From The Book: 1000 More Things You Always Wanted To Know About The BIBLE

I thought I’d do something for fun, so here it is! A lot of you already know this stuff, so this is for the ones who don’t….

From a book I own:  1,000 More Things You Always Wanted To Know About the Bible  by: J. Stephen Lang

 Chapter 8:  Back in the U.S.A

Moses and the Supreme Court
In the U.S Supreme Court Building stands a statue of Moses holding the TEN COMMANDMENTS. The statue symbolizes the law’s dependence on the Laws of God. Given the trend of the courts in recent years, it is a miracle that someone hasn’t protested the statue as indicating ” establishment of religion.” Stand by: (p.159)

lots of stuff concerning the  U.S.A.  Supreme Court, but here’s a little bit of it…

http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/courtbuilding.aspx

The Supreme Court Building:

“The Republic endures and this is the symbol of its faith.” These words, spoken by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in laying the cornerstone for the Supreme Court Building on October 13, 1932, express the importance of the Supreme Court in the American system.

Yet surprisingly, despite its role as a coequal branch of government, the Supreme Court was not provided with a building of its own until 1935, the 146th year of its existence.

Initially, the Court met in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City. When the National Capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the Court moved with it, establishing Chambers first in the State House (Independence Hall) and later in the City Hall.

When the Federal Government moved, in 1800, to the permanent Capital, Washington, the District of Columbia, the Court again moved with it. Since no provision had been made for a Supreme Court Building, Congress lent the Court space in the new Capitol Building. The Court was to change its meeting place a half dozen times within the Capitol. Additionally, the Court convened for a short period in a private house after the British set fire to the Capitol during the War of 1812. Following this episode, the Court returned to the Capitol and met from 1819 to 1860 in a chamber now restored as the “Old Supreme Court Chamber.” Then from 1860 until 1935, the Court sat in what is now known as the “Old Senate Chamber.”

Finally in 1929, Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who had been President of the United States from 1909 to 1913, persuaded Congress to end this arrangement and authorize the construction of a permanent home for the Court. Architect Cass Gilbert was charged by Chief Justice Taft to design “a building of dignity and importance suitable for its use as the permanent home of the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Neither Taft nor Gilbert survived to see the Supreme Court Building completed. Construction proceeded under the direction of Chief Justice Hughes and architects Cass Gilbert, Jr., and John R. Rockart. The construction, begun in 1932, was completed in 1935, when the Court was finally able to occupy its own building.

The classical Corinthian architectural style was selected because it best harmonized with nearby congressional buildings. The building was designed on a scale in keeping with the importance and dignity of the Court and the Judiciary as a coequal, independent branch of the United States Government, and as a symbol of “the national ideal of justice in the highest sphere of activity.”

The general dimensions of the foundation are 385 feet from east to west, (front to back) and 304 feet from north to south. At its greatest height, the building rises four stories above the terrace or ground floor. Marble was chosen as the principal material to be used and $3 million worth was gathered from foreign and domestic quarries. Vermont marble was used for the exterior, while the four inner courtyards are of crystalline flaked, white Georgia marble. Above the basement level, the walls and floors of all corridors and entrance halls are either wholly or partially of creamy Alabama marble. The wood in offices throughout the building, such as doors, trim, paneled walls, and some floors, is American quartered white oak.

The Court Building cost less than the $9,740,000 Congress authorized for its construction. Not only was the final and complete cost of the building within the appropriation, but all furnishings were also procured, even though planners had initially expected that the project would require additional appropriations. Upon completion of the project, $94,000 was returned to the Treasury.

 

Touring the Building

The main entrance to the Supreme Court Building is on the west side, facing the United States Capitol. A few low steps lead up to the 252-foot-wide oval plaza in front of the building. Flanking these steps is a pair of marble candelabra with carved panels on their square bases depicting: Justice, holding sword and scales, and The Three Fates, weaving the thread of life. On either side of the plaza are fountains, flagpoles, and benches.

The bronze flagpole bases are crested with symbolic designs of the scales and sword, the book, the mask and torch, the pen and mace, and the four elements: air, earth, fire, and water.

On either side of the main steps are seated marble figures. These large statues are the work of sculptor James Earle Fraser. On the left is a female figure, the Contemplation of Justice. On the right is a male figure, the Guardian or Authority of Law.

Sixteen marble columns at the main west entrance support the pediment. On the architrave above is incised “Equal Justice Under Law” Capping the entrance is a sculptured group by Robert Aitken, representing Liberty Enthroned guarded by Order and Authority. On either side are groups of three figures depicting Council and Research which Aitken modeled after several prominent individuals concerned with the law or the creation of the Supreme Court Building. At the left are Chief Justice Taft as a youth, Secretary of State Elihu Root, and the architect Cass Gilbert. Seated on the right are Chief Justice Hughes, the sculptor Aitken, and Chief Justice Marshall as a young man.

Too often, visitors do not see the corresponding pediment and columns on the east side. Here the sculpture group is by Hermon A. MacNeil, and the marble figures represent great lawgivers, Moses, Confucius, and Solon, flanked by symbolic groups representing Means of Enforcing the Law, Tempering Justice with Mercy, Settlement of Disputes Between States, and Maritime and other functions of the Supreme Court. The architrave bears the legend: “Justice the Guardian of Liberty.”

The monumental bronze doors at the top of the front steps weighs six and one-half tons each and slide into a wall recess when opened. The door panels, sculpted by John Donnelly, Jr., depict historic scenes in the development of law: the trial scene from the shield of Achilles, as described in the Iliad; a Roman praetor publishing an edict; Julian and a pupil; Justinian publishing the Corpus Juris; King John sealing the Magna Carta; the Chancellor publishing the first Statute of Westminster; Lord Coke barring King James from sitting as a Judge; and Chief Justice Marshall and Justice Story.

The main corridor is known as the Great Hall. At each side, double rows of monolithic marble columns rise to a coffered ceiling. Busts of all former Chief Justices are set alternately in niches and on marble pedestals along the side walls. The frieze is decorated with medallion profiles of lawgivers and heraldic devices.

At the east end of the Great Hall, oak doors open into the Court Chamber. This dignified room measures 82 by 91 feet and has a 44–foot ceiling. Its 24 columns are Old Convent Quarry Siena marble from Liguria, Italy; its walls and friezes are of Ivory Vein marble from Alicante, Spain; and its floor borders are Italian and African marble.

The raised Bench behind which the Justices sit during sessions, and other furniture in the Courtroom are mahogany. The Bench was altered in 1972 from a straight-line to a “winged” shape to provide sight and sound advantages over the original design.

At the left of the Bench is the Clerk of the Court’s desk. The Clerk is responsible for the administration of the Court’s dockets and argument calendars, the supervision of the admission of attorneys to the Supreme Court Bar, and other related activities. To the right is the desk of the Marshal of the Court. The Marshal is the timekeeper of Court sessions, signalling the lawyer by white and red lights as to time limits. The Marshal’s responsibilities include the maintenance and security of the building and serving as the Court’s building manager.

The attorneys arguing cases before the Court occupy the tables in front of the Bench. When it is their turn to argue, they address the Bench from the lectern in the center. A bronze railing divides the public section from that reserved for the Supreme Court Bar.

Representatives of the press are seated in the red benches along the left side of the Courtroom. The red benches on the right are reserved for guests of the Justices. The black chairs in front of those benches are for the officers of the Court and visiting dignitaries.

The main floor is largely occupied by the Justices’ Chambers, offices for law clerks and secretaries, the large, formal East and West Conference Rooms, the offices of the Marshal, an office for the Solicitor General, the Lawyers’ Lounge, and the Justices’ Conference Room and Robing Room. This office space surrounds four courtyards, each with a central fountain.

Most of the second floor is devoted to office space including the offices of the Reporter of Decisions and the Legal Office. The Justices’ Library Reading Room and the Justices’ Dining Room are also located here.

The Library occupies the third floor and has a collection of more than 500,000 volumes. To meet the informational needs of the Court, librarians draw on electronic retrieval systems and their microform collection in addition to books. The library’s main reading room is paneled in hand carved oak. The wood carving here, as throughout the building, is the work of the Matthews Brothers.

The ground floor is devoted to offices and public services, including the offices of the Clerk of the Court, the Counselor to the Chief Justice, police headquarters, the Public Information Office and Press Room, the Curator’s Office and the Personnel Office. On this floor visitors can view one of the two marble spiral staircases. Each ascends five stories and is supported only by overlapping steps and by their extensions into the wall.

 

one of a door panel found within the Supreme Court Building

FAITH UNDER FIRE

Ten Commandments stunner: Feds lying at Supreme Court

Government tells modern visitors it’s Bill of Rights being honored

Published: 11/14/2006 at 1:00 AM ( old article but still applies to today)
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2006/11/38823/#GWteA8vcJ6cEw05t.99

Every argument before the U.S. Supreme Court and every opinion the justices deliver comes in the presence of the Ten Commandments, God’s law given to Moses on a fire-scorched mountain, and now represented for the United States in the very artwork carved into the high court structure.

In today’s world of revisionist history, the proof comes through the work of a California pastor who visited the Supreme Court building recently when he was in Washington and was surprised that what the tour guides were telling him wasn’t the same thing as what he was seeing.

Todd DuBord, pastor of the Lake Almanor Community Church in California, said he was traveling with his wife, Tracy, and was more than startled during recent visits to the courthouse and two other historic locations to discover the stories of the nation’s heritage had been sterilized of Christian references.

Moses, Ten Commandments Already Featured at US Supreme Court    http://www.christianheadlines.com/news/moses-ten-commandments-already-featured-at-us-supreme-court-1223163.html

(CNSNews.com) – This Sunday, the “Save the Commandments Caravan” tour will arrive at the U.S. Supreme Court to protest the high court’s decision not to get involved in an Alabama dispute involving the Ten Commandments. Supreme Court justices decided to stay out of the controversy even though the Supreme Court building itself contains several references and statues of Moses holding tablets.

The Alabama dispute is by now well known to the public. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore had a 2.5-ton Ten Commandments monument erected in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. After much legal wrangling, including a rejected request that the U.S. Supreme Court rule on whether the placement of the monument was legal, a lower federal court ordered the monument removed.

But Christian groups have continued the struggle on Moore’s behalf ever since.

Gary DeMar, president of the American Vision, a Christian educational and communications organization, said the U.S. Supreme Court building contains several references and depictions of Moses and the Ten Commandments. A summary of DeMar’s upcoming book, America’s Christian Heritage, promises to “deliver all the facts you need to defend the Ten Commandments as a public display and to preserve your rights as a Christian American.””

As a part of larger sculptural clusters, Moses is shown with tablets in the Great Hall, The East Pediment, and the North Courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court, DeMar said. There is also an image of the Ten Commandments that is engraved on the frame of the bronze gates separating the courtroom from the aisle.

Also, above where the chief justice sits, a banner reads, “Justice, the Guardian of Liberty.” Centered above the banner is a depiction of Moses seated and holding the Ten Commandments, DeMar added.

The U.S. Supreme Court website states that, “Over time, the use of two tablets has become a symbol for the Commandments, and more generally, ancient laws. Tablets signify the permanence of the law when written in stone.”

Joseph Loconte, a religious expert from The Heritage Foundation, said it’s clear America’s Founding Fathers intended to create a secular constitution for the young nation.

But while the “the body of the Constitution is a secular text,” Loconte said, “it was perfectly natural to them to have the religious roots of the republic represented in symbol form to remind people of those religious roots and connections.”

Today’s liberal left, Loconte asserted, believes that the Constitution gives them the right never to hear religious speech they find offensive. “That is not at all at what the First Amendment protects…the First Amendment protects the right of all individuals, religious or non-religious, to express their views.

“This idea that you have a constitutional right never to hear religious speech that you find offensive is madness, absolute madness,” Loconte said.

But Robert Boston, assistant communications director with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, believes the figures of Moses and the Ten Commandments at the Supreme Court are merely there in a historical context, along with many other depictions.

Boston said he believes many people are confused and are making invalid assumptions.

“According to the Supreme Court’s website, the artist who designed the East Pediment frieze (sculptured band), said that the tablet was designed to represent the Bill of Rights and not the Ten Commandments,” Boston said. “That makes sense because it is a single tablet, not two tablets. Some people are just confused and believe that anything resembling a tablet or has one to ten written on them must be representative of the Ten Commandments.”

Despite the many claims he has heard, that the Ten Commandments serve as the foundation for American law, Boston said, at best, there are only three commandments reflected in secular law: Thou Shall Not Kill, Thou Shall Not Steal, and Thou Shall Not Lie.

“These common sense laws have existed in every society. The government isn’t supposed to endorse religion. Do it like the Supreme Court does — have an educational display that includes the Ten Commandments among many other sources,” Boston said.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/04pdf/03-1500.pdf

 SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Syllabus VAN ORDEN v. PERRY, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS AND CHAIRMAN, STATE PRESERVATION BOARD, ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 03–1500. Argued March 2, 2005—Decided June 27, 2005

THANKS FOR TAKING TIME AWAY FROM YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE TO READ THESE BLOGS!!!!!!! 🙂

WHEN U’RE NOT FEELING IT!!!!!

MLK Jr. Quote

“You wanna be ok with it…., but your heart, u really ain’t feeling it”. So sure many of us feel that way. Those feelings happen or may manifest often or very seldom, but we all know, or have experienced feelings such as those…. Now let me give you some examples of exactly what’s it means when u are not feeling it. (liking it)

1. When it’s time, we vote for a new president. OK now, we see the list of possible candidates, and you say to yourself, I know there should be someone better. (we ain’t feeling it)

2.  You watch the news everyday, you wanna watch it to keep up with the latest happenings, but after you saw it, you say to yourself, I would have felt better, if I had not watched it. (we ain’t feeling it)

3. The Supreme court finalizes laws of the land, but a lot of the laws they confirm, do not sit well with a lot of people. (so one again we really ain’t feeling it)

4. Politicians criticize each other, we have to see, hear, and be subjected to all this. (we ain’t feeling it)

5. People or groups want to subject their ideas, lifestyles or force their ideologies upon us. (we ain’t feeling it)

6. We live a long time and you see changes happening in the world today, that you never would have imagined. (we ain’t feeling it)

7.  When you know you are right about something, but the world society is telling you, u are wrong. (u ain’t feeling it)

8. You just got a pay check on your job, but the pay’s not matching your labor. (u ain’t feeling it)

9. When you’re going through something, and you heart is breaking, and the people around u are telling u, you’ll be ok. (u ain’t feeling it)

10.  You’re paying twice for a house that should have been paid off 30 years ago. (u ain’t feeling it)

11.  Police brutality when u know it does not have to be. (we ain’t feeling it)

12. The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer(we ain’t feeling it)

13. Being lied to when u know it ain’t true. (we ain’t feeling it)

Well that was just to give you an idea of what I am talking about…..

So now, when people are not really, in agreement with something, but just go along with it all because they feel that is the normal thing to then; then that would be called, “going along to get along.”  Yes, sometimes we’ll just agree with a situation as not to cause a distraction, be offensive or better yet, not to be called the distraction. Because no one wants to be the odd ball, or the subject of confusion, or the sore thumb, or the troublemaker, of the problem, or the nutty one, or the troublemaker or u’re angry; so we go along to get along.

Another example: “Say for instance a group of policemen, driving along mining their own business see a man running down the road. Now the cops just had a big lunch, a few laughs and are really feeling good. As they drive along,  two of the cops in the car said” I wonder why he’s running, then another said, oh, it’s probably nothing.  Then the third cops says let’s check it out. So they stop, and ask the man to stop running, he did. One cop says where u going in such a hurry? The man says home. The next cop says why in such a hurry? He says my sister called and said, my mom is sick. So I’m running  to hurry home. Ok the other cops say, can’t u tell he lying, look at the sweat on his face. Then another cop say yeah. Then the second cop says let’s search him, they do and find anything.  Ok you’re good u can go. Then one cops says let’s go. But then the third cops says, not before I give him a reminder, and the fourth cop says a reminder, of what?  So that cop hits the man with his stick, twice. Then they laugh, but the first cop , says man you should not have hit him like that. The other cops say why? He said because the man did nothing, he was just trying to get home to his sick mom. But he did not report it? Why? Going along with the wrong to get along with his fellow cops. A few days later, the good cop saw the man that was running down the road. He stopped and the man said, my mom made it to the hospital just in time, but when I got home I passed out, and had to be rushed to the doctor, they said I had a small concussion and this bruise will take months to heal.” All that for what? Why no one stood up, well it’s called going along to get along or is it called fear?

So we often go along with situations to be able to fit in, or liked by others. But in our hearts, we know we ain’t feeling it.

So is that right? Is it wholesome? Is it good? Is it Honest? Is it appropriate? Is it merited? Is it moral? Is it conscientious?  Well I guess if u are the kind of person that is passive and wants to get along with everybody, its ok. But if u have a problem with going along to get along, then u get restless in your seat. U get a sense of  “o man,” how can people be so complacent? So un concerned or un motivated to do something. But in all reality say something. Write a blog, post to Facebook,  or some of the others, things people do, and u don’t have to be violent about it either. But don’t do nothing.

Ok, example: If Martin Luther King Jr. had of just watched events unfold on TV or radio, and did nothing we would probably still be riding on the back of the bus, or not being able to eat in certain places. Not be able to attend the schools we would like. Buy homes in neighborhoods u like. You get the point.

Now to be more realistic, just say for instance: Main Point  Jesus decided to not go to the Cross! Let’s just say he said, I’m not gonna heal the sick, raise the dead, give sight to the blind, feed the hungry, you get the idea. What a mess we would be in. If Jesus had of just said to His disciples, lets just sit back and watch how thing unfold. Lets just see how they all will turn on each other, and do horrible things to each other. What if Jesus said, they are getting just what they deserve. What if Jesus just went along with the crowd to get along with everybody? What if He decided not to come to earth in the first place? Well  he never would have been crucified. So I said that to say this: When u stand up for something and it’s not popular with your group, then u need to get another group. Why go along with something when u ain’t feeling it! There are always choices to be made: SO MAKE THEM! Lose a few friends…. Lose a few buddies… Lose, lose, lose but in the end u really GAIN!

YOU CAN’T CARE WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT U, YOU CAN’T CARE WHAT PEOPLE SAY TO U. YOU CAN’T WORRY ABOUT FRIENDS, BECAUSE U REALLY DON’T HAVE ANY ANYWAY.

Just MAKE SURE THAT THE PERSON, U DO CARE ABOUT IS; “WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY TO ME, IF I STAND FOR WHAT IS RIGHT AND MORAL….. What would He say, to me if I stood up in His shoes or sandals, and spoke like He spoke…. That is hard for some of us and comes naturally for some, but in the long run u can always live with knowing that u did something that will benefit generations to come.

Oh by the way everybody does not like you,  so stop, right now thinking that they do, some will never like you and no matter what you do or say  you can never convince them to like you.  Some might have liked u at first but after u stood up and spoke up they will no longer like u. SO, oh well its part of the territory and expect that.

From my reading the Bible I learn to live for God, not man, man can hurt you and make u feel so bad about yourself and the things you stand up for. So stand in Christ Jesus and when you do, it really does not matter how others feel about you. That is what I especially like about Jesus, he did not care if He was liked; although he asked his disciples, who do they say I am, St. Mark 8:v.27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.”… So when he turned around and asked his disciples who do you think I am, Peter answered, You are the Christ. [The scripture says “He said to them, But who do you say that I am?] So I assume, what He asked to them all, who do you say I am, He was asking the question to all of His disciples, but Peter answered first, so the Bible does not say if the rest was trying to answer before Peter beat them to it or if the other let Peter answer for them. It also does not say if  the others did say something at all. But anyway let’s just say only Peter really knew who Jesus was. Then you mean to tell me all his disciples his closest group, did not really know who he was? Then if that be the case your friends don’t really know you either.

That passage gave me, a great insight “people don’t know u but assume that u what are what they perceive u top be!!!! So if they perceive you to be that, then to them you are that! SO do what you have to do to please Jesus, because I will tell you right now u will never ever please everybody. So when you ain’t feeling something, then do something about it!!! Jesus did….