David French vs The Ten Commandments

David French was once a prominent figure on the political right especially in faith circles, but in the last several years he has gone liberal in nearly every conceivable way. His earthly reward has included writing for the New York Times. Recently his liberalism caused him to be canceled from the Presbyterian Church in America’s General Assembly. Earlier this week, Louisiana became the first state to mandate displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. So naturally, David French opposed this.

David French wrote a brief column attacking Louisiana’s governor for being lawless, titled, “Thou Shalt Not Post the Ten Commandments in the Classroom.”

There is a certain irony in the bravado about the Ten Commandments from Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana. On Saturday he told attendees at a Republican fund-raiser, “I can’t wait to be sued.” Clearly, he knows that the Supreme Court previously ruled against mandatory displays of the Ten Commandments in the classroom. In a 1980 case, Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law that required the posting of the Ten Commandments, purchased through private donations, in every public school classroom in the state.

A Louisiana law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom in the state defies this precedent, so, yes, the state will be sued.

But Landry’s comments didn’t stop with bravado. He also said something else. “If you want to respect the rule of law,” he told the guests, “you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses.” To teach respect for the rule of law, he’s defying the Supreme Court? That’s an interesting message to send to students.

David French makes the lawyerly mistake of assuming that Supreme Court precedent is actual law. A SCOTUS ruling is actually called a Majority Opinion, and was Constitutionally only intended to decide the current case, not conjure a category called “case law.” The Founding Fathers knew this and early presidents acted accordingly.

It’s consistent with an emerging Republican approach to constitutional law. Just as many Republicans view their constituency as composed of the “real” Americans, they tend to believe their interpretation of the Constitution represents the “real” Constitution. So we’re seeing a flurry of culture-war-motivated state laws, many of them aimed at the First Amendment, that confront precedent.

The Dobbs decision gave some Republicans hope for radical change, but reversing Roe has not signaled open season on the court’s rulings. Republicans’ challenges to the Voting Rights Act failed, the independent state legislature theory foundered, and efforts to expand the standing doctrine to limit access to the abortion pill faltered. Even so, it’s premature to declare that the Supreme Court is frustrating the MAGA right.

French attacks Republicans for accurately recognizing that the Supreme Court is an institution that wields power and acting accordingly. Given how liberal the Supreme Court was for decades, really until Trump was able to stack the court with three Justices, now is the time to overturn many bad precedents, which Governor Jeff Landry is content to do.

Moreover, this is lawfare being inflicted upon liberals. Now they must use their resources to defend their position whilst the Christians are using the power and purse of the state to defend theirs.

Altering constitutional law is not the only motivation here; a version of Christian mysticism is also in play. There is a real belief that the Ten Commandments have a form of spiritual power over the hearts and minds of students and that posting the displays can change their lives.

I’m an evangelical Christian who believes in God and the divine inspiration of Scripture, but I do not believe that documents radiate powers of personal virtue. I happened to grow up in Kentucky and went to classes before the Ten Commandments were ordered removed, and I can testify that the displays had no impact on our lives. My classmates and I were not better people because of the faded posters on the walls.

David French concludes by attacking Christians, accusing them of practicing mysticism for displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools. In a rare moment of self-awareness, David French admits that the Ten Commandments had no impact on his life growing up. However, theologically speaking the Ten Commandments have had an impact on David French. They have hardened his heart, for Scripture does not return void.