Plan to Post 10 Commandments at School

Re “Scripture on the Outfield Fence,” Aug. 18: I believe that religious/spiritual education takes place in the home and in church, synagogue, mosque, ashram and other places of worship. Our schools in Southern California have become so polyglot that the promotion of any one religion may offend some persons of another religious belief. Morals (read: decent respect for and treatment of other human beings, as well as tolerance for their faiths) can best be taught in a dogma-neutral setting.

Perhaps Ed DiLoreto can explore a more secular means to impart some much-needed virtues to these young scholars. If the Ten Commandments are displayed, then sayings equally cherished in the Koran, Vedas, Native American spiritual traditions, etc. should also be displayed alongside.

J. ALAN ROSENSTEIN

Laguna Beach

* Your illustration omitted the 2nd commandment of Moses: “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” If that omission had occurred in the course of church or synagogue instruction it could be turned to a helpful discussion on the impli- cations of idolatry. It would be difficult to have the same discussion in the newspaper and virtually impossible during a high school baseball game.

While I affirm the free speech rights of individuals to quote publicly from the Bible or other religious sources, I question the value of doing so. The Ten Commandments are not meant for political sloganeering, but for instruction within the faith community.

THE REV. GEORGE MARTZEN

Baldwin Park United

Methodist Church

* “A Collision in Center Field” (editorial, Aug. 19) stated that the 1st Amendment to the Constitution requires separation of church and state. The Constitution says no such thing, nor was there any such intent by those setting up the Constitution. Yes, they wanted to avoid a church state, but that is a far cry from what is pronounced as truth by many in today’s culture.

The 1st Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Unfortunately, little was said concerning the courts and it is they that have been essentially making laws concerning the people’s right to practice and express their religion.

MARVIN SELLERS

Tustin

* As a teacher I am against advertising on school grounds by people selling products or services, like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Apple or IBM, but school yearbooks, school newspapers and athletics use advertising to supplement their budgets, therefore many precedents have been set for commercial advertising. The question now is, should commercial free speech have more privileges than “conscientious or principled” free speech?

Both kinds of free speech attempt to influence behavior. Which one is more beneficial to individuals and to the community? Rules that promote self-disciplined high-level moral behavior, such as the Downey High School billboard’s “rules to live by” or the Four Noble Truths should be able to compete with the exhortations to “buy.”

ROGER ERICKSON

Long Beach