The Alabama state legislature is considering a constitutional amendment to allow displays of the Ten Commandments on government property. If the legislature passes the amendment, it will go to the voters.

Opponents of the amendment, led by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, say the commandments are a Judeo-Christian law code and that displaying them on public property would be an unconstitutional endorsement of that religious tradition.

But the amendment’s sponsor, Rep. Gerald Dial (R., Lineville), contends that the Ten Commandments are not a religious text, but a historical text reflecting “the foundations of the rule of law.”

The Ten Commandments are both a religious and a historical text and I see no reason to forbid their display on public property. But I wouldn’t do it because it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Many public buildings already display some kind of inscription on the grounds or above the door. These inscriptions look impressive, often chiseled in marble. But who reads them? And of those who do read them, who remembers them? Not me, and probably not you.

They’re like the prayers spoken over public address systems before high school football games when I was growing up. You probably can’t say a public prayer at a school event now, but 50 years ago, people were less skittish about such things, and someone, usually a local pastor, prayed before high school football contests. They typically asked God to inspire the athletes with good sportsmanship and to protect them from injury. By the opening kickoff, everyone but the pastor had forgotten those prayers.

Would displaying the Ten Commandments on government property make our people better citizens? Probably not. And how would we measure any increase in good citizenship attributable to people passing by a stone engraving of the Ten Commandments?

But let’s assume, contrary to common sense and past experience, that seeing the Ten Commandments erected on the courthouse lawn, people would read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them. What would they make of them? What do the commandments actually mean?

The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Falling prostrate before an idol went out of fashion long ago, but is that the only form of idolatry? What are today’s false gods? What does it mean to worship one?

Keep the Sabbath day holy? That’s Saturday. But even if we allow Sunday to supersede Saturday as our holy day, how do we keep the day holy? By not going to work? By not dancing? By sitting through a dull sermon and lackluster music in church? By sleeping in late (the Sabbath is about rest, after all)?

The fifth commandment says to honor your father and mother. What if they abuse me? Am I to honor them merely because I share their genes?

What of “Thou shalt not kill?” Capital punishment and war kill people, and many folks who would swear by the sixth commandment have enthusiastically applauded such killings. Then there’s abortion. Is it murder? Does life begin at conception or when a fetus can survive outside the womb? Who is to say?

How about the eighth commandment against stealing? Pickpocketing is obviously stealing. But what about fudging your income taxes? What about knowingly selling a product for more than it’s worth? And is a tax code that takes from the poor and gives to the rich, like Alabama’s, a form of stealing?

And if coveting is sinful, then God forgive us all! Who has not desired his neighbor’s wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, ass, or something that is his neighbor’s? And so long as I don’t cheat or steal from my neighbor, is merely wishing for good fortune similar to my neighbor’s such a bad thing?

The Ten Commandments are an outline for living, including submission to God and respect for our neighbor. But their meaning is subtle and by no means transparent, which is why the biblical scribes and Pharisees labored so long to interpret them.

If we want people to fashion their lives according to the Ten Commandments, prayer, courage, and careful study will be required. Such matters are better pondered at church and at home than while walking across the courthouse lawn.

Richard H. Schmidt is a retired Episcopal priest, editor and author who lives in Fairhope. He can be reached at courier@gulfcoastnewspapers.com.