Showdown in Montgomery:

In Defense of God's Law

PLEASE BE PATIENT WHILE PHOTOS LOAD: IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT!

 

Full Quiver Mission joined hundreds of Christians from around the country to stand against Judicial Tyranny.

Bruce Evan Murch, Aaron (20) and Ben (18) drove to Montgomery, Alabama on Friday, August 22nd. On the 20th, twenty-two Christians had been arrested when Supreme Court Police shut the building to the public in an apparent attempt to remove the monument. They refused to leave, surrounded the monument on their knees, and were arrested. They were ultimately fined $25 dollars.

When we arrived, the crowds were pretty sparse, and there was a sense that it was "over with" since the 22 were arrested. Far from it. The monument was still there, and we were bound to do whatever we could to prevent its removal.

     

The Issue: The Right of the People of a State to Express Their Belief that the Ten Commandments are the Foundation of Our Law and Morality

BACKGROUND The ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center sued Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore to force removal of the 5,280 pound monument that he had installed shortly after being elected to the highest judicial post in the land. He was elected to that position because as a Circuit Court Judge, he had refused to remove a plaque of the Ten Commandments from the wall of his courtroom when sued. At that time, then-Governor Fob James threatened to call out the National Guard and the State Police to defend the Ten Commandments against a court-ordered removal. But Governor James is gone now. And there is nobody with any moral backbone to take his place.

Chief Justice Roy Moore has exalted Jesus Christ in his office, and has been uncompromising in his insistence that God's Law is the foundation of our federal law, and the laws of the State of Alabama. In fact, The preamble to the Alabama Constitution reads, "We, the people of the State of Alabama, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama:"

Therefore, to remove the 10 Commandments would be a violation of Justice Moore's oath of office. He has sworn to uphold the invocation of "the favor and guidance of Almighty God". You can hardly seek His favor and seek His guidance, as you remove the very foundation of His Laws for mankind. Many ignorant Christians have stood against this noble and godly judge. This is ignorant at best and unfaithful and treasonous at worst.

TWO ISSUES: There are two important issues at stake here: the first, as already mentioned, is the issue of God's Law as the foundation for our own organic law. The second is one of the ability of the states to govern as they see fit without the Federal Government's intrusion. This is another States' Rights battle as well. The First Amendment clearly states "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof". The word "respecting" means "concerning, having to do with, about". It says Congress shall make no law concerning, having to do with, about the establishment of religion. The 10th Amendment says that any rights not given specifically to the federal government are reserved for the States and the People, respectively. That means the Federal Government has no business at all in anything to do with the establishment of a religion, and that this area is reserved to the States and to the People. So even if the placing of the Ten Commandments in court WAS the establishment off a religion the Federal Government has NO SAY IN IT!

But of course, placing a monument of the Ten Commandments is NOT the establishment of a religion, it is the acknowledgment of the source of our law and morality. Critics say if there is a Ten Commandments displayed, we would have to display the Koran, the writings of Buddah and Confucious, etc. That is nonsense. The foundation of our Law is not the writings of Muhammed, Buddah or Confucious. It is the Law of the God of the Bible.

 

Left two: Aaron & Ben Murch sleep between Pillars Number 2 & 3, prepare to rise early. Right: Another faithful defender of God's Word sleeps as the sun comes up in Montgomery.

 

Chief Justice Moore was abandoned by all of his colleagues. The eight associate Justices and the Attorney General all turned on him, over-ruled him and also ordered the removal of the monument. They all claimed that they believed that it IS constitutional to have the monument in the Court, but that they "MUST" obey a federal court order. Now I ask you folks, let's use some common sense here. If the Associate Justices and the Attorney General believe that the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court building IS CONSTITUTIONAL, then what is a court order demanding it's removal? Anyone? Class? All together now: "UNCONSTITUTIONAL". Was that so hard? So the spineless appeasers order the implementation of a federal order that they believe to be unconstitutional! The next step in the attempt to destry Justice Moore was to bring ethics charges against him before the Judicial Inquiry Board. That Board has suspended him indefinitely and he will face these charges in late September. Guess who the Prosecutor will be? Bill Pryor, the Attorney General! The guy who says it's constitutional to have the Ten Commandments in the Court! Why would he do this? Because he has been nominated by President George Bush to be a judge in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He is nothing more that a shameless traitor, willing to betray the truth and God's law in order to obtain a federal judgeship.

Activities on the Supreme Court Plaza

For the entire week that we were there, the crowds grew larger each day, as Dr. James Dobson did an interview with Alan Keyes and Chief Justice Moore and encouraged everyone to come to Montgomery, and as the national news media reported the goings on, on a daily basis. Each day there were several services a day. Much prayer went up, and preaching abounded. Bruce, having had a long association with one of the organizers of the event, Rev. Patrick Mahoney, was asked to help out in small ways during the course of the week. Many notable activists and preachers were in attendance at one point or another. There were many faces of those who had been on other front-line battles, like the seizure of the Indianapolis Baptist Temple two years ago. The preaching was strident, the praying was ardent. The people were resolute.

As the crowds grew larger, the local folks began to come to our aid with food and water. Provisions would appear out of nowhere by anonymous folks just wanting to help out. By the third day we were there, the crowd had risen to about 300 during the day and 700 attending the evening rally, with about 40 or so sleeping with us on the steps overnight. By Day 5, there were 500 people present during the day, over 1,000 at the evening rally and about 75 sleeping overnight with us on the steps. While that may seem like a lot of people, it was a little disconcerting that the numbers were that low, given that this was a watershed historical event.

On Monday, police suddenly came onto the Plaza with metal barricades, like they used to use in front of abortuaries back when we were doing sit-ins to save unborn babies. We had over 500 people present, and we began to make our way to the Plaza entrances. Rev. Patrick Mahoney told the Supreme Court Building Manager that unless he gave him assurances that the monument was not being moved, that we would not only block all entrances to the building, but would shut down the street as well. Graham George, the Building Manager, and a devout Christian man, promised Pat Mahoney that the barricades were only being put up to protect the glass front of the  building from people rushing to see what was happening. That turned out to be the truth, and Mr. George proved himself on several occasions to be a Christian and a man of integrity.

   

There was a wide assortment of people that came to this event, some well-known, many just common folk who wanted to stand for righteousness. There were a few odd ones as you would expect, and a few dissenters. One man climbed up a 30-foot decorative grate into a portico. He refused to come down or speak to anybody. The police decided to wait him out. Eventually, the next morning, nature called, and he was arrested as he came down to head for the porta-potty. There were all sorts of folks who professed Christ from every denomination persuasion imaginable. There were Catholics, Orthodox, Episcopalians, Baptists, Charismatics, Presbyterians, Messianics, Methodists, and I've probably left out a dozen more. This made some uncomfortable with the varying styles of worship and preaching. But each was trying to glorify God, and was there to take a stand for righteousness.

    

Left: These preachers seem to think we are responsible for the 10 Commandments being removed, because we have "done nothing" up until now, while we were "going to hell in a handbasket". Several of us pointed out that the Plaza was full of folks who had been publicly opposing wickedness for years (and that this was the first time we had ever seen them). Right: Noah makes an appearance, warning of impending doom if we do not repent.

 

This folk singer showed up Sunday and disappeared as quickly as he came. The event attracted several drifter-types. The man on the right is the one who climbed up in the window. We affectionately dubbed him "Spiderman". We prayed for him at some length. It turned out he had an outstanding warrant for parole jumping in Florida.

On Monday, Chief Justice Moore came for a news conference. It was the day after he had been suspended. He spoke again of his fidelity to Jesus Christ, to God's Law, and the Constitution of the State of Alabama. His face showed the determined resolve of a magistrate chosen by God, ready to pay any price to maintain the truth. He reminded me of what was written about Esther as she was about to approach the King to try to save her people the Jews, from destruction: ..."who knows if thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" I believe that Chief Justice Roy Moore has been raised up as a righteous Magistrate for such a time as this.

On Wednesday, men from a Georgia contractor came and moved the monument to a side room in the Supreme Court building, thus complying with the Federal Court Judge Myron Thompson to have the monument "out of sight" while avoiding the confrontation with supporters by taking it out of the building. The move resulted in a huge emotional outpouring by those keeping vigil on the Plaza. Most of us prostrated ourselves in prayer, beseeching God to have mercy on our nation and to bring justice and restore His law in the Land. Some were angry and were shouting "Put it BACK!" over and over again. It was a somber time for the rest of the day.

 

On Thursday the Big Rally was scheduled to take place at noon featuring Dr. James Dobson, Alan Keyes and Chief Justice Roy Moore. Justice Moore backed out at the last minute, because he wanted this event not to be about himself, but about restoring God's law to its rightful place in our legal system and our culture. Close to 3,000 people showed up, and the Plaza was jammed with as many bodies as could fit. The crowd spilled over onto the steps, the railings, and down onto the street and even across the street. It was the biggest crowd that had shown up to date.

 

Dr. James Dobson addresses the crowd that came out in 103 degree heat to hear him and Dr. Alan Keyes. Unfortunately, with the monument moved, the media saw this as a "last hurrah" and most of them packed up and left, after having maintained the vigil with us for over a week.

What Happens Now?

The fight is not over. Chief Justice Moore has filed a writ of certiorari to have his case heard by the Supreme Court. They have only refused to hear arguments on the motion to stay the removal of the monument. There is a conflict in federal circuits right now. In the Third Circuit, they have ruled that the Ten Commandments displayed in the courthouse is constitutional (Chester, PA). In the Eleventh Circuit, they have ruled it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court will have to accept a case like this sooner or later to resolve the conflicts. In the meantime, there are already moves afoot to try to get Justice Moore to run for Governor of Alabama, or even President!

In a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 77% of all Americans agreed with Justice Moore. It is the first time in recent memory that a truly uncompromising and godly man has enjoyed such deep popular support. As I said before, I believe God has raised him up for such a time as this!

-END

Click here for Extra Photo Page of the Montgomery Stand. These pictures include notable pro-life activists and preachers, as well as unusual sights that took place while we were there.

If you would like to help the Murch Family and Full Quiver Mission as they continue in the work, please click the "Contact Us" link for instructions. Thank you, and may God richly bless you.