monument to the Ten Commandments in Ogden, Utah may soon be complemented with a display of "Seven Aphorisms"embraced by a local UFO-oriented religious group known as Summum.

   Since 1999, the sect has fought Ogden officials -- most of them affiliated with the powerful Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons -- for equal access to the lawn outside the local municipal building. That location includes a Commandments display featuring two Star of David motifs, the Greek letters Chi and Ro, an "all seeing eye" and pyramid, and an eagle and American flag, with a scroll-like inscription which reads "Presented to the City of Ogden and Weber County, Utah by the Utah Aerie Fraternal Order of Eagles 1988."

   Summum has argued that as a bona fide religious sect with 250,000 followers, they, too should be allowed to display the key tenets or "Seven Aphorisms" of their faith in the town square. Brian Barnard, legal gadfly with a reputation as a vigilant state-church separationist and formidable courtroom advocate took on the case, alleging that the City of Ogden violated the church's First Amendment rights by displaying the Commandments and not the Aphorisms.

   It is worth noting that the "Seven Aphorisms" have language as elegant and grand as the wording attributed to the Commandments, if not more so. The proposed Summum monument includes beliefs like "Creation manifests when balance is perfected between the opposites, higher Law against lower laws, the Creation becomes divine." Other Aphorisms declare, "The Universe is a Mental Creation," "As above, so below; as below, so above," "Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates," and seemingly borrowing a page from Hegel and Marx, "Everything is Dual; everything has an opposing point; everything has its like and unlike ... opposites are identical in nature, but different extremes bond."

   You get the idea, perhaps. But it was all too much for the City Patriarchs of Mormon-dominated Ogden.

   Municipal attorneys insisted that the Ten Commandments monument somehow represented the city's own "speech" rather than that of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and hence was -- well, the opposite -- of the private speech advocated by Summum. Then-Ogden Mayor Glenn. J. Mecham testified that one criteria he would use to determine what might be placed in the town square was whether a monument or display symbolized "a statement that is based upon the history and traditions of Odgen City."

   Barnard fired back that the City was discriminating in favor of the Eagles, and violating both free expression and the strict neutrality toward religion which government is held to under the First Amendment.

   Incredibly, the city even had the audacity to suggest that it rejected the Seven Principles (or "Aphorisms" ) monument offered by the Summum group so as not to violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The court agreed with parts of this argument, but noted that the City might have accepted the proposed monument out of "concern for equal access."

   Addressing the state-church separation aspect of the case, the court noted:

"The City (somewhat ironically in light of the City's simultaneous insistence that the display of the Ten Commandments Monument alone does not violate the Establishment Clause) notes that the presence of the Seven principles Monument on the Municipal Grounds, coupled with the fact that Summum would be the only church to have contributed a monument to the relevant forum, would leave an observer to conclude that the City of Ogden endorses Summum.

"Again, we must disagree; we are persuaded that a reasonable observer would, instead, note the fact that the lawn of the municipal building constituted a diverse array of monuments, some from a secular and some from a sectarian perspective..."

   Thus, concluded the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, "The Free Speech clause of the First Amendment compels the City of Ogden to treat with equal dignity speech from divergent religious perspectives."

   The current Odgen Mayor, Matthew Godfrey, told the Deseret News that the city is determined to appeal the court's decision. "We're disappointed with the ruling. I think there's evidence that the courts of appeals don't always make the best rulings."

   The News said that there was a "possibility" that Ogden would remove the Commandments monument rather than give equal space for displaying the Summum Aphorisms. Salt Lake City took down its Commandments display in 1998, when it lost a similar case brought by the group and Mr. Barnard. The next step in this battle over whose tenets are displayed in the Ogden public square is for Summum head R. L. Zefferer or another representative to draft a letter to the City, again requesting permission to place a monument. The proposed display would be the same size as the Ten Commandments now standing in front of the town hall, and be made of granite.

   Meanwhile, other battles over display of the Ten Commandments and religious slogans in public venues continue.

   ¶       Hamilton County, Tennessee has announced that it will not attempt to display the Commandments along with a group of other "historical documents" in the county courthouse and various government buildings. More than half of the state's 95 counties have approved similar measured, though, and about 30 already have copies of the Ten Commandments on display in inappropriate, public locations.

   County Commissioners responded to an outcry from civic and religious groups to showcase the Commandments following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the ACLU filed suit to remove presentations of the Decalogue. In May, however, U.S. District Court Judge R. Allan Edgar ruled that the plaques violated the separation of church and state, and ordered them removed. Another ruling in neighboring Rutherford County barred officials from displaying the Commandments in government buildings even when efforts were made to "secularize" the display by grouping it with other items such as the Declaration of Independence.

   The county must now pay legal fees in the case. About $46,0000 has been raised in private donations, the largest coming from a local Baptist Church. That leaves $23,000 in unpaid bills. While Commissioners boasted of the need to display the Commandments in public, they also insisted they did not want to use taxpayer funds to defend their unconstitutional practice.

   ¶       In North Carolina, New Hanover County Board of Education members are debating a proposal to display the Commandments and other historical documents in local public schools. Don Hayes, the Policy Committee chairman introduced the measure. A story in the Wilmington Star newspaper noted that his suggestion "puts more emphasis on the Ten Commandments than on the other documents."

   Hayes is also boasting that he wants each Commandment to be followed by an equivalent state law as part of the presentation.

   "To me, it makes more sense if you take a commandment, and then below that list an example of the law."

   Some commandments, such as the order that all must worship one God, refrain from activities like cursing or adultery, or perhaps even express unconditional obedience to (potentially abusive?) parents, could test the limits of the legal system, however.

   "I'm having trouble with this whole thing," complained committee member Maryann Nunnally. "I think we're imposing our religious traditions on a lot of other people."

   Hayes responded and complained that the Commandments have influenced the formation of contemporary society. "What I'm trying to do is show them from a historical sense," he said.

   Ms. Nunnally countered, raising the issue of potential costly lawsuits.

   "One of the things I believe is that you don't shove your religion down other people's throats. We've got to do the very best we can to make sure they are all equal in weight."

   ¶       In Bakersfield, California officials plan on holding a ceremony in City Hall tomorrow to commemorate a new plaque declaring "In God We Trust," which is to be mounted above the city seal.

   According to the Fresno Bee newspaper, the idea was hatched by Council member Jacquie Sullivan "a devout Christian" who "wanted to return to the nation's early commitment to Christian ideals."

   It is forty-six years ago tomorrow that President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law a measure declaring that the words "In God We Trust" would replace the nation's original secular motto, "E Pluribus Unum" or "Out of Many, One." That and other legislation was seen as an effort to win the cold war and counter so-called "Godless Communism." Public profession of religion, and especially the Judeo-Christian faiths, became a litmus test and badge of patriotic loyalty.

   Sullivan deceived the public in trying to justify her effort to display the religionized motto. "People are misled to think it's against the law to mention God's name in government," she told reporters. "The First Amendment is to keep government out of religion, not to keep believers out of government."

   Other cities in Kern County and adjoining districts have followed the lead set by Bakersfield officials. Wasco county, for instance, has approved display of a plaque outside the City Hall declaring, "In God We Trust." Officials in Delano are also investigating the possibility of a similar presentation, and hope to have it pass constitutional muster by seeking donations from churches and religious residents.

    Austin, Texas resident Thomas Van Orden has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the grounds of the state Capitol building. The case was heard Monday in U.S. District Court, and a ruling from Judge Harry Hudspeth could come as early next month.

   As usual, government attorneys tried to counter Van Orden's suit by maintaining that the five-foot tall monument has nothing to do with religion, but instead suggests a secular and historical purpose by presumably showing the origin of our legal system.

   ¶       A citizens group in Elkhart, Indiana is still pressing ahead with efforts to save a Ten Commandments monument located in the town square which has been declared unconstitutional . Last month, a motion was filed in U.S. District Court in South Bend, asking Judge Allen Sharp to reconsider the remedy portion of the case. Elkhart officials abandoned a costly and drawn-out effort to "secularize" their Commandments display by including other documents pertaining to law and history. The monument had been challenged in court by two local residents including Indiana American Atheists State Director Mike Suetkamp.

   Attorney Ken Falk of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union said that the new motion "is totally invalid," and questioned the legal standing of the citizen's group. The private organization has the support of Mayor Robert Buetter from nearby Mishawaka, Ind. who also implored Judge Sharp to reopen the case in hopes of keeping the Commandments monument standing.

   As with the Ogden, Utah display, the Elkhart Ten Commandments rock was donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The group began trying to place the Commandments in communities as part of a publicity scheme tied to movie mogul Cecil B. DeMille, who supported the effort as part of his promotional campaign for the blockbuster film "The Ten Commandments."

    Earlier this week, officials in Chester County, Pennsylvania announced that two major legal firms were being brought in to aid the government in its effort to retain a plaque of the Ten Commandments located on front of the courthouse.

   Commissioner Colin Hanna described the new attorneys as a "dream team," which will presumably cost taxpayers "well less than $10,000."

   The dispute over the Commandments plaque began in October, 2001 when the Philadelphia Freethought Society filed suit, claiming that the display violated the U.S. Constitution's First and Fourteenth Amendments. In March, a federal district court agreed and ordered the plaque covered by a metallic shroud pending an appeal. That move sparked a rally by religious supporters, and led to police removing four demonstrators who attempted to prevent county workers from carrying out the court order.

   Even with the "dream team" of high-profile Philadelphia lawyers, the county is reportedly considering bringing in a third law firm. Commissioner Andrew Dinnian told reporters, "We know the ACLU; they have their whole network focusing on this case. This isn't just happening in Chester County, it's happening all over the place."

   Margaret Downey, a co-plaintiff in the suit and officer in the Freethought Society described the legal confrontation as something that could become "a David vs. Goliath type of fight."

   "It's the minority and the majority, the high-priced attorneys versus the ACLU and our volunteers," Downey added.

   It might get even worse, though. Commissioner Chairwoman Margaret Martynick revealed that along with the "dream team," further legal assistance in hopes of keeping the Commandments displayed prominently at the courthouse has been offered by both the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

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