Ten Commandments monument in spotlight

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2024 (499 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Gail Asper wanted to start a conversation about the missing Ten Commandments monument, she got her wish.

Since it was reported in this newspaper on July 2 about the removal of the monument from Assiniboine Park, there have been seven letters to the editor about it — five in favour of keeping the monument in the park and two opposed.

It also prompted three columns by Dan Lett, Rebecca Chambers and Charles Adler.

For Lett, it’s time to give the monument a “final resting place” with other “symbols of a bygone era” in some other place where they could be carefully and accurately curated.

“For those who are most offended by the monuments, and thus the most motivated to have them removed, this might be an unacceptable compromise,” he said.

Chambers wondered why such a monument is needed at all, in any place.

Recalling a visit to a local bar where people seem to live by the maxim of “judge not, lest ye be judged,” she suggested Winnipeggers have all the inspiration and information they need to live together in harmony.

“We don’t need a city monument to remind us to be good to one another, and certainly not an alienating and faith-based Ten Commandments monument,” Chambers said, adding that The Leaf — the construction of which displaced the monument — reminds us of our interconnectedness “on butterfly wing and delicate petal.”

Adler disagreed. “Thou shalt honour history. That’s a commandment that never made it in the top 10. Too bad,” he wrote.

For Adler, a way to honour history would be to keep the monument in the park since they “represent a code of behaviour that is in the moral DNA of the world’s Abrahamic faiths.”

That code, he said, “isn’t about trying to spread religious dogma. It is all about reminding us to adhere to what are indeed universal values, regardless of whether you have a scintilla of religious belief in your brain.”

Acknowledging he isn’t religious, Adler wondered why people would be offended by commandments telling us to honour our mothers and fathers and to tell the truth. “Does anyone really have a problem with that?” he asked.

To answer Adler’s question, no — I don’t think anyone has a problem with the precepts of the Ten Commandments, or any other religion’s formative doctrines or dogmas. What many do have a problem with is seeing those doctrines and dogmas given any sort of preferential treatment in public spaces that are paid for with public money.

That’s why I like something Asper suggested for the monument: That it be returned to the park and put in a place where all faiths can be recognized in some way. Maybe it could be some sort of meditation garden or walking path that could serve to educate and inspire Winnipeggers, a great Canadian compromise that recognizes the important role faith still plays for many people today.

Maybe along with that, there could be an opportunity not just to show the diversity of belief in Canada but also things they hold in common — like what Christians call “The Golden Rule.” Every major religion has a version of that, and Winnipeg has signed up with the Charter for Compassion, an organization formed in 2008, to be a compassionate city. Such a statement in a public place would affirm and promote that commitment.

Along with religious groups, such a space could also provide an opportunity for non-religious to be recognized, perhaps through the Ten Commitments, a collection of humanist values created by the American Humanist Association to help govern human interaction and promote the common good for society.

According to the Association, those commitments are altruism, critical thinking, empathy, environmentalism, ethical development, global awareness, humility, peace and social justice, responsibility and service — all things that religious groups aspire to as well.

Since the well-being of the whole planet is also critical, perhaps there could be space for Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic. Leopold, who lived from 1887-1948, created the Ethic when he noticed there were things like the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule to govern relations between people, but there wasn’t anything that dealt with the way we relate to nature.

According to the Land Ethic, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” It might be good to see that stated boldly, too.

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Finally, such a place would be incomplete without the seven teachings of Canada’s Indigenous people: Humility, bravery, honesty, wisdom, truth, respect and love. Again, these are things held in esteem by other Canadians, including people of faith.

Maybe there are other teachings that I’m not aware of that could go there, too.

After being elected mayor, Scott Gillingham created a first-of-its-kind-in-Canada Multi-faith and Cultural Liaison Circle, a 15-member group made up of people from Winnipeg’s faith and cultural groups. One of its goals is to create a space where people can talk, work together and find ways to collaborate on issues facing the city.

Well, Mr. Mayor, here’s an issue that needs some attention. Perhaps the Circle is a good place to have that conversation.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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John Longhurst
Faith reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

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