"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law ..."

I just finished, last week, going through the book of Galatians with my Sunday School class. (My students there are your basic teenagers.) Then I saw this at the Washington Post.

Do you get as tired of this stuff as I do? Both sides hurling misunderstandings and illogicalities at each other? And it's absolutely inevitable, as long as there's a huge, powerful government that somebody's going to use to tell everybody else what to do. Without a rotting corpse, the jackals and the buzzards don't have a reason to quarrel.

But, back to Galatians. I have to wonder: why is it that Christians should be contending so hotly for the Decalogue to be posted on the regime's alleged property? Christians are supposed to be dead to sin, and to the Law that imputes sin. I would think it would be religious Jewish folk who would be eager to see the Commandments posted everywhere. But then, there's a lot of things that I might expect to happen ... and few of them ever do, to be sure.

One also often hears Commandments fans questioned for hypocrisy: "Do you have the Ten Commandments posted in your home?" Fair question. In my case, I think I'll pre-empt it. In fact, I'll kill two birds with one stone, in either the hand or the bush (man, it's hard to keep these cliche metaphors straight!). I shall post something that I think is a little more appropriate for a Christian; and I'll post it in "my" blog (as opposed to what we sloppily call "government property"). I'll post the words with which Jesus began the famous Sermon on the Mount.

From Matthew chapter 5 (verses 3 through 12):

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were sent before you.

Have an excellent day.