44. DUzy

[hifiguy]

2. The cosmos has a sense of irony.

[Iggo]

3. Aw.

[TexasTowelie]

5. Will Moses have to go to the top of Mt. Sinai

to ask God to redeliver the commandments since the tablets were broken?

[RKP5637]

17. Depends on what the warranty was!

[KittyWampus]

6. God's Will?

[valerief]

14. Boom! Took the words right out of my mouth!

[underpants]

21. Well at least they didn't do it on the Sabbath

Just saying

[Marrah_G]

7. Good- never should have been there in the first place.

[peace13]

8. I am sorry to see this...

While I don't agree with this display on public property, unless of course all religions get a space, I hate to see the thing destroyed. So many of the commandments are useful rules for people to follow.

My guess is that a new, bigger billboard will appear and fighting about the display will intensify.

[SoCalNative]

13. They were even more useful

when first unveiled in the Code of Hammurabi.

[peace13]

49. So many rules...so little time!

Thanks for this!

[nomorenomore08]

95. Yep. Nothing too original aside from the "thou shalt have no other gods" part.

And monotheism hasn't been such a great thing for the world in general.

[MineralMan]

48. Especially that "Thou shalt have no gods before me"

one. That one's dynamite for the United States, right?

[peace13]

56. Not so much!

I was thinking of no killing, lying or stealing. Right there, just those three and our country would be a different place all together. Don't get me wrong, I am talking about our officials primarily but the citizens can join in the fun if they like.

Personally I think that the religious paraphernalia should be kept on private property, preferably on the front yard of a church that pays taxes!

[MineralMan]

57. So, 30% of the commandments make sense?

Not a very good average, I'm thinking.

[peace13]

58. I don't have the time nor the desire to review all ten.

People can't even follow the three I mentioned. Please do list all ten and I will let you know if I have any other favorites!

[MineralMan]

65. Oh, all right...

Here's the short form. You should know these by heart, really:

You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make idols.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet.

Here's the long version from Exodus in one or another of the many English translations:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

[peace13]

70. I missed the idols and Sunday football rebuke!

I'm in for the last five. Mom and dad didn't make the cut as some folks have some really *&(^%$ parents and while the spirit of the law isn't exactly what we make of it, it still hits the heart strings and can cause damage to some really good kids!.

Have a great day and really, thanks for setting those down for me. My Grandmother would kiss you! : )

[Logical]

90. LOL, but claim "So many of the commandments are useful rules for people to follow". Weird. nt

[Youdontwantthetruth]

11. So God the all-powerful and all-knowing could not stop a single car crashing into a monument?

Their God either does not care, is impotent or does not exist.

I will take God does not exist of $200

[KittyWampus]

18. Maybe God the all-powerful intended for it to happen as a sign

of his displeasure.

[Youdontwantthetruth]

19. or Satan making room for his kid friendly monument

[Strelnikov_]

59. I take it as a sign that some Okie had his load on n/t

[riqster]

63. Or God figured it was too silly to be mucking about with.

"All-powerful" does not mean "all-DOING". Capacity doesn't always = activity.

[libodem]

12. I can not appreciate the destructiveness

But I do appreciate the sediment.

[justice1]

32. very punny

[libodem]

81. Yes, sometimes I'm a concrete thinker

Sometimes I'm more abstract.

[Generic Brad]

86. You have cemented your reputation as a concrete thinker

I also like the abstract way you mixed that all up.

[libodem]

87. .

[pinboy3niner]

89. It's no use

He's hardened in his opinion.

[libodem]

92. Thst cracks me up

[cherokeeprogressive]

36. I've never been sedimental about religious artifacts. n/t

[savalez]

46. Wow

Brilliant use of pun. Other pun aficionados must now do this:

[KurtNYC]

15. Isn't Oklahoma the state that took 2 hours to complete a botched death penalty execution ?

and then there is this:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/01/beheading-oklahoma-death-penalty/16557945/

Maybe they should replace this monument with only 9 commandments since they aren't all that in love with "Thous shalt not kill" ?

[eppur_se_muova]

74. They should hire the driver as state executioner ...

"OK, we just gotta reposition this ramp a bit ... third time's the charm."

[HERVEPA]

20. That's a shame

[DinahMoeHum]

22. Send the perpetrator a dog biscuit and a medal.

[savalez]

24. The 11th should be:

Thou shall not use your legislative majority to defy the State constitution.

Constitution’s prohibition against use of public property to support “any sect, church, denomination or system of religion.”

[WillowTree]

25. So we're cheering for vandalism now? Really?

[savalez]

29. To whom exactly are you referring to?

Most of the responses do not indicate cheering at all. Unless you mean the act of posting this story it akin to "cheering". If that's the case then you have a problem with the source too.

[WillowTree]

33. Just in general.

Most of the responses that I see to this thread sound.......not gleeful, but certainly not disapproving of the destruction of property. Frankly most seem to be giving the driver a pat on the back.

[ieoeja]

40. I happily applaud this destruction!

Protestants use their version of the Ten Commandments to bash Catholics constantly. Knowing how poorly Catholics are treated in the Bible Belt, I would bet money they did this specifically to target Catholics.

So, yes, I am cheering this vandalism.

[WillowTree]

43. I rest my case.

Carry on, People.

[ieoeja]

47. Glad I could help.

Because you are absolutely correct. Many of us are perfectly happy with this. Sadly, most will likely lie to you. I won't.

Yes. I am very happy to see this. I am even okay with you classifying it as "vandalism".

On the other hand, I just as equally feel that they vandalised the state house by putting that monument on the lawn in the first place. Do you agree?

Furthermore, of the two cases of vandalism, I feel their vandalism was the more heinous as it was undoubtedly as an attack on minorities. You would have to agree with me on this as well, yes?

[2pooped2pop]

83. yep

yep yep

[golden-girl]

31. So we're cheering for vandalism

No, we are saying to do the exact opposite of what the 10 commandants say. Best for all of us. The heck with anything religion says to do to be a good person.

[WillowTree]

35. That doesn't even make sense.

Thou SHALT kill?

[ieoeja]

41. I'm thinking it has something to do with graven images.

Maybe because we get so much support from Hollywood? Accordingly, we must believe the Ten Commandments do *not* make a better person by telling us to avoid graven images.

[nomorenomore08]

96. ...

And no, I don't applaud this act of vandalism. But I won't lose sleep over it either.

[frylock]

54. the vandalism occurred when the monument was erected..

this is merely a correction.

[WillowTree]

66. You just keep telling yourself that.

Chances are pretty good, however, that when they catch the fool who did this, there's going to be a price to pay 'cause the law doesn't agree with you.

[frylock]

73. gosh. thanks for the pro tip..

i had no idea that this act was illegal. learn something new every day around here.

[blm]

72. So you wish to claim.

.

[Logical]

91. Which posts? nt

[get the red out]

26. Kind of extreme

Some body shop will get a customer out of it.

[dembotoz]

27. fox will claim obama drove the car with hilary riding shotgun

[savalez]

34. They'll say Hillary was in the back seat wearing a kentucky derby hat.

[Throd]

28. As a life-long atheist, I condemn this.

Very poor form indeed.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

64. What makes you think,

an Atheist did this?

[Throd]

105. Nothing. I never made that claim.

[RedCappedBandit]

30. Well, it doesn't belong there.

[JoePhilly]

37. God is gonna be PISSED!!!!

Some body is going to be wandering the desert for a long time.

[Yavin4]

38. Quick, scoop up the broken pieces and put them into the ark of the covenant

You'll be able to topple entire cities with it. That is until Indiana Jones comes along and steals it from you.

[JoePhilly]

62. Then carry them around the heartland for 40 years.

[nomorenomore08]

97. So we can melt Nazis with it? Cool!

[Yavin4]

104. You have to cover your eyes

You cannot look.

[Initech]

39. Please tell me that they played the Dukes of Hazzard horn when they jumped the ramp.

[Downwinder]

51. Is it on YouTube?

[Cartoonist]

50. Which is worse?

Using state resources to erect a blatant "In your eye" message, or taking action to preserve religious freedom in America?
No contest!

[postatomic]

52. In the literal sense this was a violation of the 2nd commandment

Maybe God was just reminding everyone of this. I'm guessing God was driving in his Prius and smashed the fucking "thing".

$10,000???!!!! That would go a long way to feeding the hungry.

[RKP5637]

53. God works in mysterious ways!

[GummyBearz]

60. oh no

Does this mean atheist fundamentalists are just as dangerous as islamic fundamentalists toward christians, who are more dangerous to atheist fundamentalists, than islamic fundamentalists toward atheist fundamentalists?

So confusing

[Strelnikov_]

61. That ain't no ten commandments

Everybody knows that the real ones break down the middle.

[TeamPooka]

67. God's will. nt

[juxtaposed]

68. The Secret Service says the man told them that Satan made him crash his car into the statue.

http://kfor.com/2014/10/24/ten-commandments-monument-at-oklahoma-capitol-reduced-to-rubble/

[savalez]

69. Thanks. I updated the OP.

[Ampersand Unicode]

88. Oh, you mean it was...

...hmmm...




SATAN?!?!?!?

[blm]

71. More like RNC operative told him to do it right before election to

get the evangelicals to tap into their bunker mentality and get out and vote.

[47of74]

75. I'm guessing the reich wing "Christians" will go off on a how persecuted they are kick now.

[notadmblnd]

76. That's just a funny story.

[LiberalElite]

77. It was an Act of God -

s/he's pretty damn fed up with the "Christians."

[johnnypneumatic]

79. Thou shalt not text while driving

Thou shalt not sext while driving

[savalez]

80. LOL

[yortsed snacilbuper]

82. mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord;

he was coming round the corner in a black and yellow ford;

one hand was on the throttle and another on a bottle of;

pabst blue ribbon beer;

His day is driving on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is driving on.

[darkangel218]

84. Maybe he was trying to break them into 10 pieces

You know, 10 commandments, 10 pieces

[L0oniX]

85. Bad Grampa strikes again?

[Jamastiene]

94. The top of them looked like a butt anyhow.

No one can convince me that butt shape is not a "kiss my ass" from the right wing assholes who got their way to put it there to begin with.

I doubt the top of the supposed real commandments was shaped like a butt sticking up in the air.

[Warren DeMontague]

98. "look, Jesus. I'll drive. You navigate"

"Well make up your mind, is he gonna shit, or is he gonna smite us?"

[Violet_Crumble]

99. This is right up there with the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas!

As well as the destruction of the separation of church and state thing...

[Recursion]

100. OTOH I think there's a Flying Spaghetti Monster statue there

By that same court ruling. And a shrine from the Church of Satan. Is it OK for Baptists to drive their cars into those?

[wheniwasincongress]

101. This is too good.

the man told them that Satan made him crash his car into the statue.

He also told agents that Satan told him to urinate on the statue, too.

[Prophet 451]

102. I'd like to buy him a beer

IIRC, that's the state that has also been refusing to let other faiths erect monuments there.

[KansDem]

103. Three of the ten have been around longer than Christianity

In his book, "Civilisation before Greece and Rome," HWF Skaggs points out that laws forbidding murder, theft, and lying were already in existence long before the Christian world appeared. It seems reasonable considering such laws were necessary to maintain social order.

But the other seven commandments comprise a "wish list."

Four are rules for how to worship a god--
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make idols.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

...and the other three are impractical--
Honor your father and your mother. Apparently, the writers of these Commandments didn't have teenagers...
You shall not commit adultery. Yeah, sure...
You shall not covet (your neighbor's house, wife, servants (both male and female), ox or donkey, etc.) If this were observed, Madison Avenue and the entire advertising industry would disappear!

[savalez]

106. Interesting stuff. n/t