Today's tale is a story about unconditional love. Maybe it sounds familiar. Maybe it sounds sinister, cruel and barbaric. It should. It is. Christians preach about God's unconditional love, but 'love me or suffer the consequences' sounds suspiciously like a condition to me, and the consequences are no less cruel, no less barbaric.
Even if there is morality to be found in the Bible... so what? The parable at the end is of course taken out of context, but isn't that how Christian preachers will make their points about God with their scriptural one-liners?
Want to see the Ten Commandments on court buildings? Cast your vote... but beware of the consequences. As some people have pointed out, this kind of vote would not be allowed at the national level, but at state level it certainly would. View it again from that perspective if you wish. While I don't expect this kind of vote to actually go to the people, perhaps the idea of it would be a useful tool for argument/debate. Next time someone demands the right to display the 10 Commandments, just ask them if they want the 'full package' as described here. If not, why not?